eBay made the process of motorizing a bicycle popular, with cheap engines from China combined with a handful of parts to lace everything together. If your tastes are a little more vintage however, [Oliver]’s build might be more your speed.
Starting with a real Briggs and Stratton liberated from an old rotary tiller, this engine has legitimate vintage credentials. Looking resplendent in brown, it’s paired with a bike in a similar shade from yesteryear. Drive from the engine is transferred by belt to a jackshaft, which then sends power through a chain to the rear wheel. The belt tensioner serves as a rudimentary clutch, allowing the engine to be disconnected from the drivetrain when disengaged.
The retro components, combined with an appropriate color scheme, make this a wonderful cruiser that oozes style. While it’s probably not suited for downtown commuting due to its lack of a real clutch and noise, it would make a great ride for taking in some country roads on a sunny day. We’ve seen similarly styled e-bikes, too. Video after the break.
I’ll just leave this Here.
https://youtu.be/NU1bFX-o6Ls
All those boomer-tier memes are extremely annoying.
When you make the engine too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6n0op0sLPA
Love it. Very Colin Furze with stock brakes/lack of helmet and chain guards. Hope the H+S experts dont all weigh in.
No belt guard. A true self-teaching experience through natural consequences. Other than that, nice hack!
Love the retro look, and that sound, yes! All in all cooler than a penguin’s nuts!
It’s a Hardly-Davidson!
I heard you like people putting old engines into old bikes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4KlcOuOlrg
There is nothing I hate more than a motorized bicycle (gas motor). One can hardly conceive of a better way to trash one of mankinds most clever inventions. Electric bikes are bad, these are far worse.
Sure is handy if you have a broken leg.
E bikes have helped people with disabilities get out and have some form of physical activity that they might not have gotten otherwise!
NO!
It’s a way to appreciate mankinds greatest (most clever) inventions: engines and electric motors. To get rid of the chores of pedaling yourself, to get rid of the limitation to muscle power.
Here’s how we did it in 1946.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOMV2kJGsm8
The engine was a fairly large (100cc?) 4-stroke, and was pretty fast — maybe 50 mph, which is insane with only the rear coaster brake. Easy go, not so easy stop.
My Schwinn bike came with a rudimentary spring front suspension, a front wheel brake, and heavier spokes (standard spokes tended to break because of the vibration).
A little more $$ bought a genuine, large diameter straight exhaust, which gave a sound to die for. Mellow on acceleration, and a loud “rap” on deceleration.
For yet more $$, you could get an ingenious and genuine 2-speed automatic transmission (!!!) with automatic clutch. Internally, it was a planetary gearbox with fly weights. When the revs got high enough, just roll the throttle back and it would shift up. Slow down, and it would drop back into 1st gear.
cool bike, love the sound
He’s lucky his pants were an inch away from being grabbed by that belt. He would have had a really bad day otherwise.
easy way – get a puch maxi :D im working on those. current model is built 1982. not that retro but fully functional (and somehow safe)
Totally illegal in CA
49 cc and lower, OK for California..