The Volkswagen Beetle is a true automobile icon, and while it may not be the fastest or most breathtaking looking car ever built, its unmistakable shape with those elegant curvy fenders and bulgy lights holds a special place in many people’s hearts. And then it inspires them to build minibikes from those same parts.
[Brent Walter] is well know as an originator of the hobby, starting a little while ago with his Volkspod. Inspired by [Brent’s] work, [Jonah Mikesell] decided to give it his own try, but unlike the original design that uses an actual minibike under the hood, he built an electric version of it, and painstakingly documented every step along the way.
The idea of the Volkspod is to take the Beetle’s two front fenders, weld them together to one symmetric body, and turn it into a small motorcycle. [Jonah]’s version does all that, but instead of taking a whole minibike as core of the project, he only uses a minibike frame and substitutes the engine with a 2000 Watt e-bike motor along with an e-bike battery pack. Fitting the frame within the dimensions of the fender construct required some extra welding work, but in the end, it all came nicely together, and with its red paint job, it kinda looks like something from a vintage post-apocalyptic sci-fi cross-genre movie. Watch him taking it for a spin in the video after the break.
Unfortunately, neither the original Volkspod nor this one has the roaring engine sound of an actual Beetle — which is akin to what the wings of a real-life beetle of similar size would probably sound like. But well, it’s always an option to fake that. And if [Jonah] ever feels the urge of a bigger engine, maybe a washing machine can help.
Reminds me of an old Candid Camera stunt
https://youtu.be/G8hFO791brc
Rather short wheelbase, too end-over prone. I was thinking of a street stretched style of both the rear and the front fenders incorporated into the bike.
I’ve long wanted to take two front fenders and two rear quarter panels from a 1948 to 1954 Hudson and make them into an aerodynamic body for a motorcycle. The easiest tail light to use would be from 1948 to 1951, or the 1954. 1952 and 1953 used non-symmetrical left and right lenses on the Hornet. The Wasp lens could be turned vertical but its small.
I’d even have the bumpers by welding two outer ends together, with one bumper guard.
https://www.rouming.cz/archived/trabocykl.jpg
OMG, love it! :D
Ditto!
(Probably the most reliable Trabant out there!)
I mean it looks cool, probably feels cool to, its an awesome project and all.
But lets leave it there, the eco-bs is just bs, everything that uses batteries is less eco than a well oiled diesel engine.
If it’s harvested from a used bike, it already “payed the bill”. All the comparisons diesel vs electro are based on the fact that the electric car is rendered useless after a certain driven range, or when the battery lost ~30% of its capacity. But after that, it’s quite eco friendly! Like every re-use is.
EVs are superior in every way, and the eco payback is three years