Fold Up Power Bike

Motor for fold-up bike to allow quick supply runs ashore.







There were two varieties of the motor. One had a centrifugal clutch...you started it by pulling a rope and the engine speed engaged the clutch to go forward. The other had a clutch lever and you started it by holding in the clutch and pedaling, then let out the clutch when you were moving along pretty well. I opted for the clutch lever because I'd much rather pedal to get started than pulling on a rope, although it is a little less convenient because you have to pull in the clutch when you stop.

Because this is a fold up bike, the "V" of the frame doesn't come together at the bottom. I had to extend the motor mounts with a piece of 1/4" aluminum plate to make the motor fit in the proper place. Notice that there were no modifications done to the bike itself...the motor is mounted using a tab brazed onto a half section of exhaust tubing held in place with hose clamps.

front mount

back mount

 And if you're going to use a motorized vehicle on the street, you need a brake light.

 

This is a self contained little unit including horn, brake light and turn signals for less than ten bucks.

 

My bike has coaster brakes so I couldn't hook the brake light switch to the brake handle -- instead I hooked it up to the clutch, cause you have to disengage the clutch to stop anyway.

Not counting the cost of the bike, I have about $150 in the project and I've never actually used it except to see if it would work. It will go 24mph but not with me on it.