Motorized bike on sailboat

BlueSphere

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I need some advice. I'm sailing around the world writing for sailing magazines and producing www.projectbluesphere.com, and sailing films. I'm looking to build a motorized bike and need some advice. I'm a big guy 215 lbs and i need something powerful. I also would like all stainless steel parts if possible. The marine enviornment is tough on bikes. I have a canondale mountain bike I'd like to convert. I'm in Panama at the moment and the closest store is about 40 miles away over mountains (road), and I HATE TAKING THE BUS!!!!!

Any help would be appreciated.

Alex Dorsey
www.projectbluesphere.com
 
From the point of view of simplicity and ease of repair, I would suggest a friction drive system.

You don't necessarily need a high powered four stroke, but it would be nice. If you have to lift and carry the bike around to get it off the boat and onto a dinghy or dock, you might be best off with a good 2 stroke which will be lighter (for a comparable amount of power).

If you are going 40 miles, then reliability is important. Don't go with a chinese 2 stroke kit, get a Japanese motor with a friction drive, there is less to go wrong.

You may need a slick type tire with a friction drive.

http://www.staton-inc.com/Results1.asp?Category=3

This would be a good one:

http://www.staton-inc.com/store/pro...0_39_8_cc_2_2_hp_Two_Cycle_Engine-332-13.html

A front and rear suspension bike would be ideal for this type of setup.
 
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I was going to recommend folding bike with a friction drive motor. If you already have a working C'dale and you have room for it on the boat, you might as well use it.
I guess an electric powered bike would be less suitable for the boat, with corrosion issues and limited opportunities to charge the batteries.
Sailing and motorbiking sounds like a pretty nice life!
 
Sailing is a nice life. I live on over 95% green power generated by my solar panels and thought hard about electric as I don't like to burn fossil fuels. It would really limit how many miles I could travel though. I'm a big guy 215 lbs do you think a friction drive motor would be sufficient? I've never ridden a gas bike. I saw a guy tooling around in one in Colombia and thought it was pretty cool.

Alex
www.projectbluesphere.com
 
Yes, 215 lbs is not too large for any motor bike. The only time you may have problems is when riding through puddles of water, the roller tends to lose traction a bit.
 
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