Greensboro NC- Putting wings on a Motored Bike

bamabikeguy

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I'm just wondering what classification this guy will fit in:

21_bilde_1.jpg



http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070417/NEWSREC0104/70417012

The StreetPlane gets about 100 miles to a gallon of gas. Not that its tank holds a gallon. It holds less than a quart.

He can pedal if he wants, but he uses the engine most of the time. He pulls the starter cord before he sets off. The throttle is mounted on the handlebars.

So far, Jones says, he has received no heckling from motorists.

"People give me more room than they give a bicycle - and a lot more respect," he says.

Jones has three trailers that he can pull with the StreetPlane, but he admits the advertising business has never taken off.

Mostly, he uses the trailers to publicize his own Web sites and to advocate for an increase in the city's minimum wage. That has caused him more problems than anything else.

"Some store owners will try to stop me from parking on their property, even if I stop in to get a drink or 19 cents' worth of gas. Of course, if the manager's out, then there's not a problem," he says.

The brothers are working on three more StreetPlanes.

One model has an electric motor and two wheels.

One is a canard with a small wing in front and a larger wing and engine in the rear.

The design of the third one is undecided.

"We're kind of up in the air between a helicopter and a blimp," Jones says.
 
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I like it!
The world needs people like this. It keeps life interesting and fun! :devilish:
 
when the engine turns the prop & the prop pulls the bike, THEN i'll be impressed :P

JK...i love the dude's 'tude, and his bike, no doubt 8)
 
Well,well I have always said I like seeing the unusual and now I have. Very unusual.
 
Yeah, I am a bit of a nut but my nuttyness puts money in my pocket.

Glad you found us, no better place for a nut than to be amongst a tree full of other folks of "questionable sanity" !

The more publicity this hobby gets, the more road respect we might get on the highways.

And a 10 foot wingspan demands attention !
 
Actually It's 6 Feet

But even with a 6 foot wing span the cage drivers are forced to give you an entire lane. And people love it everywhere I "fly." When I go downtown they get out of their cars and wave me through intersections while they take pictures and nobody blows their horns. Everybody waves, even the mayor and the police chief.

It still meets Federal and NC. State laws for motorized bicycles which state that a motorized bicycle can have no more than 3 wheels, no more than 1 horsepower (750 watts) electric or 2 horsepower gas and no more than 50cc with a top speed under motored power of 20 MPH. Coasting or peddling faster than 20 is okay as long as you don't exceed the posted speed limit. Laws in other states vary but no state can pass laws tougher than the Federal standard signed by Bush in 2001.

The wings on the one in the picture are made from old steel futon frames people throw out and are covered with red saran wrap and colored duct tape. The duct tape will only last a few months but the saran wrap still looks good after 2 years.

Here's a tip: 20" wheels are better on trikes. The 26 you see in that picture didn't last long at all and has been replaced by a 20.

And if someone is looking to drive traffic to a website then I suggest building a StreetPlane and doing what I do in my video: http://www.lassiter.com/mov/jones.html
 
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