Motivation behind your MB

[happycheapskate]

I live in TX and I ride mine all the time. The cops don't care here. They like it. I am a polite and careful rider who uses signals and stops at lights. They even stop to see if I'm ok and chat if I am parked on the shoulder to check lights or tires etc. I used to commute to work on mine. I ride it in parades and classic car shows. I ride it to the grocery store a couple times a week. I ride it to job interviews and doctors visits. I save $$$$ in gas and maintenance. You can build one of these for $500, made to last. 1 or 2 car repairs can easily top that, and car insurance for one less car can pay for the machine and gas in 1 or 2 years.

Build a motorized bicycle and not a motorcycle and you can ride the heck out of it wherever bikes are allowed.

 

[happycheapskate]

I ride a moped bicycle because I know how cool its going to be when they are paying $4 gallon again. I try to sell people on these and hope to start a local club to ride them for fun and economic survival.

 

[loquin]

Actually, in many states they're legal. Most states have limits of one form or another (generally either engine size or top speed) for the mb to remain being treated as a bicycle, or a version of moped, but, they're usually not so bad that you can't operate within the law.

 

[mlcorson]

Sam:
I like the fact that it is still a pedal powered bicycle. I can pedal and enjoy riding on trails and other places..shutting the motor down on those occasions. I also have much greater range as the motor is there to take me as far as I want and still pedal back...if I want to. I owned a Honda 50, and that was too close to a regular vehicle. At a local street art fair, I couldn't find a place to park my bike...the police told me I could just walk it through...can't do that with a scooter. IMO, a scooter disqualifies you as a pedestrian. Bottom line, I like the mechanical aspect, but also like the freedom of a bicycle.

 

[Hammond Egger]

What motivated me was I didn't get to have a motorbike when I was 15, I had to wait until I was 16. Now I have four of them.....just because I can.

 

[Slackbiker]

Yeah, the being different is a big thing. On Tour the "WTF look" doesn't even begin to cover it. People (hundreds, probably close to a thousand in the last 3 years; people remembered me from 2 years ago in Idaho this summer) think I'm a genius, or an alien ("Are you real?"), or back in the days of $4 gas, some kind of saviour. They pull along side me, or pull off the road (even a tour bus full of old retired German Engineer types), or chase me down the street on foot. It is very comical. "Rock stars (small r)" invite me to sit at the "friends table", or go to afterpartys. Cute young "hippie" girls think I'm way kewl, though one should probably have a car to "follow-up" on that energy, so there's a big disadvantage. People really want to hang-out at campgrounds and discuss interesting new things. As a former tour bicyclist, I thought I would catch some grief for having a motor; far from it. My bike or I has been surrounded by fans, a football team once. I come back to where my rig is parked, and people are on their knees, writing in notebooks. My rig has paid for itself practically in free beer alone. People love to buy me gas, they think it's a real hoot, costs them 50 cents. Buying gas is always a laugh for me, 50 cent fill-ups. If I pedal a lot, I get close to 400 miles per gallon, though that is a misnomer, I should say over the course of 400 miles, a gallon of gas makes things a lot easier. A cop in Santa Fe tore up a drinking in a public park ticket, after I gave him a demo, so much for harassment.
The pedal bike thing is real big for me. I pedal most of the time. I also can quickly load it on mass transit, even bike racks, or toss it is the back of a pick-up truck or even in a van, when people stop and offer. I can also carry it over fallen trees on trails, or even hide it and go backpacking for awhile. A MB isn't quite as free as a bicycle, but also far less painful. I've "compared" 9 miles up Sedillo Hill out of Socorro into gale winds with and without a motor...
The easy maintenance is also huge, I've dealt with mechanics on the road, not fun.
Yes, and a few teenagers have gotten the non-license thing, to the consternation of their parents, but it is a lot safer than a motorcycle.

 

[professor]

This is a good question. Glad you asked.
We all like bikes. Most of us have been riding bicycles our whole life.
I first saw a china HT kit at my son's house and I was blown away by it.
Thought it was fantastic- great design. Ended up here after a search.

This state (NY) is atrocious for laws.
I have a Honda 90 trail in the old garage, it has been there for 20 years. It is neither fish nor foul. Too slow for the car lanes- too fast for the side of the road.
I will not have a big motorcycle again. Too dangerous.
The motored bike (made legal / mopeded) is great. A lot safer than a cycle. Fun, pedal when I want.
NO state inspection hassle. Plate is 10 bucks or so a year, insurance $50.
Who hasn't wanted one since being a kid?

 

[Porkchop]

Who cares about gas milage ? Either you can afford it or not. I have a motorized bike for pleasure riding. In South Carolina I'm not required to have tags or insurance. I'm legal as far as our laws state. Never had a problem with cops, and kind of looking forward to the day if and when I do get pulled so I can tell them about my bike. I have no reason to be scared. I can ride it anywhere a peddle bike is allowed except on bike trails or any place where it's posted "No Motored Vevicles Allowed". In that case I can always peddle it on those trails. And there are several motor kits that are very dependable, especially if you use Japanese name brand engines with them.

 

[SimpleSimon]

For me, an MB is a Godsend. Like a lot of folks here, I've been a life-long bicyclist, but the last decade has been very rough, health wise. I have one hand, with two working fingers and a thumb, and I have no sensation in my legs below the knees. Riding a two-wheeler is entirely a thing of the past, for me.

I am building myself a tadpole recumbent with an R/S 36 cc 4 stroke engine using a GEBE drive train, since my previous delta trike with an HT engine got smashed while parked by a hit and run driver. The trike lets me enjoy the ride again, and since I am legally handicapped I am able to get it prescribed by my Doctor as a "handicapped mobility device", which means I can ride it anywhere a bike can go.

My Doctor rides his bike to his office about three days a week, and he loves the idea of having an MB, so he and I are discussing building one for him to use. Also, like a lot of the guys have said, the darned things are people magnets, and I like meeting new people.

 

[spad4me]

The roads here are so bad a motorized bicycle .
is usually faster than a car.
A lot more fun too.
No registration no insurance no license needed.
Even the police use them , off duty.
Great exercise too.