OH Yea, lots of fun exploring on my bike while RVing. Pic is from 2006 when everything was brand new.
Still got the RV and still got my M/B they both still look brand new. But no RVing this year cause the Virus.
Nice setup. And I guess I never looked too closely at your M/B before. That looong exhaust along with the white walls... Only thing I'd want different if I had that exact bike would be a fire engine red paint, but the blue is awesome too!
About 7 years ago with a Class B motorhome I had, I carried 2 (non-motorized) bikes: an old 80s Schwinn road bike and a cheap Chinese mountain bike I paid $50 for new at a pawn shop. Which bike I used depended on the riding situation. I used the road bike a lot in Benson AZ on city streets/sidewalks for a couple months to go get groceries. I used the mountain bike in Quartzsite, AZ and around Slab City since I needed the off-road traction in sand. I had rear racks on both bikes and used these huge pannier bike bags for hauling stuff.
That's why I'm thinking that I want both the Stingray (maybe just for pedaling) and a dedicated 4 stroke cruiser. The idea of messing with the clutch is a pain, as well as having to carry a separate 1 gallon gas can for premixing 2 stroke fuel, given my limited cargo space. I already carry gas for my small generator, so sharing it with a 4 sroke bike is no big deal. Oil changes are less of a hassle than fuel/oil mixing.
I addition, I'm not real fond of the idea of a coaster brake on a motorized bike as the Stingray has, and the clutch switch mostly prevents you from having a rear brake lever, though I did see an aftermarket dual brake/clutch lever out there.
I don't care about modding the engine as some people do with the 2 stroke kit. I just want something that will run and get me around. So, I think the 4 stroke kit might be better suited for my wants and needs. Yeah it costs twice as much, but it has twice the convenience: no clutch lever, no pre-mixing fuel, pull start, etc. Plus the bike it will go on won't need added front brakes, a special brake/clutch lever, an extra fuel can, which all eats into the "savings" of 2 stroke vs 4 stroke.
I typically walk my dog a lot when I go places, but I also sometimes want to go somewhere by myself (ie store or post office) without walking or driving the motorhome. The last two summers in a tiny SD town where I stayed, it was only about 1-1.5mi to the grocery store so I mostly walked it, but a bike would have been SOOO much nicer for hauling back 20lbs of groceries. Once or twice a month I would have to go drive to the store because I needed so much all at once that it would have taken 2-3 walking trips. It was 0.4 mile to the post office, but a ~20 minute walk round trip to check a potentially empty PO box stinks.
I have found both a lighter weight bolt-on tube, as well as a heavier duty one. Naturally, the lighter one is cheaper (China made) and the heavier one is more expensive (USA made). I'm leaning towards the more expensive one below since it has more surface area height wise, even when compared to the first one I found and posted about before. That is where all the support needs to be for more evenly distributed weight/pressure to minimize the chance of bending the bumper when hitting hard bumps.
No hurry on buying it though, since I don't need it until September or October.
If this wasn't my long term lifestyle, I wouldn't bother with any bike. I mean, I've gotten by for 3+ years without one, but I have basically wanted at least a pedal bike this entire time. Will I get enough use out of 'em to justify the cost? Maybe not. Do I want them anyway? Definitely.
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