Thought i was the only one...apparently not :P

gameshark39

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Mar 11, 2008
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Since I got my 2 stroke powerking engine on my bike last december, I have ridden it everywhere. The only thing is, ive never seen anyone else in vancouver with one. Its true that its basically illegal, but it didnt stop me from jumping up out of my chair on my deck when I saw some guy ride by on an 80cc bicycle. I talked to him a bit about the configuration of his motor (he had a silver gas tank :D) and now were pretty much good friends. Just wanted to share that with u guys.
 
That's good. The more of that, the better.

Just the other day a guy walked up asking about my bike. He went on to say that he was thinking about buying a complete motor assisted bike on ebay. From the questions he asked I could tell that he was already at least a bit familiar. So I tried to talk them up without making promises. Seemed like his biggest concern was police harassment. I told him, a few times, that if he bought it I didn't think that he would regret it.

Now I'm hoping to see him riding around.
 
There's an old black guy here in town, makes his living mowing lawns, trimming shrubs, and doing general gardening type stuff. His truck? A 30 year old Schwinn delta trike, with a big cargo basket on the rear, a smaller basket up front, and a trailer. He carries his weedwacker in a pair of U shaped brackets bolted just under the seat, and alongside the head tube between the basket and the fender.

I've seen him pedalling around, a lot. Well, the other day I was coming out of astore, as he was pedalling by. I hollered at him, and we talked for about a half hour. I asked him about the bike, and why he uses it - he said it's because 22 yrs ago he got drunk, and plowed his pickup into a van, killing an 8 year old boy. He spent six years in the penitentiary, and he made two vows - he'll never drink alcohol again, and he'll never drive an automobile again.

I can certainly understand both vows. He commented that the older he gets, the slower he pedals, anymore. I asked about the hills here in town, with his bike, trailer, and about two hundred pounds of tools and gear. He told me they were a real challenge, sometimes. So, I suggested motorizing his bike - he got this dumbfounded look on his face, and exclaimed, "I never even thought of that!"

He hasn't got a computer, so tomorrow I'm meeting him at the public library, and will teach him how to get online there, and show him this forum. In particular, I have in mind helping him take a big Stihl two-stroke weedeater engine (47 cc, I think) he has from a weedeater that lunched itself, and putting it on his trike, under the basket, ahead of the axle. If he is up for that, I'll gladly help how I can. I don't have any money I could invest in such a project, but I do know how things work, and I'm a pretty fair jackleg mechanic.

He isn't interested in going fast - he said 10-15 miles an hour would feel like 80 to him, nowadays. So, I figure a jackshaft arrangement to gear it down, is the way to go. He's a great old guy, who believes in hard work and self-reliance - he just needs a little help. I ain't got much, but I can help, so I will.

I think the best way to spread the word, and increase the public awareness of motored bikers as a POSITIVE assett in a community is by being a good neighbor. I don't much care if anyone knows my name, or ever is aware of my existence, but I do live in this community, and if I can contribute by helping others out, I gladly will.
 
That's awesome. I would bet that if you put out a request to this forum you might be able to drum up enough support to help the old guy out. Sounds like a worthy cause to me.
 
That's awesome. I would bet that if you put out a request to this forum you might be able to drum up enough support to help the old guy out. Sounds like a worthy cause to me.
The thought had occured to me. I'll see how it goes when I meet him tomorrow. He struck me as a very self-reliant guy, who really doesn't seem to feel he needs or deserves any charity. I respect that, a lot.

At 68 yrs old he makes his living doing hard physical work outdoors, usually in 90+ degree, 99%+ humidity weather. It clearly isn't because he isn't capable of other work - he was a banker before his accident - rather it is because it is what he wants to do.

I rather suspect that were I not myself disabled, he'd probably reject my help, as being motivated by pity. It isn't - I envy him his good health and physical robustness. I just want to make it possible for him to keep on doing what he loves to do - and it is clearly labors of love - the gardens he cares for are things of beauty, IMO.

I'll get a healthy return for my investment of time, believe me. Challenging problems, interesting design questions, and hands-on experience with motorizing a trike. I AM going to build one for myself one of these days, once I get the actual trike itself built. Toward that end I've recently made an acquaintance with the manager of a shop here in town that is the regional repair center for Lowe's garden equipment. They often get machines in on warranty returns with major defects, where it is actually cheaper to replace them than repair them, due to labor costs. So, it appears that a ready source of weedwacker, gas trimmer, and lawnmower engines at very little (or no) cost may be at hand. When they do a warranty replacement of an entire machine, they dumpster the remains.

Next I'm gonna find out how Home Depot handles the same sorts of things. There is a little old machine shop here in town that has sat empty for about 4 years now - machines all sold off. The office space at the back is 4 rooms and a complete bathroom, including a big shower that was installed to be available in emergency situations. If the owner is amenable to a rent I can afford, it would be a great place to live, with a truck sized garage door in front, 6 garage bays (3 per side) and the offices at the back to live in. I intend to offer the owner what I can afford, which will more than cover his taxes and insurance, plus I'll assume responsibility for all maintence (except structural). I hope he goes for it.

If he does, and I can get really cheap weedwacker engines, I'm gonna start collecting discarded bikes and motorizing them. There are a LOT of older retired folks in this town on fixed incomes, with old gas guzzler cars, and a LOT of minimum wage earning poor folks who need reliable transport. I figure there's no reason this town can't become the most motor bike riding town in the South.

Ingenuity I have, and patience I've learned. My kids are grown, the rest of my family is 2,500 miles away, and I want to feel like I'm accomplishing something again. The last 7 plus years have been downright miserable, since my wife's death, and I can either continue to vegetate or I can do something useful.
 
Simon. Every good deed is an investment in your community. The rewards are well worth it. I hope it all works out well for you.
 
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