Why do you ride a motored bike?

[Deleted member 12676]

I was in Ecuador at the time and the laws didn't let tourists have drivers license so I had a local dealer install a 48cc Grubee engine in my bike.
So I want to know about others. Why a MB and not a car or motorcycle?

 

[Arty]

Just for fun. I also have two motorcycles - a '75 Triumph, and a '69 Honda, but the bike is just more fun.
Also, at least here, you can get away with - no license, and no helmet. - - I'm not saying it's a good thing, or a smart thing riding without a helmet, but I do enjoy the freedom of just going out on the spur of the moment and going for a ride without a bunch of extra gear. - - - Dumb or not, so far it's my choice, and I love the feeling of freedom.

 

[Wolfshoes]

I ride a motored bike because the a preferred bike is not offered for sale. My first choice would be a light weight 150 cc motor driven cycle weighing about 150 lbs. Pitster Pro offered one as an Enduro model but withdrew them from the market. Probably just as well. There was no VIN and the engine probably had the clutch and gears of a 50 cc bike and would not last long. I was over pursuaded into the HT type by exaggerations of how fast they could go out of the box. A video on a Michigan dealer web site of a young man showing his motorbike and saying how it could go 50 mph comes to mind. As it happened, I did not buy my engine kit from this dealer. As it turned out, it was more legal to ride in my two state, four county area than I would have thought. I have had no issues with any level of law enforcement. There is a situation here that would be favorable to the marketing of motorbikes and I have built one that looks suitable for resale. All the better with a recent Gasbike engine than the EPA Grubee engine. If liability and EPA issues could be resolved, then there would be room to increase exposure in this area. Many local tasks that are done by car using 4 oz of fuel per mile can be done, in most of the year, by a motor bike using 1 oz per mile. It's nice to have an option in place to use less fuel to the extent safety and the law allows. I was riding in a nearby town turning past the Main St. pub when a man who just walked out the front door says, "That is so cool!". Laughing at it does not happen. On the flip side, if liability issues are resolved and the EPA gets out of the way a chain like Walmart could sell them by the millions. The environment is not taken that seriously yet.

I could also add that with the know how and brain storming of a forum group, it may be possible to build the lightweight environmentally friendly motorbike ourselves the Japanese for so long have refused to sell. We just need the U.S. government to get out of the way.

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

On the practical side I'm building mine because I love cycling but the beautiful remote places I like to go to camp, fish, snorkel etc. are just a bit too far away for pedal power alone with the kit I need to carry, way too far if there's a headwind.
Headwinds can be very bad here on the coast and I have run out of food and water (and humour!) a few times when the journey home took too long.
I have been woken by cops after being forced to camp in unsuitable places. I have fallen asleep on the bicycle after trying not to stop and camp mid-journey.
I have tried carrying more supplies but then the rides take even longer and then that feeds back.. The weight increases exponentially and the number of days I need to have free does too.

But mostly I like the puzzle and the learning new things about bikes. I have always enjoyed building my own bicycles but I want to do something more creative with my road and touring bikes than just changing out parts for lighter ones, or trying to find a saddle that gives me painful sores just a bit later!
This seems like the best way to create something new, unique and interesting, as well as much faster over long distances.

 

[Frankenstein]

Did not have a license, did not have a vehicle, wanted to set the buses, bus drivers, bus station on fire... Motorized bikes were a better option, I mean I could possibly get off with justifiable homicide but it would be next to impossible to get out of the felony arson charges...

And it helped me make new friends.

 

[WINDY CITY BOB]

ive always ridden bikes now, getting older knees giving out shoulder,elbow, arthritus from all the surgeries and metal left in my body.

 

[WINDY CITY BOB]

5 RT Shoulder,/2 RT Elbow,/ 2 RT Knee,/ 1 Left leg at the back of the knee reattached leg. always where helmut!
no more T.B.I. needed. and a few minor operations here and there. thats why. i would love a harley but,,,,,, i dont know if i trust my knees?

 

[butre]

can't afford a cab every day, no bus route through my neighborhood, can't afford the jacked up insurance that goes with my ataxia, can't just sit around the house all day.

plus, I'm a hot rodder at heart. I love cramming silly engines into things not meant for it.

 

[RavenTBK]

I guess I'm more practical. In my job, I have to shuttle semi tractors about 20mi up the road for service on a regular basis. I tried simply doing an Uber every time, but come to find out the Uber folk usually dont come out as far as my company's drop yard. So I can only realistically get a ride one way, and not the other. When it comes time to go pick them up, I was always stuck walking several miles up the highway to the into range of an Uber.

The bike solves the problem. I can easily toss it up on the catwalk, go to the drop, and ride back, usually faster than it takes for the Uber to even arrive. Whereas an enduro or the like would be rather difficult to lift and lower.

At the same time, the wife has decided she wants to ride more often. I'm not much for exercise, so I can putz alongside, and we've strapped a bungee between my rear rack and the front of her frame a few times when she has gotten tired.

 

[AquaManAndy]

License was revoked when I was 19. Anybody wondering license revoked is not suspended revoked is permanent. Im almost 30 and my wife drives but i fell in love after years of pedaling a normal bike. Im not a mechanic and the ht engines in particular can be frustrating but when im riding i feel more free than people driving cars or motorcycles no needing license, registration, ride on sidewalks, trails, park my "car" wherever i can chain it up much closer to the entrance than a car can park minus handicap. Pennys on gas and the overall build is much cheaper than any car or moped and the facts are clear cut on why i ride