Well, with fuel prices on the rise I have taken on another project that has some epic proportions on a micro scale. I have decided to build a gas Powered Bicycle. Now how is this a statement? First of all I am going green with this project. How so? The engine I chose is a Honda Small Engine used on water pumps and other things like lawnmowers. I could have paid half for the Chinese knock Off but Honda is Quality and Reliability as well as if it breaks down I have local places to take the engine for service, not ship it back to China and wait weeks! Likewise I am using a EPA and California Approved 4 stroke engine! The base bike I am building on is the Micargi Tahiti. It is a Taiwanese bike, granted but it isn't Chinese! The transmission is the EZM Qmatic which IS AMERICAN MADE and over double the cost of the Chinese one but it is far better all the way around as parts go. That is me going green. With mileage on excess of 150 MPH I am beating out motorcycles! The less I can get away with in fuel costs the better.

Oh but now the political statement. In California a gas powered bike Under 50cc does not need to be registered or insured! So I get to travel without peddling and not have to give this state any more of my hard earned money than I have to. I was thinking about getting anther econo bucket car as a secondary so I didn't get eaten alive by my truck but then I would have to pay MORE insurance and MORE registration. I found a fair medium but this project is not cheap. To be compliant for emissions I had to buy the most expensive engine available and getting it was a chore unto itself.

There are three outfits in California selling Motorized bike parts but they do not sell to California! I had to buy everything out of state except the bike and engine! So on top of that California just screed itself out of Sales Tax revenue forcing me to get what I needed out of state.

All said and done I will own a new bike that will have cost me a little over $1000 to build. In the cost though I had to think about maintenance, durability, reliability, and cost of ownership. Well, I can achieve over 40MPH on the flats with the bike I am building as confirmed by other builders I have spoken with. So to recap how am I making a political statement?

California's own laws made me buy out of state! California lost sales tax revenue to this!
I did not buy any Chinese parts! I even bought American where I could!
I am not paying for Insurance and Registration for a motor vehicle.
150+MPG, more lost tax revenue!
And I am going so green I should have gotten a green bike (But I bought a red one instead!)

I know it isn't much of a contribution to our political situation but hey, I am putting my money where my mouth is! How many people can say that much? once I am rolling I am seriously thinking about starting a web site dedicated to Gas Bikes!

It will be two weeks before all my parts arrive but this is one thing that will be a pic on my profile when I get it rolling! I can't wait becasue I got a few Bike trails to punish! I wonder if I should fly a flag from the back of it that says, "Leaner, Greener, and I don't pay registration fees either!!!"

Here in Calgary; we have electric scooters for about $1000.00, they don't need any gas, don't need to be registered, insured, or licensed.

Here is a pic of the base Mike I am building on!



this is the bike I wanted to do it to but the engine I chose would not fit no matter how I mounted it...




This is the Engine I purchased, for just under $400 new (OUCH OUCH OUCH!).



There are kits available using this engine but I am a glutton for punishment! I am piecing this bad boy together myself!

But hey...



the base bike just looks tasty!

I almost went with this bike instead but I did not want to have to repaint the damn bike the color I wanted...

You do have to have a place to plug in though and it takes hours to charge them usually. All I need to do is find a gas station and since I am using a 4 stroke, I don't have to mix oil in my fuel!

A bike of the caliber of what I am building if purchased starts about $2000 retail.

You can buy 2 stroke gassers for about $400 complete but Two strokes are fickle and prone to break down as in total self destruction.

Electric IS nice and clean and very quiet but there are not a lot of places to plug in if your batteries run down on the road.

I am not knocking electric, it just has range limitations I don't like. I am strapping on a 2 gallon fuel tank top the back of the bike. My bike should be able to exceed 300 miles on a tank! There is not an electric built that can boast that range!

Ah I see. I just thought you were trying to find another way around the oil companies gouging us.

I am cutting DOWN on state and big business gouging us. I would love to find the means to cut them completely out but that is not very likely to happen yet.

Now if I could find a small engine that burns Alcohol... We got a whole new conversation! I don't think converting the one I got would be easy or inexpensive. I am sure it could be done but I would have to raise the Compression Ration from cheap gas burning 8:1 to about 12:1 (Premium only) and then I would have to change the cam out for one with the right timing to burn alcohol effectively. Now my fuel price per gallon would drop significantly since we have supplier where I could get 55 Gallon drum loads of fuel for about $60. That predisposes I choose to burn nasty methanol or not. It may burn "Clean" but it's exhaust STINKS! Ethanol is a little more expensive but burns cleaner. Methanol is corrosive, ethanol is not anywhere near as corrosive. Both are Hygroscopic fuels though meaning they will mix readily with water and will pull it out of the air itself. Also cold starts (temps below 0C) are not happening with Alcohol unless you add a little gasoline which also helps keep water out of the fuel.

As it stands I am pinching pennies so hard Abe Lincoln himself is feeling it in heaven. Starving the State for money might get a message across for them to get responsible instead of taking their irresponsibility out on us. Cutting WAY back on fuel usage MIGHT manage to crimp big business's greed if enough people can get their act together instead of complaining and fueling up their SUVs!

Besides, I can take my motorized bike on the beach trails and show off!

So how can you tell when an Italian motorist is happy?

They get bugs in their teeth!!!

I am just cycling and walking right now so trying not to use gas if I don't have to. Even got some free gas coupons so haven't bought gas for the last three months. Good luck building your bike. Post a picture when its done.

Good job Andy, I have a 71 V-Dub and it gets pretty good mileage but would love 150 miles on a gallon!

I used to have a 61 bug with a 1600 and it was not stock. I had that thing up to 120 more than once but it didn't have the excellent mileage. It however did get decent mileage. A tank of gas got me around for about a week and a half. It was the ugliest piece of crap I ever owned.

Now I realized when I revisited this post the pic of the bike I almost got did not show up...


I almost did buy this bike. It was a very hard decision becasue I wanted a long cruiser style bike.

The thing that sold me on the Tahiti was it was large enough and also bright red. It improves safety to have a bike that is seen. The Tahiti also has a very heavy frame for a bike its size. This platform lends well to motorizing and using a 4 stroke. I still want the falcon badly though. I can get a two stroke in it but then it would be what I call a shitts-and-giggles bike. You take it out for shitts and giggles, not getting around.

Another contender was this bike...



The Micargi Mustang. Unfortunately the chain guard is in the way for a 4 stroke again. I am not a fan of two strokes. When they fail they fail spectacularly and at the most inopportune times. Also you have to mix oil into your fuel and the state of CA hates 2 strokes too!

Another bike I did consider hard was this one...



The Micargi General but I didn't want a bike that someone else had already done. it does look bad though with an engine!



This one is custom dressed and the builder did a great job. The seat is a Brooks Leather three spring Bicycle Saddle (VERY EXPENSIVE). The upside down handle bars are actually in a Cafe Configuration. this was a hallmark of old school gas powered English messenger bikes.

What really sucks for me is that now I got all kinds of ideas racing through my mind.

One of them is doing a 2 stroke Falcon.



That just looks bad azz! Especially if I can squeeze a motorcycle gas tank on it!

How noisy will the bike be?





Why don't they sell to California?

EPA REGULATIONS OF ALL THINGS!

I also am installing a muffler. Not very noisy at all!

And there is one sad admission, the bike I chose was made in China! So was the rear rim. Didn't know until I got the boxed bike. Certain bikes are made in Taiwan, others China. The one consolation is this bike is really light weight! Still...

God what happened to American made?



At least my drive train is Japamerican (Japanese engine, American transmission). So are most of the peripheral parts.

If I wanted to squeeze China out of this project I would have to build a classic or European bike. Or saddle up the hundreds to buy a Felt which is German.



I am not tearing into a classic bike for this. Not yet at least.

Andy...cheers to ya!! .