The 150 MPG Project – Part 5

The remaining assembly tasks for the bike were straightforward, and, because of my school schedule, were completed in many short sessions interrupted by hours of study.  So, to make a long story as short as possible, I eventually did the following:

Finished mounting and aligning the chain

Mounted the kill switch and wiring

Used a plastic “wire loom” to contain all the loose wires

Tied down all loose cables and shortened everything that needed it

Mounted the gas tank and fuel line

Installed the speedometer, headlight, taillight assembly, and horn

The result is shown below.  The bike rides great, and the top speed of 20 mph keeps it legal under Ohio law.  So far, I have just over 100 miles on the odometer, and the gas mileage appears to be right at 150 mpg.  Mission accomplished!

The 150 MPG Project – Part 4

Mounting the engine has so far proven to be the easiest part of the project so far.   But even that relatively simple task requires a bit of ingenuity if your frame tubes are too big to fit between the bolts on the engine mounts.  My seat tube fit ok, but the downtube is too large for the standard mount.  The instructions that come with many of these kits say to drill a hole through the downtube in order to attach a mounting plate.  Call me a pansy, but under no circumstances am I willing to drill a hole through a structural tube on my frame!  I don’t recommend that practice to anyone, and Hawt Dawg Motorbikes doesn’t do it to any of their frames, either.  I used a four-hole adapter plate that came with my engine to accommodate the wider downtube, and it worked just fine.  Here’s the bike with the engine in place (the covers are removed for painting:

I should point out that almost every step of the build process involves a combination of trial and error, improvisation, and plain old “shade tree mechanic” techniques.    I have the advantage of owning a lot of tools, many of them bike-specific, and of having built several bicycles from the frame up.  Even so, this project is a challenge. 

Possibly the most frustrating (or fun, if you happen to have a masochistic streak!) is mounting the drive sprocket on the rear wheel hub.  Since the bike has a coaster brake, that has to be removed, and the dust cap underneath has to be modified to accommodate the sprocket, which clamps between the spokes and the dustcap.  Or, if you prefer, you may rebore the sprocket to fit the dustcap.  Either way, you’re going to be spending a bit of time with either a drill press, a Dremel tool, or a file (or all three) before you’re ready to mount the sprocket.    Oh, and you’ll need a vise and a hammer (or maybe a torch) to bend the brake arm to clear the sprocket mounting bolts.  Are we having fun yet?

Here’s the outboard view of the sprocket:

And here’s the inboard view:

 

The spokes are sandwiched between the fabric-reinforced rubber rings and the sprocket itself, providing force to drive the wheel.  This is called a “rag joint” by those guys who build these bikes.  Now, if you were paying attention to Part 1 of this series, you’d remember that I said I wasn’t using a rag joint, but a “pineapple adapter machined from aluminum.  Well, unfortunately, that part is on back order, so I’m doing a temporary job here in order to get the engine hooked up and running.  When the adapter comes in, I’ll remove the wheel and redo it.

Meanwhile, I’ve painted the engine covers and remounted them.  I’ve also mounted the ignition coil and the clutch lever, the left handlebar grip, and the clutch cable.   Here’s the clutch lever arrangement that came with the kit:

And here’s the motor as she looks now:

For my final comment, I’ll just point out that the reason the drive chain is not installed is that I discovered upon mounting it that it sits too far out from the wheel and strikes the frame.  So my next task will be to flip the drive sprocket over, so the “dished” surface goes inward in stead of outward.  hat way the teeth will be nearer to the wheel.  Another two hours of work ahead!

The 150 MPG Project – Part 3

The engine kit has arrived!  Here are the parts, laid out on my living room floor:

The kit does not include some items necessary to install the drivetrain, such as the pineapple sprocket adapter that attaches the drive sprocket to the wheel hub.  It also lacks the sprocket that I’ll actually use – a 50-tooth component that provides more power (and less speed) for climbing hills and staying within the 20 mph maximum allowed in Ohio. 

Not shown in the photo are the fuel tank and chainguard – that’s because they’ve already been painted silver, and are hanging in my garage:

 

The silver is a ground coat for the metallic blue paint which will follow.  The final topcoat is an iridescent clear coat with glitter mixed in.  Should add a bit of flash to the overall appearance of the bike.

Next: Mounting the engine on the frame

The 150 MPG Project – Part 2

Having acquired the bike, I consulted John Prim at Hawt Dawg Motorbikes and ordered the complete DIY kit.  This kit consisted of the following items:

• 48 cc 2-stroke  gasoline engine with carburetor, chrome muffler (including catalytic converter), engine mounting kit, air cleaner, fuel line, shut-off valve, and 2.5l fuel tank
• Front caliper brake with lever and cable
• Twist-grip throttle and cable
• Clutch lever and cable
• Chrome “bullet” style LED headlight and mounting hardware
• 150 decibel electric horn
• Hub-mounted CNC machined aluminum “pineapple” drive clamp and 50-tooth drive sprocket
• Drive chain and chain guard
• Brake light kit
• Rear view mirror

To the above, I am adding a few items of my own in order to make the bike useful as a commuter and grocery-getter:

• Rear rack with mounting hardware
• Wood deck for rack
• Handlebar mounted cupholder (gotta have that java on board!)

While awaiting the arrival of the hardware, I began the preliminary inspection  of the bike.  A full-speed ride around the Lakeland Community College campus revealed noise coming from the rear wheel.  Sounding suspiciously like a wheel bearing in need of grease, this noise has prompted me to do a complete teardown, lubrication and adjustment before proceeding. 

I’ll start by repacking the bearings in the wheels, headset, and bottom bracket.   Then I’ll adjust all the bearings to eliminate play, and recheck the bike under load to be sure that all noise has been eliminated.  Next, I’ll re-true the wheels before adding the engine drive sprocket. 

Unfortunately, it’s storming outside, and I have to leave town for a couple of days, so everything will have to wait until I’m back.

The 150 MPG Project – Part 1

This project isn’t as difficult as it might sound – I’m building a 150 mpg moped, not a car!  My original plan was to come up with a motorized bicycle to get to and from school, cruise around the neighborhood, run to the grocery store, etc.  I thought seriously about getting an electric bike, but here are the problems with electric bikes:

• They’re really puny – plan on pedaling most of the time if you expect to get any range out of an electric bike (and one thing I’m trying to avoid is arriving at school soaked in sweat and in serious need of a shower!).  Also, they don’t climb hills very well.
• They’re not as environmentally friendly as you think.  The carbon footprint of a lithium-ion battery or even a NiMH rechargeable is pretty big, and the disposal problem is worse.  Plus, the electricity we get over the grid to recharge said batteries comes from a coal-fired power plant.  Not clean.
• Best case, the bike has a range of 15-17 miles before recharging.  And the recharge takes all night and then some. 

So, rather than spend an arm and a leg on an electric, I looked into a gasoline-powered moped.   Yes, it has a 2-stroke engine, and yes, you have to mix gas and oil, and yes, it RUNS ON FOSSIL FUEL.   But not very much of it.

• The 48 cc engine kit I’m using gets 150-200 miles to the gallon.
• It’s fully EPA approved, and the muffler has a catalytic converter to reduce emissions to a whisper.
• The finished vehicle will be heavy, but still usable as a pedal-powered bike.  So I can get my exercise when I want to, and use the motor when I need to arrive clean and fresh.

I didn’t want to buy a complete, finished bike, but I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, either.  So, I decided to build a moped from a commercially available conversion kit.  I started by talking to John Prim at Hawt Dawg Motorbikes about buying one of his kits.  After I explained that 1) I wanted to do the conversion myself, and 2) I wanted to provide my own bike, John suggested that I purchase an engine and accessories kit from him.  This provided several advantages:

• John’s been building these things for a year or so, and he knows where all the potential problems are lurking, and most importantly,
• He has all the details worked out to make the moped 100% street legal in Ohio.

I collected a bit of information before choosing the bike I wanted for this project.  Motorized bikes seem to work best when you start with a steel-framed beach cruiser.  The cantilever frame design that F. W. Schwinn developed and patented in the 1930’s is now readily available on the newly-revived beach cruiser that are being mass-produced in China.   Amazingly, these frames are once again being made from high-tensile steel, instead of the ubiquitous aluminum of past years.  So, off I went to Wal-Mart, and after pinging the tubes of several cruiser bikes and rejecting them for various reasons, I settled on this:

Yep, it’s a Huffy.  Or at least as much of a Huffy as a bike can be these days, since most every bike you can name comes out of one of a handful of factories in mainland China.  But, it has all the necessary features for conversion to a moped, namely:

• 26” high-tensile steel cantilever frame with lots of weight capacity
• 2-1/8” wide balloon tires (and the whitewalls certainly don’t hurt!)
• Steel rims, spokes, and hubs for lots of strength
• Lots of room between the seat tube and the downtube for an engine mounting
• A full-length chainguard to keep grease off of pantlegs
• Full fenders to keep rain and mud (and maybe slush!) under control
• Big wide handlebars to accommodate clutch, throttle, and brake controls, and to provide mounting space for a speedometer, horn, and lights
• Rear coaster brake, and provisions for adding on a front caliper brake

I knew I’d need all of the above for a successful moped conversion.  The engine is mounted as low as possible, and a separate drive chain and sprocket provide power to the rear wheel.  That separate sprocket gets mounted on the hub, but on the side opposite to the existing sprocket and chainguard.  A new chainguard will be fitted on the engine drive side.  But I’m getting ahead of myself – first, I need to get a complete list of necessary modifications to the bike.

• Add caliper front brake and brake lever (right side)
• Add motion-sensing brake light (mounts on seat post)
• True rear wheel and mount chain sprocket for engine drive chain
• True and center chain sprocket
• Mount engine on seat tube
• Design and fabricate downtube engine mounting
• Paint and install gas tank
• Modify rear fender to accommodate engine drive chain and chainguard.
• Modify and mount engine chainguard.
• Remove and paint rear fender and engine chainguard.
• Mount rear fender, install drive chain
• Mount engine chainguard
• Mount carburetor, fuel filter, fuel line, ignition coil, and clutch cable
• Mount clutch control lever, kill switch, and throttle (left side)
• Install muffler and catalytic converter
• Install speedometer
• Install horn and headlight
• Install taillight and reflectors
• Install rear view mirror

Hawt Dawg Motorbikes will be providing everything except the bike, rear view mirror, and a few odds and ends. 

When finished, the bike will have a top speed around 20 mph (maximum speed permitted in Ohio for mopeds), and the 1/2 gallon tank will provide a range of about 75-100 miles. 

NEXT: Construction begins!

Welcome to “North Coast Environmental Matters”

This blog is intended as a clearinghouse for information on a host of subjects: recycling, local food, elimination of waste, reducing one’s carbon footprint, and alternative energy sources, just to name a few.  I intend to link to lots of blogs and websites that have good ideas for individuals and families who simply want to do their part to help save the planet.   And, I hope to be looking at some direct marketing ideas for local farmers to help all of us achieve the goal of knowing what we’re eating and where it’s coming from.

None of us is capable of undoing climate change on our own, but each of us has the ability to do small things every day that will have a positive impact.  Small daily doses of the right medicine can have a significant effect on what ails Mother Earth today.  Just for today, think about your cans and bottles – where do they end up?  If your city doesn’t have curbside recycling, try tossing those cans into a bag this week, and taking them to your local recycling center when the bag fills up.  Same thing for plastic bottles.  Then paper.  Then other recyclables.  Pretty soon you can make a game out of seeing just how small a quantity of trash you can send to the landfill each week.

Another way that we can start making changes to save the planet is to take a hard look at our food system.  Eating local produce is a no-brainer, but for most of us, that’s only possible for 5 or 6 months out of the year.  For the other 6 or 7 months, we depend upon our local grocery store to provide nutritious, healthy foods.  Considering the increasing rates of Type II diabetes, asthma, and obesity in children today, it’s pretty obvious that our food supply puts a higher priority on low price than on health and nutrition.  We could argue all day about the root cause of these threats to our children’s lifespan, but it’s obvious that factory farming became prevalent just before all these problems started to grow.   Maybe, just maybe, the fact that corn-fed beef has over six times the saturated fat found in grass-fed beef, is an indicator of why obesity is rampant in this country.  Maybe, just maybe, the fact that we now sweeten practically everything with various kinds of corn syrup, instead of cane and beet sugar, is an indicator of why Type II diabetes has become an increasingly growing threat to the health of our entire population.

I don’t know that factory farming is the root of all the problems in this country.  But I do know that factory farming practices are unsustainable.  They require the use of massive amounts of fertilizer derived, not from organic materials like manure and sileage, but from hydrocarbon compounds synthesized from petrochemical feedstocks.  Our farmlands have very little carbon dioxide carrying capacity, since we have killed practically all the flora that would ordinarily grow there.  Corn varieties have been genetically engineered to be immune to the herbicides that are used, so that only that specific variety of corn can grow in that field, and nothing else.   So now, the land lacks the microflora that once fixed vast amounts of carbon dioxide in the soil to feed plant life.  The carbon dioxide that once resided there now pools in the upper atmosphere, threatening our very existence as a species.  We sit on the brink of extinction, drinking a Coke and eating a Big Mac.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  We have a voice.  The salvation of our food system lies, not in a few  individuals railing against a massive corporate machine, but in public policy changes.  Write your congressman.  Ask where your food comes from, and buy local.   Try grass-fed beef.  Give up high-fructose corn syrup for a week.  And get educated on the subject of farm subsidies.  It’s time to convince our government to stop subsidizing a food system that could very well be shortening the lives of our children.