Electric Motors Prohibited

[john peck]

But not on the end of a cordless electric drill, am I right?

A ratchet should suffice

 

[john peck]

I like that, JP. Alot! I'd not mind sharing a MUP or canal towpath with a gas bike like that. I can see that as a great touring platform for someone so inclined to do so. Unfortunately though, I don't ever see the land use manager drones ever granting permission to allow these high mileage-potential bikes on county or state or federal owned trails to operate on. It's bad enough that these fiefdoms at the county level can create draconian rules against ebikes; while at the state level, Ebikes are recognized.

On the federal level Obama made them legal if 50cc or less. no faster than 20mph under power. no
manual clutch,(centrifugal only), However state & local regs. vary considerably. The cheap Chinese
chain drive kits are dangerous if not meticulously installed, & the engines can be of dubious quality.
Mine is an American Golden Eagle kit, (no longer available) & so is Japanese tanaka pure fire,
(7 yr. warranty ). It can no longer be made at a profit; thereś nothing out there with the same quality.
A 35cc Honda or Sooby´s the next best bet. They´re very quiet 4-strokes. A Staton inc.friction
kit is cheap, easy to install, but not so good in wet or muddy conditions. My electric range is good
enuff with 13ah for 50 mi. pedaling, so i very seldom ride gas anymore.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

On the federal level Obama made them legal if 50cc or less. no faster than 20mph under power. no
manual clutch,(centrifugal only), However state & local regs. vary considerably. The cheap Chinese
chain drive kits are dangerous if not meticulously installed, & the engines can be of dubious quality.
Mine is an American Golden Eagle kit, (no longer available) & so is Japanese tanaka pure fire is,
(7 yr. warranty ). It can no longer be made at a profit; thereś nothing out there with the same quality.
A 35cc Honda or Sooby´s the next best bet. They´re very quiet 4-strokes. A Staton inc.friction
kit is cheap, easy to install, but not so good in wet or muddy conditions. My electric range is good
enuff with 13ah for 50 mi. pedaling, so i very seldom ride gas anymore.

My 1974 Aquabug outboard motor (bought as a Christmas gift for me by Mom & Dad waaay back then) is a 1.2 hp Tanaka powerhead. Still have it to this day and though it hasn't been run in about 40 years now, I figure a carb cleaning, new fuel lines and spark plug & she's good to go. In the early 80's, Sears sold a friction drive bike engine powered by this same engine. I bought a new one out of the box at a nearby Sears Surplus store, just for the powerhead, which matched my outboard.

Totally agree with your observation of how well built the Tanaka motors were. I believe my Sears Gamefisher 3.0 hp outboard is also a Tanaka motor. Over on the motorized bike forums, I've read how highly regarded those Robin-Subaru engines are.

Back when I started driving, my first CG ship saw me without my car, a 74 Camaro, thanks to the high insurance premiums NJ was ripping off from entry level drivers. So, what to do in 1977/78 but to buy a brand new AMF Roadmaster moped, powered by the 50cc 2 stroke McCulloch friction drive motor. That was a fun ride!

 

[john peck]

My 1974 Aquabug outboard motor (bought as a Christmas gift for me by Mom & Dad waaay back then) is a 1.2 hp Tanaka powerhead. Still have it to this day and though it hasn't been run in about 40 years now, I figure a carb cleaning, new fuel lines and spark plug & she's good to go. In the early 80's, Sears sold a friction drive bike engine powered by this same engine. I bought a new one out of the box at a nearby Sears Surplus store, just for the powerhead, which matched my outboard.

Totally agree with your observation of how well built the Tanaka motors were. I believe my Sears Gamefisher 3.0 hp outboard is also a Tanaka motor. Over on the motorized bike forums, I've read how highly regarded those Robin-Subaru engines are.

Back when I started driving, my first CG ship saw me without my car, a 74 Camaro, thanks to the high insurance premiums NJ was ripping off from entry level drivers. So, what to do in 1977/78 but to buy a brand new AMF Roadmaster moped, powered by the 50cc 2 stroke McCulloch friction drive motor. That was a fun ride!

I remember that Sears kit, one turned up new in box on ebay recently. garage find? Yeah, I have both
the Sooby & a honda. Sooby the best. Got it used practically free. Put on a clutch & filter, good as new,
easy, less than an hour. I´ve got a box full of engines including a Ryobi weedwhacker & couple Chinese
ones that never quite cut it. My 1st stab at electric was a bus heater fan motor with a radio rheostat
controller. Worked great for a mile ´til it caught fire.

 

[Kayakguy]

funny, for the first time yesterday i saw a guy on a mixed use path riding a bike retrofitted with a gas motor yesterday, a super noisy stinky unruffled little single stroke deal that was driving the rear wheel via a friction wheel! it had a cool steampunk vibe … but i’m guessing this is not what the jersey park managers were thinking when they called out “no electric motors”

I wonder if you mean "two stroke?" I have never heard of a single stroke engine.

 

[mschwett]

I wonder if you mean "two stroke?" I have never heard of a single stroke engine.

sorry lol, yes i meant two stroke, as opposed to
the four stroke engines in modern cars. it’s been a while since i dove deep into internal combustion engines but my recollection from the 2000s was that small two stroke engines like that are incredibly dirty. this one certainly smelled like it !

 

[Elkman]

I spent many years bicycling on California highways where bicycles of any kind were prohibited and in most cases there was not alternative route as sections of roads open to all vehicles were being replaced by freeways that were for cars only. I ignored the signs as my preference has been to bike where there are wide shoulders and are much safer for cyclists.

There is the incorrect presumption by non cyclists that bike speed is the determing factor in bike and pedestrian collisions which is largely false. If I am pedaling a non e-bike at 15 mph and someone preoccupied with their phone texting steps out in front of me I have a good chance of hitting them. It is why I avoid bike path areas where there are walkers and strollers whose movements are not predictable.

 

[gobolts]

I wouldn't pay any attention to it, just pedal your bike and enjoy yourself.

 

[folmonty]

That bites and I'd do exactly as you mentioned, "motor is OFF." That's what my wife and I do on most bike trails that are flat anyway. There's too many people, kids, walkers etc., so what's the deal. You pay for those paths just like anyone else. Use common sense and see what happens. That's my take.