[Narz]

I'm thinking of ordered one of these bike motors, I spoke on the phone to a local college professor who uses one and has been fairly impressed with it (he commutes about 16 miles a day, mostly downhill one way, uphill coming home).

I had an electric bike (which I was fortunate enough to be able to resell to a hippie girl I knew with a rich father) & I was quite underwhelmed with it, both in terms of cost, weight & power (up a steep hill you'd be lucky to get 10 MPH pedaling your ass off).

I'll probably buy one of these engines within the next month or so to increase how far away I can realistically get a full time job. Unless anyone else has any even better recommendations.

[oxj]

Um, having wrecked on a bicycle at 17mph and on a motorcycle at 30mph, I think I might go for getting a moped or a small motorcycle.

I think they're more designed to be appreciated by cars as transportation, and I was certainly wearing much more crash gear.

In both cases, the helmet saved me much pain and perhaps my life. In the case of the motorcycle, this ***** pulled out in front of me just as I was approaching the intersection. I locked the front brakes, layed the bike down, and it was soooo coooool as I slid with my face just an inch away from the asphalt, totally protected in styrofoam and encased in hard plastic. My leather jacket has a slight abrasion on it, and I ended up with the classic Lisfranc fracture on the left foot, which was totally paid for by insurance. The bike was also repaired.

In the case of the bicycle, it was six a.m. and I was biking the eighteen miles down the river trail to work. I fell asleep and my right hand slipped off the handlebar, causing my left hand to force the front wheel to make a sharp right. The bike immediately halted, and my chest met the handlebars, I flew over the front of the bike and my skull slammed against the asphalt. I heard this incredible ringing, more like a trill, for about five seconds which then became a simple ringing and dissipated. It was really bizarre. I had this terrible pain in my chest because of a broken rib.

In both cases, I got a broken bone, but I think I would have faired better with more gear, more padding, more angular momentum in the front tire preventing such a sharp turn...

I really like bicycles and probably won't own another motorcycle again (at least in Detroit), but that being said, I wouldn't convert a bicycle to a submotorcycle, for the same reason that I wouldn't start adding crazy additions to a mobile home.

[Narz]

Crazy story, falling asleep on a bike, yikes!

[Revi]

We get around 225 mpg now with our solar/electric car. I drive it to work, we get around town in it. It's fun.

[Narz]

Image doesn't work.

[Revi]

Here's another:

This is the prototype. Ours is the next version.

[Narz]

Cool , how much did it set you back?

[Revi]

I built it last summer with Art Haines at his shop in Norridgewock, Maine.

http://www.sunnev.com

It was really fun.

It cost us around $5000.

[Narz]

Nice, is the insurance less on it than it would be on a regular car?

[cephalotus]

... Unless anyone else has any even better recommendations.

-> http://endless-sphere.com/forums/

[Revi]

Nice, is the insurance less on it than it would be on a regular car?

The insurance is only around $200 a year for it.

[Jotapay]

I can't wait until they come out with a decent electric motorcycle/scooter that would get 60+ mph and with a 100 mile range. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I'm eagerly waiting for something like this EVC Volta electric motorcycle, which hasn't been released for sale yet, to my knowledge.

http://www.evcusa.com/

Wheelbase: 67"
Weight: 450lb
Front Tire: 120/70 R17
Rear Tire: 190/50 R17
Power: 15KW / 20.9 HP
Torque (Motor Shaft): 27.6NM / 20.3 Ft lb
Torque (Rear Wheel): 77.3NM / 56.8 Ft lb
Efficiency: 92.1%
Maximum Speed: 80-110 MPH
0-50 MPH: 4.8 & 4.4 Seconds
Range: 75 Miles (@40-45MPH on Level Terrain)
RoadKing MSRP: starting at $9,895




This is what I'm riding right now, a scooter and motorcycle. Yamaha V-Star 650cc (~45 mpg)


And Yamaha Zuma 49cc (~70 mpg)