Winter rolling?

The time of ruduced traction is apon us, and this year I plan to attempt winter biking! I'm told it can be done though I admit I have been a real baby about the cold this year. I want to build another motorbicycle so bad, I want a scooter or moped too. Why do I want so much stuff?

Oh yeah, I'm a guy lol.

I still want to get a electric motor on ratspeed so I can make "Power Wheels for grownups!" On the note of power wheels I found a 15.6 volt 3amp hour battery drill for $16. I got two batteries, drill and charger. The kids toys are just a little faster, run for a half hour, and recharge in an hour. One more ride has been added to the kids collection too! A Peg Perego Ducati Monster! It features rubber tires, suspension, high and low speed, training wheels, lights and sounds. The best part is when she gets older she can ride it no training wheels! It's that fast! So next stop, helmets. Bella has been riding the four wheeler Adam gave us years ago. She really likes the 18volt battery but it only makes it 15 minutes. I'm looking around for a 18 volt 3amp hour battery for her, nothing yet. She just loves going fast. Even though we ain't got much money we keep getting all these fun toys to ride, just gotta say thanks God. Keep rolling!

Be the motor...

Sometimes in this life we forget that we can do the work ourselves. This is overly true in America. One of the reasons I haven't got around to building another motor bicycle besides the lack of cash is that I have found it can be fun just to be your own motor. Just riding bicycle lately the morning has opened my eyes to the fact that as you ride near the main roads I can't even hear my own headphones. It reminds me that not too long ago people didn't have the constant hum of the freeway. Back to the current world, in my bicycle trips I have met people who don't own a car. I have to say the idea amazes me. I know people in rural areas couldn't live without their cars, but my father in law lived in Mora and for the warm half of the year he would ride bike or walk to work. I hope to find a job that can support my family and let me bike or walk to work.

I just saw Eat Love Pray and love how in every part of the world the main person didn't have a car. In fact she walked through most of the movie. How come none of us can do that?

18 Volts! 18 Volts!

If you have the joy of children and a lot of money you get to put them in a slow moving brightly colored Power Wheels (don't forget the s on Wheels when shopping on craigslist) with a cute little radio and pictures of your favorite cartoon pasted all over it. If your poor and have children you use craigslist and find one without a battery for ten or fifteen dallors. They are sun faded, cracked and missing parts. Then you figure out how to run them on "alternative fuels" which is not to be confused with better, faster or cleaner, just cheaper than something stamped "Power Wheels". I give you the 18 volt Harley Davidson! This thing runs on a Tool Shop nickel cadium cordless drill battery from Menards for $15. It can be recharged 500 times, works in freezing conditions, last about 10min. and weighs almost nothing. It only takes one hour to recharge too, not to shabby. The extra voltage gives a boost in speed too, but man does that wiring get hot. Nothing has melted yet so let her fly!



The best part is I can use the battery in the Hello Kitty Motorcycle once the kids learn to ballance! The fact that it only goes 10min is important, otherwise they could escape from home, just kidding. I can wire in other batteries latter to make the bikes run longer, but I just wanted to see how well it ran first and I am impressed.

Still poor, still rolling...

The smoke, clatter and clank of life is behind you. The shake and push of combusted chemical is in you. Ahead of you is is the wind, the road, and the things your trying not to hit!

I took the Katana out on a ride with the CMA and discovered their average speed was around 90 mph. This is not what I consider rolling but more like testing my faith in the fact that God doesn't want me dead yet. In all fairness they warned me that they were a faster group than some of the other chapters. I'm hoping to work in a slower ride but they are shutting down for the season so I doubt I will get the chance.

This is part of my hobby that drives me crazy, all winter now I'll watch other people that still make cards, paint pictures, or knit and I'll be over in the corner going crazy with nothing to do. You say things like I'll rebuild my bike over the winter, but then it's cold and who wants to do that? The transmission went out on our 01 Impala so we had to sell our worldly goods to make ends meet. When your down, you just gotta keep rolling.

I started a new project, a rat rod ten speed that will hopefully get a electric motor to help push it along. Check it out.

Who cares?

Yeah! So if you haven't noticed blogging is not my strong suit. I haven't posted since April, and it's August. On that note who cares? I don't see this as any part of my life's work to blog. It is what it is :)

So I've been riding my Katana form time to time. It's cleaned up nicely since winter storage and has become quite the street bullet. Of course the rear tire is wearing and the chain is streching, but that's normal for a rocket. I've been on a ride with the riders in the son (a Horizons Church based group of riders) but found I was the only one there with a wife and kids at home. I'm still looking for that place I fit in. I'm looking at riding with a Christan Motorcycle Association group called Godspeed next and they all ride rockets. It will be a real change of pace I'm sure.

I sold my motor bicycle, again. I thought it would help someone out but they just resold it and crashed it. I think it's time for a new approach on the motorbicycling building. Not for my own bikes but if I'm going to put them together for people they are going to have to bring the parts. I can't afford to build them and hope someone will buy them. So there will be one more boardtrack. Third times the charm right?

Adam asked if I wanted to ride the Katana to first Thurs this month. Most everyone I know don't like riding downtown so I was shocked he was up for it. So I missed out on the Velodrome races but had some cheap pizza and a Dew. Life is good. He's all ready planning next months ride too! I'm trying to wrap my head around the Minneapolis Mess Around coming up in September. I first heard about this rockabilly event at the Bluecat Motors open house. Gotta love Bluecat, check 'em out.

As the early 70's movies used to say "More to come?"

Rain, rain go away

It's been slow on the rolling and heavy on the poor lately. After a brush with reapplying for unemployment we're still getting by on crutches that will undoubtedly be taken away one day. I'm trying to rebuild my Tomos motor. The story on the Tomos is that I bought it in high school from a co-worker at a tree farm for twenty bucks. Someone decided instead of gaskets to rebuild the motor with RTV silicone. The piston was stuck to the walls and I had to beat it out with hammer. The cylinder and piston are shot. The lower end and transmission seem to be in working order. I've seen people put top ends off of other motors onto mismatched lower ends. I'm hoping I can put a bicycle motor top end onto the Tomos bottom. I'll still need wheels and tires, brakes, and so much more. Part of being poor is working on it yourself, even when you don't know what your doing. Keep on rolling.

Slow is the way

So I finished my second motor bicycle. I used money from the selling of my trike to buy a 80cc (which is really 66 or so cubic centimeters). The frame and the motor met for the first time much like the first bike I built had, in the laundry room. My two girls danced around taking tools and parts just to see me yell. When I was all done I took a step back to take it all in and it was nothing like how I thought it would turn out. Oh well, gas in and let's ride. The thing rides just like I thought, almost exactly like the last one. Speed is about thirty when I'm feeling brave. The max I've gone is thirty five point eight. I've attached an LED headlight and tail light since I only get to ride when it's convient for the whole family. I'm dreaming of a nice summer day ride with a can of throwback Mountain Dew that I'm saving. This motor kit didn't come with a brace for the muffler like the last motor kit. The other thing that's got me worried is I keep having to bend the frame to get things to fit. Oh the things a hammer can fix.

I thought I would try a thirty two tooth sprocket on the bike. this really lowered the rpms at thirty mph but I lost all the power. It turns out you just have to turn a ton of revs to push a dude on a bicycle with a two stroke motor. I know, who would have thought? So we're back to the fourty one tooth sprocket that came with the kit. After putting it all back together I tried taking it out on a long ride. I made it three miles out and a washer snapped in half causing the rear tire to come loose on one side and start rubbing the frame. Of course I had no tools so I had to walk the thing home. I called it a night. The next day while the kids took a nap I straightened it all back out. I went to take a test ride once my wife got home from work. I made it ten feet and ran out of gas. It's funny when you find out no matter what you where going to be walking. I'm learning what the boyscouts taught me all over again, "Be prepared". I have yet to try another long run. While I had the smaller sprocket on I rode out over passed the airport. This is about a ten mile round trip. I had to pedal up the hills though because a lack of power. As of late the weather has turned cold, even freezing. It's going to be a while before I'm back on the road.

On another note the Katana 600cc I picked up for five hundred dallors is running great after a carbarator cleaning and changing out cylinder four's float assembely. The rear tire is starting to wear and I had to tighten the chain. That's just proof that I've been out having fun. I'm starting to hear some valve noise, time for adjustments. More to come. Keep 'em running on a wing and a prayer.