The heart of any motored bicycle is the motor

The Robin/Subaru is a great motor and paired up with the GEBE system makes for a great trouble free basic transportation machine that can cover long distances cheaply.


http://robinamerica.com/series.aspx?sid=21


I have posted about the "Happy Time" motor and even the seller of them and her bikes says that you  have to have a lot of mechanical aptitude to ride one of her bikes. An admission of their unreliability!
Check out this Robin engine and its 3 year warranty and I think you will see why I choose this small engine.
Modern materials and design for a micro engine.

MBCC

First failure of GEBE wear item at 3200 miles

On my way home from work on Friday night my drive belt failed. So I changed out the drive belt with my spare in the dark only my bike lights and it took about 5 minutes to replace the failed belt! I was told that I am doing really well on my drive belt miles. These belts are cheap as opposed to gas and oil that it would take to get me down the road in my car. About 20 bucks. My other failure was the strap that attaches the engine to the frame and that was my fault and in spite of my not understanding how to properly install this system I got 1700 miles out of that drive strap!
So my maintenance costs for 3200 miles is one drive belt and about a quarter of a quart of oil for a total of about 21 bucks and about 16 gallons of gas! So that's about 70 bucks for gas oil and maintenance for 3200 miles!
Lets compare that to my econobox. I just replaced the brakes and battery and had the transmission serviced and the engine belt changed out for a total cost of near 1000 dollars. Never mind the cost of insurance and gas! Fuel costs for my econobox would be for 92 gallons of gas at an average of three bucks is 280 dollars. So in the last six months I spent 1280 dollars on my car not including insurance and 70 bucks on that bike! Well that is if I would have driven that econobox all of those miles. Most of those miles the last six months were on that GEBE/Fisher system.
This is huge money that can be saved riding one of these bikes. And if I could suggest ride a pedal bike and those costs approach zero as I plan on doing for part of my transportation mix.
This is interesting stuff. I have no answers just writing about my personal experiences!

MBCC

Local motored bike builder

There is a custom builder of motored bicycles in Greendale WI featuring the Happy Time engine that is either a 66cc or the racing 80cc engine by Grubee Engine.
The bikes built from them seem of good quality and on steel frames. They have a pretty neat web page featuring vintage bicycles and cruiser bicycles of course made of steel! GEBE should consider a dealer network just to sell kits so that small local shops could get high quality motors and mount them on bikes like these. Could be a great business in these times. And in my opinion if a customer was given a GEBE option along with the Happy Time option with all of the con's associated with the HT engine me thinks that it would be a no brainer decision! I was just thinking out loud here!
http://custommotoredbicycles.com/home_custom_motored_bicycles
The small company is called Lynn custom motored bicycles.
On her site it is made clear that the engines are not warrantied and the buyer must have mechanical aptitude since she is up front that these machines need constant maintenance.
The selling point is the resemblance to the old Harley Davidson motorcycles of the early 1900's.
I have 743 dollars into my GEBE kit and at first look that seems like a lot compared to an entire motored bike for the same money! However the Robin/Subaru engine has a full no questions asked three year warranty. I am not concerned with Lynn's bike frames but I am concerned with the quality of the motors and of course their displacement. In Wisconsin engine displacement for a motored bike is limited to 48cc or less so her bikes are illegal in Wisconsin. However I must point out that she did get an article in the Milwaukee journal about her business so it probably is just ignored by the police.
The reality is that it's just a matter of time until the police figure it out if enough of these bikes show up on the streets and I would suggest that she have an option for a legal displacement engine if and when that does happen. The Milwaukee area is very cash strapped and the municipalities will use any issue to generate revenue and that could mean big tickets for some.
The GEBE system is nothing new as Lynn points out on her nice website but it just refines and brings into the 21st century the notion of a power assist bicycle using modern engineering and modern engines like the Robin OH35 engine! With an engine like the Robin/Subaru on a properly set up bike with this kit mounted to it one needs little mechanical aptitude! Lynn could build up some fine GEBE kits I would expect on some of her cool bicycles. Much impressed with her site and business.

MBCC

I am now dependent on my GEBE system for basic transportation

The weather has been really bad the last few days and nights yet I road in to work and back simply since I can travel more that 100 miles on a half of gallon of gas!
Is this good or bad I do not know but with gas fast getting to four bucks I think its an option for a lot of folks.
On some of my previous posts their were some arguments from some in the cycling community in regards to motorizing a bike. It is not a simple human powered machine once you add a motor to it! Once that motor gets into play all sorts of issues come into play and I simply choose not to deal with those issues.
Let it stand that when I commute to work on my GEBE/Fisher bike I am on high traffic roads with great wide shoulders to stay out of the way of cars. If I were to ride my high end Orbea bike I would choose roads that would have quite a different appeal. But with issues of point A to point B I will take what GEBE has to offer.
Really it has worked out for me quite will in my over 3200 miles of commuting! And as always I know that it is a great sacrilege to put a motor on a bicycle no matter how much sense it might make!

Nine

For the long run

Well I just want to post about the motorized bike community and how it sells kits.
There is GEBE and then there is the rest of the "so called" sellers of kits on the Internet.
The happy time engine is a late '40s design and sent to China for cheap reproduction.
This engine runs off of a 17/1 oil mixture which is a very obnoxious combo of pollution to any buy stander when one of these bikes passes with one of these engines on it.
This engine is not even legal to import into the US but these slimy importers get them in as parts only and then reassemble them as kits for resale in the US market. No law to prevent this type of stuff.
In the long run what I see happening is a bunch of pissed off cyclists going over to there state legislators and getting laws passed to ban motored biking in any form. This will happen unless those with some responsibility and who have little to do with short term profits step up to the stage.
We as motored bikers have a chance to influence any impending legestration with our efforts.

MBCC

Motored biking and fitness

Our first Tuesday night race/training ride occurred this Tuesday night with a distance of  about 35 miles or so with almost a 20 mile per hour average speed. What was interesting for me was my fitness level coming off of the Winter months with my only exercise being my motored commute to work and back basically two days per week on average through out the Winter. I was simply amazed with how fit I was on the racing bike on this very fast and intense workout ride! My climbing was good and so was my speed on the flats! Julie over at GEBE told me about this effect for fitness and their power assist system. I kind of blew those statements off but found out that these bikes with these systems can be a great workout if you want it to. The more you assist  the better your work out and of course the better the fuel economy a win win situation for sure.
Out on the open road on that motored bike I simply will not talk at all to my "spandex brethren" since their attitudes towards motorizing a bike is a great sin but those who see this system when it is properly explained jump on the band wagon of this being a great idea!
I will break 3000 miles tomorrow with no major problems. The drive belt is starting to show a slight amount of wear but still looks good to go!
I put the 100psi 1.5 inch slicks back on to the bike replacing the 2.2 inch studded mountain bike tires and did general maintenance on the bike. About 45 minutes worth of work no big deal!


MBCC

This site is about realty on the open road

I have no axe to grind with cycling culture nor any axe to grind with anyone who wants to put a motor on a bicycle! With that said my state the state of Wisconsin has put a restriction of 49 cc or less on a motorized bicycle. It still is a bicycle under law. No insurance nor any of that nonsense. It is a reasonable restriction that I hope will continue since I simply depend on this to continue as a way of life and a way of continued independence from gouberment interference.
It is as simple as that..

MBCC

First motorist hostile contact while on a motored bike

I was on my way to work when a guy beeps his horn as he passes me nearly running me into the curb and finally whipping me the bird! Well I was on a four lane road with a wide shoulder and he came into the shoulder to harass me!
This gentleman turned into a tavern after messing with me so I just had to do a U-turn to have a "discussion" with this idiot. When I approached his car he got out of his car and he was a fat pot bellied fool with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and I said "what did I do to you?" And he said that I was in the way and that I was a focking asshole! And he was drunk as a skunk to! I said you need to be a little more polite on the road or you might get your ass kicked! He said lets go and I just thought to myself that this just would not be a fair fight. He was fat out of shape and drunk! So I just laughed got on my bike and continued on my way.
BTW, his car was still at that bar 8 hours later on my way home from work! Incredible!

MBCC

My credit card is salvation

You simply slide it into the gas pump and you need no contact with the stupid sheepish SUV drivers and there fat asses buying lottery tickets! I mean I just don't want to answer any of their stupid questions about my bike and its motor. I think the reason for it is glaringly obvious right?
If you can not figure it out why I ride this bike to work and back you are a brain dead idiot and I just don't need to talk to you. I mean a lot of folks that I talk to about that bike are like 300 lbs and I know no way in hell will give up there truck for a bike with a motor on it to save a ton of money. So the credit card in to the gas pump is my salvation.
When I hop on that bike to go to work my business day has started and the credit card at the pump just keeps things in a business like manor.

MBCC

'tude from the minimum wage gas guy

I mean I am on my way to work and I stop for gas and I get a bunch of attitude from the overtly homosexual gas station guy about my bike and my bucks worth of gas. I mean I wanted to just slam that guys head into the wall but as my very open mindedness prevailed I just ignored him and paid my minimal toll to the oil company's and the secret powers that be!
So fock you big oil! In a few weeks I plan on pedaling non motored a couple of days a week ya got to love free ride to work and back!

MBCC

Lottery tickets at the gas station

I mean I need gas for my bike so I fill up the Robin tank and my two fuel bottles for a total of $1.74 and I go in to the station to pay in cash and what do I get? A bunch of fat assed women lottery ticket buyers hogging the line to pay! I mean scratch your ticket somewhere else other than in the way of the crazy motored bike commuter! I mean give me a focking break here. So from now on I pop the credit card in to the station pump that way no interaction with the brain dead SUV drivers buying lottery tickets and complaining that it costs over a hundred bucks to fill their tanks. And I know why they need big trucks to haul there carcass around!
I have absolutely nothing against the state lottery but I have a lot against fat asses hogging the gas station line making me late for work. Its simple business here. I need to get to work and the fat asses are irrelevant with my credit card at the pump. Problem solved!

MBCC

2700 miles and counting on my commuter bike

I just hit 2700 miles on my GEBE/Gary Fisher build this past week. Still riding the same drive belt. I pedal assist 95 % of the time to help the engine and to get just a bit of a workout on the way to work.
The GEBE kit is an absolute proven system in my mind and any of you happy time riders can just watch and learn as I put this system through its paces. Lets figure it costs 50 cents per mile to operate a car in the United States. So lets figure I have saved nearly 1400 dollars so far in commuter expense over my car. Lets see that's over twice what it cost to buy this kit. I fully expect things to break down including my bike but its just way cheaper to go this route IMO.
Ride what ya want and be happy but this is a cutting edge motored biking site!
I am taking off the full studded 2.5 inch mountain bike tires and putting the 1.5 inch slicks back on to the bike today! That should make for some better fuel economy for sure.
Happy time riders need to step up their Internet presence into the real commuter world as I see things. I just don't think that those contraptions will hold up like my system has over time.
Again ride what ya want but please post some relevant facts once in awhile!


MBCC

What is most relevant in motored bike culture?

I think that my blog is absolute cutting edge in to what is going on. Its not about some cheap Chinese engine kit but actual big mile commuting on a super reliable system!
I have a lot of friends that will put 50 miles on their motored vehicle to come to a group bicycle ride and in a big truck that might get 15 mpg. Well lets figure that will cost at 3.50 per galleon about 12 dollars their and back.
So what! Let them do what they want. 12 bucks gets me almost 3 weeks to work and back! So cycling is not so green after all as they say. Put it on the rack and drive it over to the ride!
I was over on the MBC site for just a few minutes and saw its irrelevance in the real world that we face!
Just saying! Could care less what any happy time folk have to say they are simply irrelevant! Its about getting to point a to point b that matters and what I am posting on this blog is very very cutting edge for any motored biker.
Think what ya want and most importantly ride what ya want.

MBCC

Who Controls what is cycling?

The folks that control cycling are the folks that sell and buy cycling related gear. That's why I warned you motored bikers about this industry and how it would be wise to make a friend or two in this industry.
I post regularly over on a cycling site called BikeJournal.com which is a site that allows folks to log in how many miles that they cycle. I posted on their forum about my motorized bike and as I expected met with mixed results as far as response to this idea in this economy. Many desperate folks were quite enthusiastic about my idea and GEBE of course! So I just pointed them to this blog. Might have to post some kind of primer on how to build a motored bike!
They have a group of folks who keep track of commuter mileage so I thought here would be a place to post about this option for commuting. A human powered and power assist system for logging large miles like I do. I was banned from doing so. I do plan on using my regular pedal bicycles to commute to work but not until the weather gets a bit better. I have noticed a lot of folks on this site are boomers and have little knowledge or will not admit to knowing what is really going on in this horrible economy! It's their loss since I could show many how to save a ton and I mean a ton of money on basic transportation!
I think that gas will hit five plus dollars per galleon! I paid 3.49.9 to fill up the bike tank and fuel bottles for a grand total of $1.94 yesterday. This will give me at least two days of commuting probably more. A half a galleon of fuel for 128 miles? I'll take it...

MBCC

To Augie

Augie,

Hope things are going well for you!
I have been posting a bunch of stuff about my motored bike commute to work on my site.
Trying to entertain  and educate.
Well what can I say?  It is about the bike after all as Lance says. But I say its about getting from point A to point B in whatever  way one wants to. Its not about the police asking you where you came from or where you are going its about going to wherever on whatever. Simple as that! It is none of the polices business what you are doing on an open public street. Its called I will do what I want when I want and if I am not breaking any law leave me alone.
I have noticed at least in Wisconsin without that tag its hard to track you. So motored biking rocks as far as I see things at least for personal freedom in personal transportation.

The real crazy motored bike commuter