Looking back on all the different vehicles I’ve owned in my life, the Audi A4, TT, A6, Propane Powered GMC Van, Triumph TR7, Jeep, Motorcycles, Dirt Bikes, Go-Carts and Motorized Bikes; I can say they were each fun in there own way but nothing compares to the motorized bicycle. Being able to start it up, fly to the store at about 30-35 mph without having to worry about much of anything. I wanted to share with you some reasons WHY it became one of my favorite forms of travel the minute I got on my first motorized bike and why I recommend everyone tries it.
Gas Mileage
The gas mileage is ridiculous. You can go to town and back for pennies. I traveled many times for groceries, car parts, and other random things with a few cargo bags on the bike and also a backpack on me. The one I had was upgraded with a larger fuel tank and also spare fuel in a metal water bottle. I could go about 120 miles without a gas station on this small setup.
Maintenance
I purchased a quality small engine kit when I built mine. It was a beautiful little HONDA ENGINE and it would start first pull almost every time. Basic maintenance of a small engine and it will run for a life time. They run smooth, quiet, and reliable. I never had issues with mine but always carried a travel tool kit just in case. (One time I forgot it and needed it to adjust something so I had to pedal all the way home with a full backpack. Still better than pushing a motorcycle or calling a tow truck though!)
Insurance
Motorized bicycles require no insurance of any kind. The cost is usually pretty low too so it’s not that big of a deal. The damage you can do with a motorized bike is minimal as well even compared to a motorcycle.
License
You do not need a license of any kind to use a motorized bicycle on the road. No matter what! You can use them anytime without any permission.
Simplicity
There are two different types of kits. Chain driven and friction. Chain driven is as it sounds, a chain system set up with your small engine. This one is a bit more permanent and slightly more difficult but works a bit better in all conditions. I opted to go with the friction drive because of its simplicity, less moving parts, and ease of adjusting from engine to pedaling the bike manually. Installing of both is pretty easy however the friction fit is a bit easier as well. The friction is the same engine, but it spins a small grip wheel sprocket thing that sits on the tire. It works great except in wet and rainy conditions. It has slightly more wear and tear on the rear tire but not much. You can install either kit on almost ANY bicycle. Both options of 4 stroke and 2 stroke.
Price
The price is extremely reasonable. For the Audi R8 version of the motorized bicycle you go with the Staton kits. Which are around 250-500 depending on the kit. There are cheaper versions as well for around 125-150 but they are hit or miss. I have dealt with Bike Berry and a few of their affiliate websites and they had terrible customer service. The actual Staton website is where I ordered mine and everything went flawless. I even ordered the larger fuel container from them and it worked great too.
Reliable Work Vehicle
I used this bike to get to work all the time! It worked awesome. I made my money back on the bike in gas reletively quickly and the ride to and from was a lot of fun. Even if I was late my boss would just laugh because hey man, it’s a motorized bike.
Hobbies
Whether you enjoy fishing or picking asparagus this thing is perfect for that. Many times I would cruise the neighbor doing both! I took many camping trips and trips to local state parks for hiking. I simply chained my bike and engine to a post and enjoyed the day. Hopped back on and drove off.
Camping or RV
Having a couple of these on the RV instead of a moped or pulling a car would be ideal. You would save tons of money and it would be much easier to figure out how to store them. Getting them out and off the RV would be much easier as well. No head aches and no hassle! They are pretty light considering its just a bike and small engine. Like picking up a big weed whacker.
Enjoyment
There is nothing more fun than riding a motorcycle and hitting corners and enjoying the breeze. The motorized bike captures this but slows it down for total enjoyment. The birds in the field and the deer eating corn, all enjoyed as you cruise by on your bike. The noise is not as loud so you don’t scare much wildlife and it’s much easier to communicate and enjoy your environment. Yet at the same time, I could hit the throttle full power and hit those corners like Road Rash. You aren’t inside a vehicle or even on a motorcycle so the speed feels more real for some reason, even though you’re going slower.
I really wanted to expand on this last subject. The enjoyment of cruising around on one of these motorized bikes is pure bliss. You feel like a nerd, a biker, and a racer all in one. There’s no label for this level of adult fun. The beautiful part is it works on any bicycles, big, small, ect. It’s easy to do for anyone even as a first time project.
These small engines are powerful as well. I built a small trailer and had almost 200 lbs + me on the rig during testing. It not only pulled us, it did it quickly! If you’re looking for something fun and quite useful then I highly recommend looking at some of these motorized bikes.
