Well… here’s some background.
I live in an apartment complex 1.5 miles from the college campus I attend. The past year or two was no big deal getting to class and back, the bus comes every 20 minutes or so. Say you miss the bus, or the bus isn’t on time (it never was). What do you do? Jump in your car and head to campus. 1.5 miles all down hill to campus, 1.5 miles up hill (steep in places) to apartment. No biggie.
Starting this semester, they are charging for parking. The cheapest parking permit offered is $175/semester, or $350/academic year, and the parking lot you’re assigned to is right next to my apartment complex, the sports stadium parking lot (further away from my apartment… doesn’t make much sense to get that permit). They go upwards of $450/semester if you want your own reserved spot on campus. I’m entirely too cheap to pay that much considering how close I live.
- Parking fees are ridiculous (at least when you’re broke)
- The bus is always late (and now overcrowded as there are many more people parking off-campus and riding the bus)
- The hill is long and steep. (You don’t want to have to take a nap when you get back to the apartment from riding your bike 1.5 miles up steep hills… i’m out of shape and probably couldn’t make it to and from in a timely fashion)
What do you do?
I am building a 66cc Bicycle-to-moped conversion. The bike will have a 66cc 2-stroke motor in-frame. Twist throttle, clutch engage start (start pedaling, release clutch, engine starts), and a kill switch… which means you can kill the engine, and still use the vehicle as a fully functional bicycle, pedal right up to a bike rack and chain it up.
The bike is here- Cheapo Huffy Cranbrook, steel frame, thick spokes - a common candidate for this type of swap:
The engine kit that should arrive this Friday - ZoomBicycles Black Slant 66cc:
Ultimately, here is what I’m hoping the end result will end up like (same exact bike and engine as mine, but with apehangers and a drop springer “lowrider style” front fork)
Plans are to ride it to and from class daily, and to paint lime green accessories that came stock (have the fenders, but they are also pearl lime green like the chain guard).
