Mystery Part

So I just recieved this part from Tony in Dalian. Care to guess what it might be???

1. Yes it is black.

2. Yes it is metal

Give up?

3. Yes it will transform your roadster into a Motorcycle.

What's that you say? How is that possible?...

...Because it is a fuel tank.

Motorized bicycles seem to be catching on here in the US, but have been around for a long, long, long time in China. Most of them are built off a version of a 50cc Chinese "Happy Time" two stroke engine. This in turn was derived from an older Russian 50cc two stroke, which looks similar to, but not quite the same as, half a dozen German or other continental 50cc two stoke strap-on bicycle engines of the post war era.

How does this tank look in practice? It looks EXACTLY like this:

or this...

Now it should be said there are even larger tanks available for roadsters, like this one that spans the entire top bar. Pretty swanky.

Tony tells me that both the tank, the engine and all the necessary bits usually come in a kit which goes for about 400RMB...$60. This basically doubles the price of the bike, but you are getting something with a lot more utility as well.

My hat is off to Tony for delivering the goods. Many thanks! Maybe somtime in the near future we can catch a glimpse of his bikes.

Comments

[Larry "Boneman" Bone]

Very cool Jeff... of course, the pic of the "Mystery" part.... sans anything else in frame for a scale reference made guessing quite difficult. Once seen on the bicycles as posted, absolutely.

I recall when I was a young fellow... in a magazine entitled "Boys Life", there was an advertisement... one of those sales things... where if you sold so many packs of seeds or something... you could get either cash or "prizes".

One of the prizes I always had my eye on was a "Bicycle Motor"... that actually afixed onto the front of the bike somehow... and had a direct friction style drive... that probably did more to chew up the tyres then power the bike... but it was very cool to me at the time.

These in-frame units.... are far and away more refined. Thanks for posting them up. So... when will you have yours up and running?

[C Banks Barbee]

Hi. First time comment but long-time reader. I appreciate your enthusiasm for vintage designed roadsters.

I built a motorized bicycle when I was an undergrad in college and loved it. Recently, I've been toying with the idea of using a Flying Pigeon for a project bike and doing exactly what the fellow in the sharp uniform has done. Low and behold, I find someone has already been tinkering in that area and appears to have it right.

I was wondering if there was any way you could put me in contact with someone who is experienced in retrofitting an engine to a FP, or someone who sells a full length top bar fuel tank.

Your help is much appreciated, and thank you for your website!

[Jeff T]

These engines are readily available in the states and on ebay. They are pretty much adaptable to anything. The 28" wheels may raise the final gearing somewhat but if you live in a fairly level area it won't make much difference.