Maker Faire Bay Area 2023
Motorized Bike, Gas Engine Toddler Trike, and See-Through Engine
Home: California, United States
I designed in CAD a bicycle frame with an engine mount, then used those measurements to cut, miter, holesaw, then weld together a frame. From there I painted, and assembled using bicycle parts, a Gasoline Motorized Bicycle that can go 30mph legally, get ~120mpg, and is a fully functional vehicle. Also some years ago I welded a mount onto the back of a toddler Radio Flyer Trike, and mounted a 135cc Gasoline Engine onto the back. With some axle modification and a custom made hub, it got up to maybe 20mph, and covered maybe 3 miles before I stopped using it in favor of projects with brakes. As well, I took the internal components of a single cylinder engine, and designed and made a clear acrylic engine block and head to assemble them in, resulting in a great learning tool.
https://instagram.com/apparitionmotorvehicles?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Additional Project Photos
Maker
Robert Dane Whitmire
I'm Dane, and after 3 years as a vintage car mechanic and 2+years working at an e-scooter company, I've gained a lot of knowledge about the mechanics of various vehicles. I've also designed and built 2 iterations of my own motorized bike.
What Inspired You to Make This?
Ever since I got a dirt bike at the age of seven, I had always envisioned something I could tinker with, customize, and learn on, that I could also take to school and show my friends. Although dirt bikes aren't street legal, in high-school I discovered motorized bikes, which are. Due to their minimal requirements for being street legal, as well as their affordable price and general simplicity, they make the perfect vehicle for someone who wants to work on their own vehicle, customize it to what they want, and still be able to use it to go places, so it's not just a toy. After gaining experience as a vintage automobile mechanic, I turned toward designing my very own motorized bike, which lead to the second prototype, that I will be exhibiting.
