Mini Engine to Drive a Quad Made of 2 Bicycles?

Post a picture of what you built.

I would recommend a Honda 50 motor cycle 4 stroke engine, they produce a little bit more power than you need, but are already very quiet. I am sure that it will not take much ingenuity to make it even quieter!

Search on the web, there are many entries and the motor can be found in many different machines too.....

Very reliable and easy starting.

Electric wheel chair motor and a deep cycle battery should do the trick and finding used and junked motorized chairs is getting easier all the time. Maybe you could get enough assist from the small motor from a treadmill.

If you want to go the gasoline route any small weed eater or chain saw motor should work and quieting one down is only a matter of using a bigger/better muffler. Adding a flywheel be helpful also.

Motors this small would not be sufficient to propel the car by themselves but would be an assist.

I found some low cost bike motors here:

http://www.zoombicycles.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=1&Itemid=55

and a few links here:

http://www.blurtit.com/answers.php?query=electric+bicycle+motors&uid=adwords-TS10247-VK-20071019-133117-45&search_type=content&ad=766497312

But I like the idea of striping out an old power wheelchair, if the price is right.

A trip to e-bay may help too.

If you live in a community that still has a town dump, or a local scrap dealer, you just never know what you'll find.

Let us know how you make out.

Years ago, I recall being able to rent bicycles for local touring that had very small frame-mounted gas engines for uphill assists. They were extremely quiet, too. No clue as to what brand or source, but they should still be around some 40 years later. Well - maybe not - lots of other things have totally disappeared since then...

EnviroMan, this is exactly what I need. Do you remember if you were able to start the engine on the fly ? Was it connected to the front wheel so that you can still pedal or "free wheel" ? Any clue about the place where you rented it so I could contact them ?

Sweet mother of Mercy! This was in the early 1970's in Denmark! No, I have no clue how to contact them (sorry ), and not much rememberance of details (again ) as you request. Perhaps some of our Euro-colleagues can fill in for me here? Andy Germany, know anybody in Copenhagen? These things were all over the streets back then.

The ones I knew about were from a French company called Solex, is this what you were searching for? There are many Web sites detailing them like:- (the first one has a video of them TODAY in NY!!)

Solex

velosolex

hello andy, hav e not read many posts from you lately, the reference to the solex brought back some memories, good and bad.

i entered the website for the distributors in north smerica and found as usual the world ends at the u.s. borders. in north and central america.

the bikes were great 30+ years back and as the video shows they are even better now. helga wants to know when she can get a engine off one. somehow i am supposed to be able to cobble up a way of mounting t in the slots that are the mounts for her power wheel chair.

thanks

'da ber

That should get her "MOBILE" again!!

I personally prefer the Honda 50 engines, quiet, refined, economical........built in electric start on many if not all models too!!

hello andy, she says forget about the power chair, that will be too slow.

this afternoon through a member of the hamilton inventors club we were invited to what i believein german is called ein luftziegler platz. as we watched the planes being towed into position a chance conversation leas to her be asked if she would want to be in one as it was off the ground. the oh sure was follwed by hell yes.

as it turns our the major aus der flieger was the one who made the offer and assisted by directing me how to best position her in the forward seat of ein luftsegler which has been specially built for people with disabilities. (she was amaazed that she was able somehow to syand up in the cockpit without her fore arm crtches but no where near as anmazed as i was, that is another part of the story though)

after the tow plane got her up to the tight hieght she and the major were on their own, she was supossed to be gone for about 20 minutes a hour later the plane was forced to land as it was growing to dark to continue soaring.

the altimeter readin of .7km did not register in her thinking until i drove back down a straight country road for that distance, sh could not believe she was that high in the air in a plane without a engine.

result: she wants to go again next week. at about what would equal 70 euros per trip there is no way she and her twin are going at the same time, even if beatha would love doing it..

so forget solex or motobecane we have unleashed a monster.

'i thought yu might chucle over that story, she is sure heinrich her father is sitting down laughing at the people who said his daughter will not be able to do much in life, it would be a real laugh for him if he and her mother were to know she had just witten her first university entrance application exam, .

'da ber

Very nice to hear, I hope she manages to fly more often too!!!

How about a big rubber band? (torsion pad)

Wind it up down hill, and release it uphill? (whayaaa!)

Seriously, you could pressurise air in a lightweight
cylinder (i.e. aqua-tank) - and then release it as required
through a small drive.
(not unlike the old "sparklet" toys we used to make.)

At least they're quiet! (royalties only 1 (one) percent please!)

jt.

Sometimes I think I understand everything; then I regain consciousness.

BY god! give the other two 'passive' passengers pedals also. No one should ride for free! Problem solved.