Hillbilly Castro
Well-known member
Howdy everybody.
I have felt visceral disgust at the white shit that surrounds me and everything up here in the woods of Upstate New York - the locals call it "snow". Even just going out for a smoke becomes a military operation. My desert boots have soaked to the core, and I start to think: I am crazy, but I am not this fucking loony. So, as three feet of snow came down on me, and I did some searching, I found a $49 flight from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas... and I bought it.
Meanwhile, before the snow came, I bought this:
It's a Golden Eagle Bicycle Engine, one of the most legit bike motorizing kits available in the US. At a cost of $759 it better be. I was anxious about the price, but the forums around the internet all seemed to agree that this is the best kit one can buy - it is heavy-duty, long-lasting, and does not demand the user possess any knowledge of engines in advance. I have found all this to be true in my month with it - we'll see about the long-lasting part, though I suspect it will last.
I have already put some 500 miles on it with zero issues. It does a cool 30mph on flat ground and calm wind, gets about 150mpg with all my gear on it (weighing maybe 10lbs) and moderately hilly terrain. I can fill the tank for pocket change - like, if I'm in a bind, literally with coins and cans found in the street or spanged in 2mins if need be. This is good, but a tank only takes me maybe 40 miles, so for distance rides, stops must be planned or extra gas must be carried. I've done some long rides, cruising up to seventy miles from home base, and it holds up beautifully. You've got to pedal it to start it, and pedal it up hills. You've got to listen to the engine and make sure that you are not overworking it. These engines are NOT built to be overworked.
So I am shipping the engine to LA, buying another bike (probably a geared MTB), and sticking the engine on the new bike. I am contemplating heading due south with it until it just don't ride no more. I have heard accounts of people getting 10,000 miles with these (though never as a sustained journey) before having to do major engine work, but I could be making this up. I remember reading it on the motored bike forums somewhere but cannot find it anymore. If I manage to get that sort of mileage, that's the whole trip to motherfuckin' Tierra Del Fuego. A guy can dream anyway. I've got about a thousand bucks, and I figure if I live like a peasant, I could go for quite some time whether I make it to Argentina or not. Who knows what I'll really do - I'm married to no particular course of action, but heading into Mexico sounds good just by itself.
I have concerns, however. Namely, what would a border crossing be like with this thing? My immediate assumption, as a TurboYakeeGringo, writing from grandma's house which smells like pumpkin pie, is that non-first-world countries tend to be much more reasonable about light motorized vehicles like mine. While the US seems hell-bent on giving anyone who does not drive a 13mpg Suburban a bad, expensive, potentially criminal time, I often hear accounts of the popularity of small motorized vehicles in Latino nations, though usually within large cities and not as a form of long-distance travel. This could mean I get a laugh and a "buena suerte" from la migra, but perhaps I am wrong.
I could also detach the motor from the bike (takes 30mins), and get a ride with a friend over the border with the bike lashed to the back and the motor in the trunk. Then, once in MX, we could re-assemble the motorbike and away I go (?). Or I could put the motor in my pack and pedal across. Not sure, if this becomes a huge latino adventure, how other border crossings might go. Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Darien Gap.... there are not google-able laws in English on these matters and my Spanish is too rudimentary to really search or read or make sense of what might exist in the Spanish language web.
Anyway, share your thoughts and expertise. I can't tell if this is just too batshit to be workable or what. I've seen some folks trash motorized bikes a bit but I think much of the sentiment must be directed against Chinese cheapo versions.. this is a real-deal Honda GX35 four stroke. With that, I gotta go for a ride lol. This thing is so goddamn fun.
I have felt visceral disgust at the white shit that surrounds me and everything up here in the woods of Upstate New York - the locals call it "snow". Even just going out for a smoke becomes a military operation. My desert boots have soaked to the core, and I start to think: I am crazy, but I am not this fucking loony. So, as three feet of snow came down on me, and I did some searching, I found a $49 flight from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas... and I bought it.
Meanwhile, before the snow came, I bought this:
It's a Golden Eagle Bicycle Engine, one of the most legit bike motorizing kits available in the US. At a cost of $759 it better be. I was anxious about the price, but the forums around the internet all seemed to agree that this is the best kit one can buy - it is heavy-duty, long-lasting, and does not demand the user possess any knowledge of engines in advance. I have found all this to be true in my month with it - we'll see about the long-lasting part, though I suspect it will last.
I have already put some 500 miles on it with zero issues. It does a cool 30mph on flat ground and calm wind, gets about 150mpg with all my gear on it (weighing maybe 10lbs) and moderately hilly terrain. I can fill the tank for pocket change - like, if I'm in a bind, literally with coins and cans found in the street or spanged in 2mins if need be. This is good, but a tank only takes me maybe 40 miles, so for distance rides, stops must be planned or extra gas must be carried. I've done some long rides, cruising up to seventy miles from home base, and it holds up beautifully. You've got to pedal it to start it, and pedal it up hills. You've got to listen to the engine and make sure that you are not overworking it. These engines are NOT built to be overworked.
So I am shipping the engine to LA, buying another bike (probably a geared MTB), and sticking the engine on the new bike. I am contemplating heading due south with it until it just don't ride no more. I have heard accounts of people getting 10,000 miles with these (though never as a sustained journey) before having to do major engine work, but I could be making this up. I remember reading it on the motored bike forums somewhere but cannot find it anymore. If I manage to get that sort of mileage, that's the whole trip to motherfuckin' Tierra Del Fuego. A guy can dream anyway. I've got about a thousand bucks, and I figure if I live like a peasant, I could go for quite some time whether I make it to Argentina or not. Who knows what I'll really do - I'm married to no particular course of action, but heading into Mexico sounds good just by itself.
I have concerns, however. Namely, what would a border crossing be like with this thing? My immediate assumption, as a TurboYakeeGringo, writing from grandma's house which smells like pumpkin pie, is that non-first-world countries tend to be much more reasonable about light motorized vehicles like mine. While the US seems hell-bent on giving anyone who does not drive a 13mpg Suburban a bad, expensive, potentially criminal time, I often hear accounts of the popularity of small motorized vehicles in Latino nations, though usually within large cities and not as a form of long-distance travel. This could mean I get a laugh and a "buena suerte" from la migra, but perhaps I am wrong.
I could also detach the motor from the bike (takes 30mins), and get a ride with a friend over the border with the bike lashed to the back and the motor in the trunk. Then, once in MX, we could re-assemble the motorbike and away I go (?). Or I could put the motor in my pack and pedal across. Not sure, if this becomes a huge latino adventure, how other border crossings might go. Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Darien Gap.... there are not google-able laws in English on these matters and my Spanish is too rudimentary to really search or read or make sense of what might exist in the Spanish language web.
Anyway, share your thoughts and expertise. I can't tell if this is just too batshit to be workable or what. I've seen some folks trash motorized bikes a bit but I think much of the sentiment must be directed against Chinese cheapo versions.. this is a real-deal Honda GX35 four stroke. With that, I gotta go for a ride lol. This thing is so goddamn fun.