Author Topic: Competition for the Bullet?  (Read 7068 times)

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jonapplegate

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on: May 12, 2008, 04:25:41 am
Hey all, just kidding about the competition part or I wouldn't mention this on our forum but you should check out WHIZZERUSA.COM and take a look at their moped and other offerings. Looks like a SCHWINN STINGRAY with an engine fitted to it. Must say it does look retro. You all probably heard of these bikes years ago and I am once again late to the party.
                                                                     Cheers
   


mrunderhill1975a

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Reply #1 on: May 12, 2008, 05:01:20 am
With gasoline at nearly $4 per gallon, you may see more of these on the road.  Or maybe not, yesterday I saw a pizza-face teenager pick up the girl across the street in  a H2 Hummer.  What sort of mileage does a Hummer get?


baird4444

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Reply #2 on: May 12, 2008, 05:33:32 am
My son out in California has been talking about getting one of these-
http://www.spookytoothcycles.com/
can't say as I blame him with the price of gas ....   
kind of a west coast twist on the wizzer.
                - Mike
« Last Edit: May 12, 2008, 05:36:03 am by baird4444 »
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meilaushi

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Reply #3 on: May 12, 2008, 03:15:42 pm
With gasoline at nearly $4 per gallon, you may see more of these on the road.  Or maybe not, yesterday I saw a pizza-face teenager pick up the girl across the street in  a H2 Hummer.  What sort of mileage does a Hummer get?
The clown that was? is? the head of the Garbage Manufacturing Company, according to what was told me a year ago about his comments at a convention, said the Hummer was the thing to buy!  Yeah, right! ...IF you live back a 15 mile road with 1 foot deep mud and rocks in your driveway.  Otherwise a) the GMC head is a blind jerk, b) those who buy these things are doing no one any favors, since low MPG vehicles deplete oil reserves at a bad rate of knots, thus driving the price per gallon up for the rest of us, and c) those who don't need 'em and buy 'em can only be considered sadly ego-challenged to think they want such a Suckingly Useless Vehical (SUV) like that is.  Even the small Hummer is a horror on gas mileage.
Every time I see one of these things, I give the driver a 'thumbs down'.  S/he certainly deserves such. >:(  (My rant #7a2)
Ralph Meyer
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geoffbaker

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Reply #4 on: May 12, 2008, 06:56:30 pm
I'm voting with meilaushi re Hummers, anyway.

Here in Tucson, we've got lots of mopeds and scooters. Some are pretty cool.

I've seen small single cylinders on bikes and even on skateboards.

My problem is I think its fine for scooters and mopeds which are real commuting vehicles. But if you strap a single cylinder engine onto a bike, what's really happening is that your burning oil rather than moving your legs.

I bicycle fifteen miles a day and I don't need no stinkin engine!

I own an RE because it is a sensible high mpg long distance commuting vehicle that reduces my emissions. If I buy an engine for my bicycle I'll just be INCREASING my emissions.


meilaushi

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Reply #5 on: May 12, 2008, 10:52:37 pm
Good going, GeofBaker!  Besides the fun, the MPG of the RE is the thing I love about it too!  Though still on 'break-in', staying under 60Km/h, still a 'tight' engine, etc., and yet I got 70.5 mpg on my first fill up. :)
Ralph Meyer
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2010 RE Deluxe G-5 :)) "Eagle"
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jonapplegate

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Reply #6 on: May 13, 2008, 02:08:19 am
Uh, explain how this whizzer is one shred different from the "coolest" moped. They both only get about a 30-40 top speed and they both can be peddled and both are going to be single user. If you are not one to try peddling your bike to that store 5mi. away at a rate 38mph and do not want to burn a ton of gas in your truck then this option does make sense. As much sense as a moped anyhow.
       I hitched a ride once with my friend in her Hummer. We where at a stoplight and I looked down at the little car next to us. The driver was flipping us off. I asked my friend if she knew this person. Gina looked over and said " no, people do that all the time"
Very Funny.


meilaushi

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Reply #7 on: May 13, 2008, 01:17:14 pm
Hummers deserve that.  They're ugly, and worst of all, miserable gas guzzlers!
Ralph Meyer
2008 RE Classic Bullet ES :) "Ennypenny" (It's an Enfield and costs pennies to run!)
2010 RE Deluxe G-5 :)) "Eagle"
2010 BMW F800ST
Ridin' 58 years & counting!  Back roads are fun! Member IBA.


deejay

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Reply #8 on: May 13, 2008, 02:04:34 pm
Saw one of these the other day, Honda Dream 50R... made for 1 year (2004) 50cc, 6 speed. Not road legal but would be fun to make it such.

http://powersports.honda.com/preview/prevDream.html



« Last Edit: May 13, 2008, 02:09:55 pm by deejay »


jonapplegate

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Reply #9 on: May 13, 2008, 02:15:28 pm
that dream is an interesting bike. What would it take? Turn signals? Is that all it would need for road "legalness"
   
     I have owned the smallest of SUV for about 20 years and it gets worse gas mileage than just about anything made now even though it has a 1300cc engine. With the kinds of driving I do and the winter conditions I face when I travel I would not want another vehicle. When one needs a multipurpose ride there is nothing else that will do. Oil ain't gonna last forever. Course if you just run one cause you like the way they make you feel, then you might be considered a moron.


deejay

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Reply #10 on: May 13, 2008, 03:10:09 pm
that dream is an interesting bike. What would it take? Turn signals? Is that all it would need for road "legalness"

head light and tail light too. looks like theres a headlight on it, but its simply a number plate. not sure how you could get it registered though.
« Last Edit: May 13, 2008, 03:15:21 pm by deejay »


geoffbaker

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Reply #11 on: May 13, 2008, 05:10:06 pm
Uh, explain how this whizzer is one shred different from the "coolest" moped. They both only get about a 30-40 top speed and they both can be peddled and both are going to be single user. If you are not one to try peddling your bike to that store 5mi. away at a rate 38mph and do not want to burn a ton of gas in your truck then this option does make sense. As much sense as a moped anyhow.

Jon, there are exceptions to everything. In India, you will probably see people commuting 50 miles and doing deliveries on a Whizzer or its equivalent! Certainly, they can be efficient if used efficiently.

I'm just saying that anything that I see most people doing on Whizzers and their equivalents, I do on my bicycle, using my legs. May not get there quite as fast, but I'm getting exercise. I'm 53 years old and overweight, so I need it!

For too many Americans, the Whizzer and other motorized bicycles are just another gasoline powered toy that replaces what we should be doing... getting some exercise.

I see people doing a 30 mile round trip commute down here in sunny AZ on Vespas and other scooters.

Mostly what I see of motorized bicycles, is very short distance commuting (I'm 3.5 miles from the U of A, and I see these bikes making that commute every day) and I know it could easily be done without burning any gas at all. By people HALF my age, mind you, who look much fitter than me...

But as I said earlier, there are always exceptions.




LJRead

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Reply #12 on: May 13, 2008, 06:50:53 pm
Since our bridge went out and fuel prices went up to about $7 U.S. per gallon, I've been using my feet, just enjoying the 20 minute walk into town, and feeling a lot better because of it, health wise.  That Honda Dream looks sort of old fashioned doesn't it, with the long tank?


Suitor_Stu

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Reply #13 on: May 14, 2008, 12:15:00 pm
Saw one of these the other day, Honda Dream 50R... made for 1 year (2004) 50cc, 6 speed. Not road legal but would be fun to make it such.

I think you'd be castrated with s blunt knife by the Honda cognoscenti if you tried to do anything to it!  IIRC they were hand made, and in limited numbers and are considered works of art to some degree.  They do look cool either way though - the dealer I bought my enfield from had one in the shop, more like a display bike though unfortunately so I couldn't blag a test ride...

If you like that though I came across this company from England who do similar things to old honda CB125s etc.  Check it out;

Click Here

Still fairly expensive, but definately got the cool factor!  I've seen a few very tidy cafe racer modified bullets too.  Really love that style, but I'm not sure my wrists would love it quite as much...

Cheers, Stu


jonapplegate

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Reply #14 on: May 14, 2008, 09:09:33 pm
Geoff baker I agree with you all the way. I commend all the bicycle commuters but without going into the details where I live, unless you have planned out where you live and work and shop with bicycle commuting in mind then you are going to get awfully frustrated trying to commute without your own vehicle. Seattle can be a nightmare to get around regardless of what the city officials would have you believe. I tried myself for a while and decided I liked having time to do more than one thing a day. SO, since it is rare that you will travel anywhere here faster than 40mph in the first place and most of the bridges are not bicycle friendly by most standards, There is an emerging two wheel motorized vehicle culture made up of an interesting array of options. The motorized bike would fit right in.


geoffbaker

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Reply #15 on: May 14, 2008, 11:12:33 pm
Geoff baker I agree with you all the way. I commend all the bicycle commuters but without going into the details where I live, unless you have planned out where you live and work and shop with bicycle commuting in mind then you are going to get awfully frustrated trying to commute without your own vehicle. Seattle can be a nightmare to get around regardless of what the city officials would have you believe. I tried myself for a while and decided I liked having time to do more than one thing a day. SO, since it is rare that you will travel anywhere here faster than 40mph in the first place and most of the bridges are not bicycle friendly by most standards, There is an emerging two wheel motorized vehicle culture made up of an interesting array of options. The motorized bike would fit right in.

I forget how lucky I am down here to have year round bike commuting possible thanks to the weather. I couldn't do it in Maine, because you could only cycle half the year, and the other half the year, seems like cars had all forgotten that bikes exist, and would drive right over you every time you went out in spring. Still, I used to commute 35 miles a day by bike in the good weather.

In Seattle, I'd just have to kill myself. It rains almost as bad as in Ireland, where I lived for 20 years (and cycled most of those, because I couldn't afford a car. I had a BSA motorcycle briefly though). I cycled every day in Dublin traffic, which is about as bad as you can get anywhere in the world, and nearly got myself killed a dozen times,. I can remember how miserable I was cycling home in storms... but like I said, I was young and had no choice in those days. It's where I learned to appreciate Barbour waxed jackets, though. I think about everybody I knew who had a bike or a motorbike had one...

But when I see a college kid sitting on his gasoline powered bike, to cover the 1.2 miles he has to get to his classes on a beautiful sunny day in Tucson, I just want to slap him :)

Ah, the young, they know nothing!... I remember how hard we had it when I was a lad. We lived in a shoebox, middle of the road. We had it lucky :) :) [Monty Python Reference]

« Last Edit: May 14, 2008, 11:15:31 pm by geoffbaker »


Anon

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Reply #16 on: May 15, 2008, 04:48:12 am
In Seattle, I'd just have to kill myself. It rains almost as bad as in Ireland, where I lived for 20 years (and cycled most of those, because I couldn't afford a car. I had a BSA motorcycle briefly though).

I've been a regular (well about 1/3 of the time) bike commuter in Seattle for almost 20 years and really the rain isn't all that bad.  It does rain a lot, but it rarely rains hard.  You just gotta have some rain gear and/or moisture wicking clothes (usually good old wool for me).  It's the hills, not the rain that get me!

Lately though I've been on the Bullet almost every day and haven't been on my bicycle for over a month1   :)
Eamon


jonapplegate

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Reply #17 on: May 15, 2008, 06:27:38 am
Here in NW we do not complain about the rain since it usually is only a light rain. And then you have your mist or your drizzle, none of these is considered rain. we have sunbreaks too, many of them. So many in fact that if there are enough of them you can't even call it rain anymore. Come to think of it, it does not even rain here at all. Now if we could just get rid of those dang hills.....
   The Rain, sometimes not so bad, sometimes I want to leave. FILSON! Old School and just the thing for our weather.


geoffbaker

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Reply #18 on: May 15, 2008, 04:40:03 pm
Glad to hear about sunny Seattle! :)

My folks live on the San Juans. It's beautiful out there and they love it... but several months a year when I'm talking to them on the phone I can tell that the weather is getting to them... they start talking about moving to Tucson!


bob bezin

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Reply #19 on: May 16, 2008, 01:04:33 am
maybe those new whizzers run well but i remember doing more peddeling on a whizzer trying to get the thing started than riding pheww! and then the belts slipped etc etc.
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jonapplegate

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Reply #20 on: May 17, 2008, 07:02:01 am
I have heard that the belt setup is problematic. Whizzer is definitely light duty. They have been around for an impressively long time, though.