16 September 2012

Juicer 48

Here's a good look at the Juicer 48 electric motorcycle. These are hand made in the Los Angeles area. Top speed is 46 mph, and it has a 13 mile range. I'm not sure if this is an electric bicycle ebike or an electric motorcycle, but it looks great. The designer, Dave Twomey was going for a very retro, primal board track racer look, and he got it right. The Juicer electric motorcycle looks amazing.

Check out the brakes. Cable-operated mechanical front disc and rimsqueezers on the rear. Wear rubber-soled shoes and plan ahead...

Me want!

Thanks to hoohoohoblin, SoCal.

11 September 2012

Boreal Ridge Trial, 9-1-12, 3 & 4 lines

By ecotrials. Me (red jersey) and a buncha kids (most of whom can outride me but can't possibly be having as much fun because they don't know what fun is yet), one on an electric bike, and brand new mom Jozie (black & white riding suit). Luckily she and I are in different classes because she cleaned my clock points-wise.

09 September 2012

Burning Man Rat Rod

Folks have been wending their way home from Burning Man through my town for days. I was out running errands (not "outrunning errands". That's impossible!) and saw this obviously homebrewed rig parked on our main drag. I went home and got my camera because it was too good not to share.

Besides being a burn-yourself-down-to-your-socks-or-you-didn't-have-a-good-time bacchanal, Burning Man is a festival of art and counterculture. This rig is a perfect example of gearhead self expression. One wonders how much of what substance went into the idea and execution!

Kudos to the owner and builder of this thing. Looks to me like more thought and sweat than money went into it.

Click fotos to embiggen


This is a Honda CX motorcycle engine, about 30 years old. In my not-so-humble opinion as a motorcycle mechanic for forty years, it's one of the worst engines Honda ever built. I still look at the engine number boss on these to see if it has all the center punch marks indicating the various recalls have been performed. Heh.

That said, a lot of folks love these things and the engine was a good choice for this rig because a) it's shaft drive, and b) they're cheap.



The next view is the view you want to have - the thing going away! Heh. The exhaust pipes are terrific, and the Burning Man Acceptance (?!) sticker is to die for!



Close-up of the steering gear. Better than a clothesline wrapped around the steering column like on your soapbox derby little car when you were a kid, but not much.



A few final thoughts:

The rig got a workout. It is caked in Black Rock dust.

The seats look like someone, somewhere, has to stand to wait for a bus. Seat belts? Nah, this is a better-to-be-thrown-clear job!

The lights might work but this is definitely a rig best driven by the light of yo' blazin' brain! With lotsa "Yahoo!"ing. Ah, memories...

This rod is the-hell-with-safety-stand-on the-gas-and-give-all-the-girls-rides! A little reminiscent of dry lakes rods of the '50s and why not? They worked then and they still do.

If you spot anything you think I missed or shoulda covered, puh-leeze comment!