Insane MPG vehicle idea

[Bicycle Bob]

Harbour Freight sells a lot of stuff suitable to use for moorings. I'd look for a used Honda, or shop carefully for similar quality. They come with clutch, gears, etc.

[COcyclist]

jreed, have you seen this thread? http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post197218

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

Harbour Freight sells a lot of stuff suitable to use for moorings. I'd look for a used Honda, or shop carefully for similar quality. They come with clutch, gears, etc.

[ecofreak]

Here's my two cents:

Get an old subcompact that's aero to boot (Saab 92, anyone?) and stick a Kawasaki Mule 660cc three cylinder, four stroke diesel. Gear the compact higher, and do a few aeromods as you would any normal car, and expect MPGs in excess of 80 mpg (US) if done correctly.

If it works, I'd say create a kit car that could sell for around $16K including a spare Mule.

[HeadlessNorseman]

thread hijack? haha. this idea started because i rode my bike to work most days in the summer. Its about 20 miles round trip. I average about 26-28 mph driving there and back on back roads, and I would ride around 17-18 mph average to avoid sweating(on a very efficient bike). I figure a bike with a small motor would easily average 25 mph, and get many times more gas mileage than using a 2000 lb car just to drive a single person to work and back. The key is just making it all work, and reliable. the gearing and riding position are still my biggest concerns. I have a spare weedeater that im going to take apart for now just to get to work. def will be replaced with a mini 4 stroke in the future. Ive also secured a steel bike frame to use(weldable)

[HeadlessNorseman]

started cutting a bike up today, a steel framed "varsity" style girls bike. Pics soon!!!

[Grant-53]

Seat height is determined by leg length and crank height. The aero tuck position takes some getting used to. I've made my own aero bars from a set of bar end grips, 1-1/2 inch aluminum angle, and some 7/8" tubing for vertical grips. The fairing needs to cover the rider from the shoulder to the knee. The lower legs have less drag than a full width fairing and you need to have your feet clear for stopping. The shape can be defined by a combination of ellipsoids having the top half flatter than the lower half to minimize lift.
The rear section may need to move to throw a leg over if the top tube is high. I have used 4mm coroplast for some pieces. I have experimented with 1 inch hex wire mess glued between two pieces of 5 mil plastic ribbed with 7/16 OD nylon tubing. The less flat area on the sides up front, the less trouble you have with cross winds.

[HeadlessNorseman]

def going to need pics of that for reference haha. sounds fun. Im going to keep the pedals accessible for emergencies but otherwise going to totally rearrange the seating position and type a bit, maybe even leave the pedals unattached and add new foot pegs more rearward like a motorcycle. to more of a kneeling position. similar to my drawing posted earlier, but thats open to interpretation

[Grant-53]

I will try to post pics. My first batch of jpeg files were too large. Craig Vetter's site has some good stuff.