The 1967 Electric Mini Bike
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Don’t think that electric vehicles are something new …
100 years ago, gasoline was a “waste product” from refining oil.
Oil refiners would dump gasoline in large pits and burn it. It wasn’t worth anything to anybody. It wasn’t stable enough to lubricate or burn slowly in a lamp – but not volatile enough as an explosive. So it was just waste to get rid of.
Imagine that ?
I have an article at American Liberty Magazine on “Dawn of the Trucks” where the writer speculated if gasoline could be a fuel to power vehicles.
100 years ago electric cars were all the rage – it was gasoline that made electric cars go away as World War One was beginning.
BUT – back in 1967 …
My dad’s parents ran a small engine repair shop that I spent a lot of time in.
To the right is an illustration of a standard mini-bike. Just for reference … as the monster that was created over a slight buzz was never photographed and disappeared one day as it was too fast and too hard to control …
They had taken in one of those lawn mower engine powered “mini bikes” that had a blown engine. The engine was toast and unrepairable – so the owner left it to be disposed …
Not to let good steel go to waste, my “pop” (paternal grandfather) and the guys – over a few jars of the local hooch took a car battery and placed it where the mower engine once was and welded in a generator (electric motor) behind it – and put a gear on the shaft attached to the rear gear on the rear wheel.
The handlebar throttle was adapted with an on/off switch … VIOLA ! An electric scooter …
So it was all on or all off … knowing now what I know – back then I would have rigged up a rheostat as the throttle … but that was then when I was 7 years old …
I rode it many times and will NEVER forget how hard it was to hang on from a static start or the acceleration that was beyond anything I have yet to experience (and I now have a Kawasaki ZL900 which does 0 to 100 in less than 3 seconds)
Talk about TORQUE !!!
I don’t know how FAST it would go – as it was full on – full torque – with the twist of the throttle …
MAN – that sucker would peel out and FLY !!!
The throttle was just a shorting switch, so It was full on or full off and the motor would then become a brake. With a good rheostat throttle, it would be controllable … It was a REAL MONSTER !
Maybe some day I will diagram it – but it was really simple and straight forward … it took all of time it took for 3 mechanics after the shop closed to chug down a mason jar of local hooch …
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Category: Tony Rollo Blog
