I read this a while back and now with the comments here as well, wanted to address a couple of things. I actually never made any estimate about how much it would cost me in gas: someone else on another site made that guess. I DID, however, estimate that it would take me about 35 days which it took me exactly.

And no, I didn’t have a route mapped out or a plan for the tip. Each day, or the night before, I would map out where I wanted go next knowing that eventually, I’d reach my destination.

I didn’t make this trek on a 50cc because I thought it would be economical. I made it because I could. And because it would be an adventure. I made little to no preparations other than packing what I thought I needed. But I made enough preparations so that I could make the trip. And make it back. And of course, I ran into problems. I’ve traveled 7,200 miles now (with 800 left to get back to South Beach.) To go that far, on a 50cc, it would be ludicrous to not expect problems. And along the route, I made adjustments. The ponchos were gone before I got out of Florida and I picked up rain gear (which came in handy the two times I used it) in Houston. If something was needed, I picked it up. But mostly, I had everything I needed when I left.

The backpack choice was made simply because I couldn’t find adequate saddlebags before I left and I was on a definite timeframe for departure. While it was definitely strenuous, I felt it added a nice extra challenge to making the trip. I became used to it.

It’s been a great experience. Less so on the way back because I’m in familiar territory now and there isn’t much here that I haven’t seen, but I’m incredibly glad I decided to do this. And I did it my way.

Thanks for the support, 2stroke.

Plus, I don’t know anyone who can make a Stella look like an ‘85 P-series in desparate need of a resto better than Rob.

X9 500
BV 500
Scarabeo 500
Scarabeo 500 i.e.

Have they already recalled the MP3 500? If not, I wonder how long it will be until that is added….

E-bikes have lots of things going for them, and I think their pros outweigh their cons more than electric scooters pros outweigh their cons. Thanks for your comment, you’ve inspired me to write a longer treatise.

I’m still trying to decide how I feel about Best Buy getting into the ebike biz, and I’m torn. More on that later, too.

While the concept of rigging a combustible motor on a bicycle (think Whizzer) is nothing new, we now have several companies selling bicycles with electric motors that are “pedal assist,” and in some cases fully capable of powering the average bicycle without the rider pedaling, and for a decent range and speed.

I think the best solution is buying an aftermarket kit that can fit on an existing bicycle. Think of all the bicycles people own, sitting in their garage but are never ridden? I bought my kit from ampedbikes.com for three hundred bucks, and was able to install it on my five year old mountain bike from Target in 20 minutes.

I had to source a battery set-up, which was an extra $100 bucks. But I can now ride (without pedaling) 18+ mph on the road, and faster if I pedal. Depending on the type of battery you select, you can get a range of up to ten miles or more before a recharge is needed.

The Business Journal article states that Best Buy will sell a Brammo made bike that can go 50 MPH and travel 45 miles before a recharge is needed. People who would be inclined to purchase a product like this would not need to go as fast or as far. They would more than likely live in cities and commute under 10 miles to work or wherever.

You don’t actually get free shipping. On ebay a set of panels with “free” regular mail 2-week (maybe) shipping is $307 (at today’s exchange, and going up) while from us 2 panels are only $139, less than half. Even with dimensional charges after packed, we’d be less - and we ship by guaranteed courier with tracking in 2 days to the US.

Compare. You’ll see most parts on ebay are more expensive, most a lot more.

The big thing about ebay though is quality. 99% of the Vietnam stuff you see on there is local market stuff that resellers just go around and buy to resell. Some is fine, much is problematic. (Same with Indian stuff on there.)

On the other hand, we actually have a very large factory and make most of our items inhouse ourselves. With some the quality difference is very obvious in a photo (our high-end original-style seat covers vs. the budget local ones) while others look the same but aren’t (pressure-cast hubs/lights vs. sand cast). We constantly see stuff on ebay or elsewhere then someone local brings a sample by to offer to us and we find we can’t sell it because it doesn’t even fit, so we skip it, or buy and redo them all correctly, or just make it ourselves because easier.

http://scootrs.com/results.cfm?t=2&q=factory

>>competition leads to progress.

The disc kit looks nice. We have been dawdling about doing a smallframe one but we’ll have our PX 16mm kit out in a few days.

Hmm… the thing is, civilization is due for a break on alternative energy technology. You can’t beat the laws of physics, of course, but we’re due for a technological break if only because so many different entities are investigating the problem. As for the looks, meh, there’s no reason why that technology couldn’t be bolted into the back of a Lambretta… if the technology works. “Nano-crystalline”- it certainly sounds cool, doesn’t it?

Great Article

http://twostrokemotocross.com/2009/06/two-strokes-strike-back/