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How to Convert Your Bike to Gas-Powered Assistance

Putting a small gasoline engine on your bike can make it lot more enjoyable. You will be glad you installed it when you are coming home from a long day of riding and are confronted with pedaling down a long, boring stretch of road. The engine is especially helpful during the uphill portion of the ride home. For mountain bikes, you can power up the mountain, turn the engine off, and ride a bike down the mountain and along trails.

Things You'll Need

Motor
Extended axel
Gear that fits on motor
Chain
Wooden board
Bolts and nuts
Control cable including handles and hardware
Drill
Bike tools

Instructions

- 1
  Find a motor. This is usually pretty easy, because almost every homeowner has several in his garage ̵2; old broken weed-whacker engines or engines from other pieces of home equipment. For some reason, the engines tend to last longer than the rest of these devices.
- 2
  Install the motor above the rear finder ̵2; just behind the rider. This is easier if the bike has a platform already ̵2; if not, you should install one. Bolt the wooden board to the platform and bolt the motor to the wooden board. Mount the gas tank on the same board.
- 3
  Fit the salvaged motor with a gear that fits your bicycle chain. Get an extended rear axle that has an extra gear. Run a chain around the gear on the engine and the extra gear on the rear axle.
- 4
  Run the control cable from the motor along the bike frame to the handlebar and attach the handle so it is easy to reach when riding the bike. If you cannibalized the proper weed-whacker, much of this cable is free.
- 5
  Test the modified bike before you get on it. Wedge the bicycle firmly with the rear wheel off the ground. Start the engine and make sure that the controls engage and disengage the clutch. Test ride it in a vacant parking lot.

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