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Honda GX31 Power Assist

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As of this writing on 9/4/2001 I'd say this bike is a success. I've commuted to and from work a handfull of times now and find that I look forward to my commute rather than consider it an annoyance. The addition of the bike computer has shown that it can cruise at around 30mph on level ground, and can ascend moderate hills at 20mph without pedalling. With the engine off I can keep up with most other cyclists if not better their speed, proving its mettle as an efficient bent. It's fun, fun, fun to ride. The suspension's nice and cushy, yet there's no pogo. Remaining to do's are:


Video showing how easy it is to start the motor while riding. One quick pull and off she goes.


Video of rounding a corner and heading uphill. You get an idea of the speed and power.


Rear side shot show recent addition of the rear fender with the fender skirt made from a plastic orange juice jug.


With my trusty old Eclipse panniers for the commute to work.


Looking down on the engine, speed reducer and drive linkage. The 25:1 speed reducer and drive linkage parts came from www.staton-inc.com


Closeup of the drive linkage. The beefy threaded shaft takes the stress that wants to pull the engine towards the driven BMX freewheel while serving as a chain tensioner. Both driving and driven shafts are 5/8" diameter. The bearings and retainers are also from Staton Inc.


The "cockpit". At this points it's seems to bristle with apparatus. The throttle lever's on the right and the rear derailleur lever is on the left. Since the engine's power goes through the mid drive and then through the rear derailleur, you alternate applying the throttle with shifting gears. It's a lot of fun to operate and has a very pleasant sound as the RPMs drop when shifting up to the next highest gear.


The rear rack I made to fit the rear swingarm. It's made from seat stay material and a couple of long skinny bolts. The Eclipse pannier adapters are bolted on. Note the two bolt attachment to the rear dropouts. It's really sturdy.


A closeup showing the mid drive, rear suspension and engine. I rotated the pull start housing so the pull cord pulls forward in a natural arm motion.


I attached the kill switch to the seat strut using electrical tape.


View from the right side with the handlebars up. The front/rear weight distribution is just about perfect with the addition of the engine.


Handlebars swung down for getting on and off.

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