Gallery: Homemade Motorized Bike Pays Tribute to Motorcycles of Yesteryear
 

<img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/Bike_133_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>James Hough is a lawyer by profession but a gearhead at heart. He’s always tinkering with engines and building things from scratch. About a year ago, he combined the two passions to create the Houghmade Cycle Works 71, a motorized bicycle that pays homage to the racing motorcycles of the early 20th century. </p>

<p>"I had been looking for a project and saw online that someone had put an engine on an old Schwinn," Hough says. "I was inspired by that and thought it would be a fun project, an outlet for my desire to build. I thought it would be fun to ride around the neighborhood and to run errands. The 100-plus mpg didn't hurt."</p>

<p>Click through the gallery to check out the tech behind this cruiser on steroids.</p>

<p><strong>Left:</strong></p>

<p>Hough drew inspiration from the board-track racers that sped around steeply banked wood tracks called motordromes — especially the 1911 Harley Davidson "Silent Grey Fellow" and the leaf-sprung Indian motorcycles of that era. The Houghmade bike's gas tank copies the tank found on the 1919 Excelsior OHC that some consider the most advanced motorcycle of its day.</p>
<img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/Bike_128_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>Like most projects, the Houghmade Cycle Works 71 took longer and cost more than expected. "I started in August of 2007 and expected it to be done in a month," Hough says. "However, as time went on, my vision of what I wanted became clearer. I wanted something special." </p>

<p>Hough spent 13 months and "somewhere around $1,000, give or take," on the project. Future plans include better brakes — drum brakes from a moped or disc brakes from a mountain bike — and perhaps a chain guard. "I do not see it as a safety issue, because my cuffs are nowhere near the drive chain," Hough says. "I purposefully left the chain guard off both sides because board-track racers did not have chain guards."</p>
<img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/Bike_135_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>Hough modified or made many of the parts on the bike. The handlebars were formed from old plumbing pipe, and the headlight is a railroad lantern. He's fitted it with a speedometer and electric lamp that uses a 3-volt flashlight bulb and two batteries. "I will probably install a more robust lighting system inside the current headlight housing, though I have no intention to ride at night," he says.</p><img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/Bike_129_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>Hough sweats the details, going so far as to install a manual oil pump and fabricate an air-filter housing similar to those the board-track racers used. Houghmade Cycle Works is a play on words, and the model number he assigned the bike — 71 — refers to the year he was born.</p><img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/1_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>Though the final product looks seamless, underneath it's a Frankenstein of disparate bike parts.</p>

<p>The project all started with a Huffy "Santa Fe" beach cruiser Hough found at a flea market for $25. The only things left from that old clunker are the frame, stem and seat post. </p>

<p>The Husky wheels sport white Kenda tires. Pedals from a Free Spirit that Hough road in junior high turn a crank set taken from a kid's bike of unknown origin. The springer fork is from an old Schwinn.</p>
<img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/2_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>The seat is an "eBay special" Hough re-covered it with goatskin. The front and rear leaf springs are ornamental and don't actually provide any suspension damping, but the style is spot-on.</p><img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/4_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>But how fast is it? Although the speedo maxes out at 50 mph, Hough says the Houghmade Cycle Works 71 won't go that fast. "It runs smooth," he says. "I cruise around at 25 to 30 mph. It tops out around 40, but that's really pushing it. At 25 to 30 mph, it really feels like highway speeds, and I love every minute of it."</p><img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/3_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>The bike sports a half-gallon fuel tank bonded to a fiberglass shell that replicates the shape of the fuel tank on a 1919 Excelsior OHC. It's enough to go about 50 miles. Hough is toying with the idea of fabricating a tank out of sheet metal. "This project has done wonders for many of my DIY skills," he says, "Why not more sheet metal skills?"</p><img src='http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2008/10/gallery_homemade_bicycle/6_t.jpg'></img>: Photo: James Hough<p>The heart of the bike is a Honda GHX50 50cc engine mated to a Grubee Skyhawk II transmission. Hough spent a little more than $400 for the drivetrain, which is mounted to the Huffy frame with a Grubee engine mount. The bike is street-legal in Indiana and doesn't require a license plate or registration. "I have ridden it to work," he says, adding that it's a 32-mile round trip. "I stick to back roads and try to do my riding away from traffic. I try to ride two or three times a week for fun."</p><br style="clear: both;"/>
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Ryanair Plans $15 Flights to Europe
 

Low-cost Irish monster Ryanair announces that it plans to begin flying from Europe to the US with economy tickets starting at 10 euros, or around $13.00. Ryanair expects to make money on the flights by sticking to its wildly successful European business model of charging passengers for almost everything but the air they breathe, and by offering a more traditional business cabin in the front of the plane.<br style="clear: both;"/>
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Tesla Adds $40 Million to Its Coffers
 

The maker of the all-electric Roadster gets a much-needed boost to its dwindling cash balance. But will it be enough for the startup to make good on its promised 1,200 orders and weather the economic downturn?<br style="clear: both;"/>
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Japanese Lowriders Go Two-Wheeled
 

The newest trend from the land of Akira and booze vending machines: low-riding scooters that stretch the limits of the imagination.<br style="clear: both;"/>
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It's Time for Drive-Thru Voting
 

We're busy, self-involved Americans who don't want to spend our precious time in line, waiting to vote. So let us cast our ballots from the comfort of our own cars.<br style="clear: both;"/>
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