[forest gnome]

what about the electric scooters?...some have up to 750 andnewer ones 1000 watt motors....36v. but not nickle metal hydr. batt. I would allso go to thje electric scooter/bike store in ballard they know all.

[H. Hound]

[forest gnome]

except after 10pm with a headlamp!!!!!...

[Backpacker Joe]

Have you thought of solar panels the size of WINGS?

[Tom]

H. Hound, here's a couple vids of someone who got that kit. Hard to tell how well it would do off paved roads. Sounds like he's happy with it except for the mileage.

[Quark]

Consider that on a closed logging you'll eventually run across a downed log or two. A body wouldn't want anything that's so heavy you can't wrangle it up & over sumpin' on occasion.

[Magellan]

[Quark]

I forgot to put in a word, so fixed it. Ahem! A body wouldn't want sumpin' so heavy he or she can't heft it over a downed log or 90. Bike with motor, yeah - motor scooter? Have a backup plan.

[MCaver]

Just make sure the engine is powerful enough to carry a chainsaw too.

[Kat]

If we can get it in and out of our truck, there's no problemo with going over a downed tree. Rockslides - heck, that's where Doug guns it and has fun Anyway, H. Hound has been looking at that electric bike for a while, he's got me interested too. My KE100 m/c is a heck of a lot louder and obviously more noticeable than something like that.

[mpaul_hansen]

RE: Not electric, but any experience w/ motor-mounted bikes? See: http://www.bikeengines.com [Believe there was an earlier thread on this ?? ]

[Magellan]

7 lbs for the smallest engine is not unreasonable.

[Tom]

mpaul_hansen, thanks for the link. That may be a much cheaper and better alternative for logging road use for several reasons. First, it has rear wheel drive. I am told front drive hubs like the one H. Hound mentioned will spin too much off pavement since the majority of the weight is on the other wheel. Front drive hubs also require a heavy steel frame bike - the torque will break an aluminum fork. Second it appears to be geared which is critical for long uphill sections. Third, gas instead of batteries. Inexpensive SLA batteries that come with the entry level e-bike kits won't do because they need to be recharged immediately after use. They're also very heavy. NIMH batteries are lighter and don't need to be re-charged right away but cost more and don't provide as much juice on hills. Lithium batteries seem to be the best option but they are very expensive. The cheapest geared rear hub ebike kit with a high amp controller and lithium battery is ~$1400. So the ~$700 gas kits look like a better option assuming they aren't too noisy.

[Tom]

Here's some more gas powered kits. They look to be higher quality but installation may be trickier.

[Mtn Dog]

Please help me out here, Tom. How is an ebike not considered motorized? It seems strange that gas-powered vehicles of any type would be restricted at forest road gates but electric ones are OK? I guess I need a better definition of what "Motorized Vehicles Prohibited" means.