He Built An ‘Air Bike’
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Julian Cross (Vol. 37, No. 6 and Vol 47, No. 5) is at it again with another unique bike. This time, he mounted a 1958 Evinrude Air Boy motor with propeller to a 1950s vintage Montgomery Ward three-wheel bike. The 5-hp., two-stroke motor was designed for use with a 14-ft. aluminum boat.
“I was looking at some old cars a guy had for sale when I saw this motor with a propeller sitting on a stand in the corner of the yard,” says Cross. “The owner’s son collected boat motors. As I was getting ready to leave, I offered him $100 for it, and he took it.”
Cross already had it in his head to mount it on a bike. When a buddy offered him the three-wheeler with the original redline tires, it was a perfect match. His first thought was to mount the motor and propeller directly to the bike, but he recognized that would be too low.
“I realized I could use the Evinrude stand to mount the motor to the bike, and it would position the motor and propeller above my head,” says Cross. “The bike had a basket on the back with two adjustable braces connecting it to the bike frame. I drilled two holes in the stand upright and bolted the braces to it. I also used two muffler clamps to bolt the bottom of the motor frame to the bike frame between the rear wheels.”
Cross had previously checked over the engine. Aside from a missing cover plate and a leaking gas tank, it was in good shape.
“I didn’t even have to clean the carburetor,” says Cross. “I replaced the gas tank with one from an old snowblower and modified a motor cover from a 5-hp. Briggs & Stratton. One pull, and it started.”
Cross locked the propeller in a forward direction with a piece of angle iron and hooked a throttle cable from the motor to the handlebars. He started the motor and set off at half throttle down the road. A neighbor captured the trip on video.
“The motor has a power band on it and kicks in like a dirt bike,” recalls Cross. “It was really ripping, and I was going about 40 mph. I was flying.”
The bike was only equipped with its original brakes; however, Cross had a kill switch on the motor, which he used.
“I could hear the wind from the fan, and the motor had a whine like an aircraft engine,” he says. “With its rubber mounts on the stand, it didn’t even shake. Everything went together perfectly.”
Cross has since discovered that the motor and propeller are quite rare. The cheapest he has seen offered on the internet was $800 and in rough shape.
“Mine is in excellent shape with the original paint bands on it,” says Cross. “I had a guy stop by after seeing it in my yard and offered me $500. It’s not for sale at this point. If I want, I can remove two bolts and mount it to a boat or put it on something else. I just love building things. Riding this stuff is like being a kid in a candy store.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Julius Cross, 30 Ubly Rd., Sandusky, Mich. 48471 (ph 810-537-4377).
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He Built An ‘Air Bike’ FARM HOME Novelty Items Julian Cross Vol 37 No 6 and Vol 47 No 5 is at it again with another unique bike This time he mounted a 1958 Evinrude Air Boy motor with propeller to a 1950s vintage Montgomery Ward three-wheel bike The 5-hp two-stroke motor was designed for use with a 14-ft aluminum boat “I was looking at some old cars a guy had for sale when I saw this motor with a propeller sitting on a stand in the corner of the yard ” says Cross “The owner’s son collected boat motors As I was getting ready to leave I offered him $100 for it and he took it ” Cross already had it in his head to mount it on a bike When a buddy offered him the three-wheeler with the original redline tires it was a perfect match His first thought was to mount the motor and propeller directly to the bike but he recognized that would be too low “I realized I could use the Evinrude stand to mount the motor to the bike and it would position the motor and propeller above my head ” says Cross “The bike had a basket on the back with two adjustable braces connecting it to the bike frame I drilled two holes in the stand upright and bolted the braces to it I also used two muffler clamps to bolt the bottom of the motor frame to the bike frame between the rear wheels ” Cross had previously checked over the engine Aside from a missing cover plate and a leaking gas tank it was in good shape “I didn’t even have to clean the carburetor ” says Cross “I replaced the gas tank with one from an old snowblower and modified a motor cover from a 5-hp Briggs & Stratton One pull and it started ” Cross locked the propeller in a forward direction with a piece of angle iron and hooked a throttle cable from the motor to the handlebars He started the motor and set off at half throttle down the road A neighbor captured the trip on video “The motor has a power band on it and kicks in like a dirt bike ” recalls Cross “It was really ripping and I was going about 40 mph I was flying ” The bike was only equipped with its original brakes; however Cross had a kill switch on the motor which he used “I could hear the wind from the fan and the motor had a whine like an aircraft engine ” he says “With its rubber mounts on the stand it didn’t even shake Everything went together perfectly ” Cross has since discovered that the motor and propeller are quite rare The cheapest he has seen offered on the internet was $800 and in rough shape “Mine is in excellent shape with the original paint bands on it ” says Cross “I had a guy stop by after seeing it in my yard and offered me $500 It’s not for sale at this point If I want I can remove two bolts and mount it to a boat or put it on something else I just love building things Riding this stuff is like being a kid in a candy store ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Julius Cross 30 Ubly Rd Sandusky Mich 48471 ph 810-537-4377
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