He Built An ‘Air Bike’

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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