Hasta La Gadget!

This is Samuel Magethe, and with him is his home-made motorized bike. Samuel lives in Nairobi, and bought the bicycle and engine separately before marrying them into this wonderful form. It looks a lot like the very first motorcycles. Samuel has been using his machine for two years.

The engine comes from Japanese company Adtec, and is sold in downtown Nairobi by bike dealer Julius. Erik Hersman of Afrigadget, who shot this video, tells us that the engine is a 48cc two-stroke that will push the bike to 25mph, and runs for 70 Km on a liter of gas, or 165 mpg. The range is double that, as the gas tank up top holds two liters.

You could buy the bike and engine together, for around $200, or the motor on its own for a mere $135. They are understandably popular in Kenya, but I imagine legal problems over licensing and road use would kill these immediately in the US. A shame, as a cargo-bike thus equipped would be an impossibly cheap replacement for at least one of your cars.

Motorized Bicycles in Nairobi [Afrigadget]

See Also:

• Video: African Bike Repair With Home-Made Tools