Moped or Death Racer?
By Anthony van Someren - 02 Dec 12
This insane two-wheeled speed-machine is a one-off custom-framed race bike built by Wolf Creative Customs based in Culver City, and was brought to our attention by the builder, Jeff Wolf, who's 16 year old son Jonathan pilots this skinny-framed motorbicycle in the So Cal race circuits.
We've seen some pretty crazy bikes carve up the tarmac over the years, but this was something new so we had to put her up on the Bike Shed for all the speed loving home builders out here. Here's how Jeff tells it...
"I started out building motorized bikes about two years ago, purchased a Chinese two stroke kit and installed it on a cruiser. After some time I realized this was not a reliable engine and looked around for a good substitute. At the same time a group was formed in Arizona that had a yearly race called the Death race."
"I attended one of these racing and became hooked. That’s when Wolf Creative Customs began. We now have a So-Cal circuit which is raced on local go kart tracks. The rider for these bikes is Jonathan Wolf my 16 year old son, not only is he a rider he also helps build, design and photograph for Wolf Creative Customs."
"After building a couple bikes I stepped it up and started the design for a large four stroke. This bike features a 196cc OHV Honda motor. With the help of Isky Cams a complete new motor was built. The motor features big valve ported and milled head, custom ground cam, billet con rod, chromoly push rods, gas ported flat top piston, custom rocker arms, billet lightened flywheel, 22mm mikuni carburetor, custom catch can, billet valve cover and a custom three stage exhaust. The motor started out with 6.5 hp and now has a conservative 16 hp. The drive system is a jack-shaft setup with a disk type clutch. The motor is good to 8500 RPM. Engine temp, rpm and speed can all be seen through a Trail Tech Vapor Stealth Computer."
"The frame is made out of .120 wall mild steel that is mig & tig welded. The tank is aluminum. The seat is hand made out of aluminum and features a suspension shock system. The wheels are custom built to my specs using a moped drum with quick change sprocket setup, front wheel is setup with a custom disk brake from a moped and a heavy duty vented floating disk. The forks are from a downhill mountain bike."
"The handle bars are motorcycle dirt tracker style. The pedal system is custom made from Sportsman Flyer. The complete bike and paint was completed in my garage shop."
"We have built a few other types of bikes such as board-track style and street tracker. The latest bike will feature an all-aluminum frame powered by a KTM two stroke. Honda CB 100 is also in the works."
It's pretty clear these bikes are a lot more than bicycles with an engine strapped-on, and we'd love to see them in action - especially the machine powered by a KTM stroker! ...Check out more of this superb insanity on Facebook at MotorizedBicycleRacing and Wolf Creative Customs - plus thir growing forum HERE.