Bones

While I was wrapping up my cedar strip kayak project in the winter of 2021, I started thinking about my next project. For several years, I had wanted to do an electric conversion of a small motorcycle or moped, so I began my quest to find the right rolling frame for my project.

The frame I was looking for needed to meet certain criteria: First, it had to be interesting in style and design; second, it had to be relatively lightweight; third, the frame geometry would need to support the electrical components that I would be using (battery, motor, controller); lastly, it needed to be vintage - something pre-1990s.

After a few month's of searching, I thought I had found it...

The 1960 James Cadet

I found this beautiful hunk of rusting metal on Facebook Marketplace. The owner inherited this and a barn-full of old motorcycle bits and pieces and he didn't have a clue about the make, model, or year. I didn't either, but I liked the look of it from the rear fender to the teardrop headlight with enclosed Smith's gauge. After some online research and VIN searches, I determined that it was a 1960 James Cadet, made in England.

Here's what it would have looked like in its original livery

Unfortunately, parts were hard to find here in the US, and with the condition of the swingarm and front forks, not to mention the overall weight, I finally came to the conclusion that I'd have to find another candidate.

In hindsight, I think this bike would have worked with the 3000W hub motor that I installed on the Motobecane, but I would have basically had to start with little more than the front and rear fender.

The search continued...

Diamond in the Rough

I've bought and sold a number of things on Facebook Marketplace, but I must admit that I have a love/hate relationship with the eCommerce platform. Scammers abound online and it's hard to tell what's going to happen until the transaction has concluded.

Nevertheless, after abandoning the James Cadet, I returned to scrolling Facebook Marketplace and on June 27th, 2022, I found and purchased the 1978 Motobecane Mobylette 50V.

I drove 20 minutes south to Nixa, Missouri (where Jason Bourne was supposedly from for those Bourne movie fans), and the owner rolled-up the garage door to a partially disassembled compact car with its engine precariously balanced perpendicular on the front fenders. Oil was all over the floor and I couldn't even see the moped with only six inches of space on either side of the car. The owner bounded over the car like a kangaroo and started retrieving parts of the Moby one by one until he seemed confident in producing enough parts to satisfy the transaction. The motor was missing, so I asked him if he had the motor. He scratched his head and again bounded to the back side of the car. Like a pro football player, with the engine under one arm, he returned with the motor and muffler.

After the owner sharing a short story about how he had acquired the bike in exchange for some yardwork for an elderly woman, the transaction was made, and I hauled my 44-year-old treasure home.

First walkaround video