BMW is a company destroying aviation infrastructure (Fürstenfeldbruck) and should not considered.
But they still have a spinning propeller as their company logo!
And who knew that the three spokes of the Mercedes logo symbolize their former slogan "On the ground, on the water, in the air"?
I bought at bike at Sywell this year. GoCycle.
If it's the bikes I saw they were incredibly expensive. About £2800 IIRC
The huge effort somebody went to to attach that motorbike to the RV is just astounding...
Looks like the pod might double up as a dinghy though?
The GoCycle may be pricey but hey you get free shipping 
Actually it does look like a very good solution. According to this it goes 20-40 miles.
Some good reviews here.
I cannot find the charger power input. Obviously it is just a 230V mains plug so one could charge it in the aircraft if one had to - at a slight risk of getting an "adventure" with the LI battery. But if it draws say 300W that is 15A at 24V which is a lot. That was the same issue with those oxygen generators we discussed here a while ago.
Had not come across a Birdy, and see that one model has Shimano hub gears. I ride a 26 in wheel bike and have not ridden on a folding bike, but apparently there are a lot of Brompton users that take them on long tours. Not sure I would want to use up useful load with a bike though.
One of the nice things about the US is that some FBOs have a spare car always on loan for visiting pilots.
It fits into the baggage compartment through the door. I used it to ride to work in Switzerland every morning (4 Miles one way). The only downside is the transmission ratio, which could be higher, I just prefer to pedal slower with more force.
I have two Bromptons which I occasionally carry in the back of the 150. I took my wife and the bikes, and very small luggage to the Bahamas for a few days...
I have a couple of Strida bikes which I got on ebay for about £60 each about 5 years ago. All folding bikes have advantages/disadvantages. Try to go for the largest wheels commensurate with folding ease & weight. For serious users, the Brompton is clearly the king of the pack - for convenience in speed of folding, wheel size, folded size & gears. They are, though, not cheap: £1,000+ each. The Strida is, in my opinion, the best compromise for flyers: It has practical size wheels; folds in literally 20 seconds; and, above all, has a grease-less chain: However hard you try with other types you always end up with oil either on yourself or on the plane's leather upholstery. The bike has, though, three minor deficits - which I find no problem: It has no gears (unless one gets the latest model, for which one must pay a large price) - in the last resort, one simply gets off and walks up a hill. The second, is that, when folded, it remains the size of a golf bag/walking stick. [The manufacturers actually claim this to be an advantage, since one can 'wheel' the bike whilst folded.] The third, is that one looks like one is on a 'circus bike' whilst riding this, but this usually results in more curiosity than laughs as one speeds past. In my PA28RT, the back seats easily come out individually at the push of a button. I usually only fly 'two-up' when touring. By removing the seat behind behind P1, a couple of the Strida bikes easily and readily fit on the floor. [They will even fit without removing the seat, but this is a little awkward in manoeuvring and doesn't leave much room for anything else.] The other thing to remember is that one should carry one's luggage in a rucksack since the rack on the back is not very large and too big a bag there can effect stability and/or one's heels when peddling. I reckon that in the saving of taxi fares I have got a hundredfold return on my investment.
I used to carry a 50cc DiBlasi scooter in the back for transport on arrival at an airport. It did give amusement one day at DUB when I had to wheel it through the customs office. Nowadays I carry two Bromptons which easily fit through the 182's baggage door and are easy to carry on public transport if required. The Brompton is a serious cycle capable of long distances and with its custom luggage capable of carrying normal touring requirements. If you wish power assistance then the Nano electric conversion provides the ideal solution.
Until now, I have been carrying a bicycle in the back of my aircraft for local trips around destination aerodromes. However, sometimes I need to cover a greater range, so I am considering an upgrade to a light motorcycle. The idea is to get something that would be legal on motorways, would carry two lightweight people (say, 70+60 kg), and would itself weigh under 120 kg.
With the back seats folded, my cargo bay has the following dimensions:
So far, the best solution I found is a Suzuki GN/GS 125, which is cheap, weighs 98 to 112 kg dry (depending on the model year) and would fit there after removal of the mirrors and the front wheel (together with the bottom half of the fork and probably the entire front brake circuit), which takes only a few minutes. However, even with all other easily removable items off, I reckon it to weigh 80+ kg, and loading it through the sliding canopy would be quite an exercise. So, my questions go out to the (apparently numerous) motorcycling community on the site:
- Do you consider this reasonably feasible?
- Do you have any better ideas? (if necessary, I do have access to a machine shop, welding equipment, etc.)
Any help in finding and acquiring the desired gizmo would be appreciated enormously, as my biking experience is nearly zero (I do have a category A license but have never owned a bike).
