Di Blasi Folding Motorbike

[pistongone]

I have just had a run on a friends scooter, name as above. It goes at 35mph, is road legal tax etc, fits in a bag the saize of a medium suit case and weighs in at only 30kg. An ideal way to get around large airfields and even to and from towns not too distant from your landing site. Has anyone got one or had one? How do they stand up to the rigours of an aviation life long term? My friend keeps his on the back of his boat, so it doesnt get put up/down much, but he said on 2 litres of fuel it will do about 70 miles! I just checked the web and they are about £1400 new on the road!!! Sounds like a good idea, what are your thoughts gents?

[scooter boy]

Dear Pistongone,
I have 2, hence the name SB.
Bought them both 2nd hand - one in USA, the other from NZ.
Great machines.
Road legal etc...
Insurance is minimal, you'd be lucky to touch 30mph though if you're a big lad like me - probably safer that way though.
R44 fits 2 in the back nicely.

Di Blasi high points for me this year were when a friend and I gave 2 fingers to Mr Bernie Ecclestone's £400 Silverstone landing fee by putting my R44 down at Turweston and then Di Blasiing the rest of the way on race day - haven't had so much fun since I was 16 :ok: - ate a lot of dust though as I was on the slower one and value my tibias more than my friend. The guys running the £80 return 4x4 service were suitably unimpressed := that we had arrived with our own transport and that it was costing us £0.31 to get trackside and back. Also blagged ;) some tickets for £20 each for the final straight but that'a another story.

Second high point was turning up at Mallorcair in Palma and alighting from my plane with a rather large petrolly smelling bag and popping the little beastie back together at the FBO prior to crossing Majorca at night IFR by moped - took 2 hours and my legs were numb for the latter half of it but what a wheeze (and it cost me about 0.75 euro cents).

Go ahead and buy one - there is nothing that comes close for fun - you will look a prat (Jim Carrey in dumb and dumber actually) but who cares!

PM me if you want more info.
SB

[IO540]

I wonder what is involved in getting these through a major 3rd world airport e.g. Corfu.

Would you carry it as a backpack?

[pistongone]

Thanks for the info scooter, i will be down in london soon and i have found a dealer in Fulham and they have second hand ones for about £800!! I spend more than that in taxi's in a year going to and from airfields. IO540 i would have thought the best way to get them through a 3rd world airport was to put it up and ride it:} That would confuse a few of them and entertain the rest:ok: I just thought, you could drain a couple of litres of fuel from the plane when you do the walk round and put it in the bike! Do you have to carry two stroke oil? And will they go faster with Avgas? Or blow up even:{ You know how temperamental two stroke engines can be:E :E

[IO540]

2 strokes are fun. I used to routinely take the head off my Yamaha RD200 and scrape the coke off the piston with a screwdriver :)

[pistongone]

now this might be going off topic a bit but, in 1979 i bought a Kawasaki KH250 and i was forever de-coking it and setting the points! Remember them in the days before CDI's? Three sets of them and they would need doing often and the plugs would only be good for about 1000 miles! Then i bought an RD350 lc, then the 350 powervalve, then the Suzuki RG500. So when it comes to two strokes you can say i am pretty much addicted. However, i can see one of these things being fun, but not quite in the way of hitting the power band a screaming 500 would be:} :} Those were the days eh IO540?

[Colonel Panic]

Are there any insurance implications of carrying the fuel in the bike when it's in the aircraft? Is it deemed to be a "suitable container"?

[S205-18F]

I was on "that" auction site and I see there are de blasi folding bike at fixed price! think it was £350. I am seriously tempted could always carry it on the back of my 1200 bandit to get from the carpark to the shops:}

[pistongone]

any chance of a link to "THAT SITE"? i will definitely put a bid in at that price £350? Does it still work?

[S205-18F]

Ebay but too late I think someone else on this forum got there first. Its sold!

[airborne_artist]

Two on ebay (UK) at the moment. One on buy-it now at £350, the other open auction. Also a Di Blasi folding push bike, just as fast, no noise :ok:

[scooter boy]

Pistongone, yes you can burn avgas - I have used strained avgas (as I also do in my A/C ground tug) mixed with 2 stroke oil.
On the continent you can pick up a toothpaste sized tube of 2-stroke oil with a simple guide as to what dilution you need to mix it to - a little squirt will keep your little squirt running sweetly.

Colonel Panic, you are right in that technically speaking the fuel should be drained out and I am pretty sure that carrying a fuel container inside an A/C is illegal. Just think of it, petrol, oxygen, all you need is a little blue touch paper and suddenly you are Halley's comet.:}

Draining the fuel out doesn't stop them reeking of petrol though.

IO540, Corfu is pretty first world when it comes to Greek airports! Pericles, the friendly airport manager (and ancient philosopher) would certainly allow you to ride it across the tarmac and out of the terminal if you asked him nicely.

My only concern flying with one of these in the back is that it is well secured. A Sudden Di Blasi in the lap would really spoil your concentration.

Expect to be treated badly on the roads as well - you will become an item of interest for any self respecting adolescent boy, and an item of ridicule to everybody else. But who cares - you are ridin' and they are walking ;)

[tiggermoth]

Wow - that sounds like such a good laugh! I've not got my PPL yet, but I think I'd probably go for one of these. A bit less poke than my CB750, but hey, it's still wheels. Just looked on Ebay too...

[ormus55]

ebay item number 220030084446 is a crayford folding bike not the di blasi.
still available at the 350 buy it now price.

[pistongone]

Folding bikes arent really what i'm looking for. Specifically, i want one of those folding scooters that come in at 30kg and do 30 odd mph! Cant be doing with all that hard work :eek:

[airborne_artist]

PG

Item #220030084446 is titled Crayford (Di Blasi) folding motorbike and item #140031983333 is titled Di Blasi folding motorbike.

Both look highly dangerous, and probably handle like wet soap in the bath :E

[S205-18F]

I wonder if you can register some of these miniature race bikes for road use they are amazingly cheap and very potent some of them. £90 seems to be the price for one of the Di Blaise style machines dont think it folds but its tiny already made up Item number: 120034358869 I fancy trying to register it anybody got any thoughts?