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[BayouBiker]

James Hough is a lawyer by profession but a gearhead at heart. He’s always tinkering with engines and building things from scratch. About a year ago, he combined the two passions to create the Houghmade Cycle Works 71, a motorized bicycle that pays homage to the racing motorcycles of the early 20th century.

"I had been looking for a project and saw online that someone had put an engine on an old Schwinn," Hough says. "I was inspired by that and thought it would be a fun project, an outlet for my desire to build. I thought it would be fun to ride around the neighborhood and to run errands. The 100-plus mpg didn't hurt."

Click through the gallery to check out the tech behind this cruiser on steroids.

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Hough drew inspiration from the board-track racers that sped around steeply banked wood tracks called motordromes — especially the 1911 Harley Davidson "Silent Grey Fellow" and the leaf-sprung Indian motorcycles of that era. The Houghmade bike's gas tank copies the tank found on the 1919 Excelsior OHC that some consider the most advanced motorcycle of its day.

[BayouBiker]

Like most projects, the Houghmade Cycle Works 71 took longer and cost more than expected. "I started in August of 2007 and expected it to be done in a month," Hough says. "However, as time went on, my vision of what I wanted became clearer. I wanted something special."

Hough spent 13 months and "somewhere around $1,000, give or take," on the project. Future plans include better brakes — drum brakes from a moped or disc brakes from a mountain bike — and perhaps a chain guard. "I do not see it as a safety issue, because my cuffs are nowhere near the drive chain," Hough says. "I purposefully left the chain guard off both sides because board-track racers did not have chain guards."

[BayouBiker]

Hough sweats the details, going so far as to install a manual oil pump and fabricate an air-filter housing similar to those the board-track racers used. Houghmade Cycle Works is a play on words, and the model number he assigned the bike — 71 — refers to the year he was born.

[BayouBiker]

Hough modified or made many of the parts on the bike. The handlebars were formed from old plumbing pipe, and the headlight is a railroad lantern. He's fitted it with a speedometer and electric lamp that uses a 3-volt flashlight bulb and two batteries. "I will probably install a more robust lighting system inside the current headlight housing, though I have no intention to ride at night," he says.

[BayouBiker]

But how fast is it? Although the speedo maxes out at 50 mph, Hough says the Houghmade Cycle Works 71 won't go that fast. "It runs smooth," he says. "I cruise around at 25 to 30 mph. It tops out around 40, but that's really pushing it. At 25 to 30 mph, it really feels like highway speeds, and I love every minute of it."

[BayouBiker]

The heart of the bike is a Honda GHX50 50cc engine mated to a Grubee Skyhawk II transmission. Hough spent a little more than $400 for the drivetrain, which is mounted to the Huffy frame with a Grubee engine mount. The bike is street-legal in Indiana and doesn't require a license plate or registration.

[screaminchickensrule]

Very neat bike...

[Buffy]

Very kewl.  I'd be proud to own that beauty! 

[MIKEYTEE]

The workmanship is outstanding! Very cool bike.
Mike