Article submitted by Larry Ward, MSTA Member and host of the 2 Wheel Power Hour
As the 2 Wheel Power Hour talk show host I come
across many characters and just as many ideas as one
could ever imagine. One such idea was circumventing
Lake Erie on board a small displacement motorcycle. The
Lake Erie Loop is the brain child of Bill Murar, retired
firefighter who has through the “Aluminum Cans for Burned
Children” raised thousands of dollars to help the kids and
their parents defray the costs of medical care. Bill single
handedly created the Lake Erie Loop Cannonball race as a
fundraiser for the Pediatric Burn foundation. Bill gladly
accepts donations of cans and cash for this Pediatric Fund.
I decided my second run at the Lake Erie Loop (my first
was a couple years before in the big boy 200cc class
where I yielded a third place podium finish) would be on a
small displacement motorcycle this time and I started
looking for a Honda Sport 50 or Sport 65. In looking over
the Craigslist Ads I spotted a Tomos Streetmate R which is
the “racing” looking version of the standard Streetmate.
Hmmm looks cool and it’s 49cc so I’ll give the guy a call.
Turns out the owner is none other than Brock Croy an old
buddy from my younger moped thrashing days! After a
short visit I had the Streetmate on my trailer and headed
home. A cursory inspection the “R” version yields it is
nothing more than a standard Steetmate with cosmetic
enhancements like twin projector headlights (ala Triumphs
Speed triple), flat blacked out bars, and cool Red, Black
and White graphics to make it look fast. Everyone knows a
stock 49cc moped with a 250 lb guy on it is anything but
fast!
The moped did not have spark so the first thing was to
find out why. A broken ground wire off the CDI was found
and repaired. Still no spark. I had a shop manual which
included the wiring diagram and finally I traced the culprit
to a faulty on/off switch. I by passed those wires and added
a hidden toggle switch and viola he had spark. Did I refer
to this moped as “he” instead of the customary “she”.. why
yes I did. In naming this moped I thought of how bad it was
going to be and how we together would literally have to
slug it out over a long period to “best” the Loop so I named
my moped Slug-O. The name really caught on!
Over the course of the next few weeks I found starter
problems, low compression problems, throttle cable
problems just to name a few. I bought another motor from a
Moped Army member, his chapter is the White Line Riders
in South Carolina. Cool dude shipped the motor to me so I
would have spares including the piston I needed. I
contacted (then) District Manager for Tomos Doug Joseph
and told him I wanted to raise money for Burned Children
by riding this moped around Lake Erie and by getting a
cash pledge per mile hoping to raise a couple hundred
dollars. He thought it was a stupid idea but bought into it
and provided me with a host of parts, bits and pieces to
bring Slug-O into tip top shape.
I ended up porting and polishing the Reed induction
cylinder off the spare motor, added a piston and new rings,
circlips and small end bearing to the con rod and adjusted
the squish band. The motor came together well. Since the
transmission was an automatic two speed which shifted
through centrifugal force applied at various rpms, I worked
on balancing the clutch end bell, weighing and balancing
the clutch shoes and changing the springs to achieve a
higher rpm in first gear before fully locking up. This
enhanced take off and everyone knows a 250 pound guy
on a moped needs to be able to get going to achieve any
chance of gaining enough speed to have it shift into
second gear. With the clutch and top end completed I
needed a better way to put fuel into the cylinder than the
current 12mm set up. I bought off of Treatland (huge west
coast moped parts supplier) a Dellorto PHVG 15 mm carb
(old one was 12mm), a K&N sponge air cleaner, needle
and an assortment of jets.. The carbs pilot and main jets
were changed as well as a special adjustable needle. I
made sure the jetting was on the rich side before ever
starting the motor. The exhaust system was a special
expansion chamber called the BiTurbo. It had an awesome
sound and you could hear Slug-O coming for miles. On
other note I eliminated the oil injection and premixed
running Amsoil 100:1 mix.
One item I would like to mention is rolling resistance.
Anything I can do to lighten the bike or to make it roll better
I did. Probably the two biggest improvements were the
Ceramic bearings I installed in both wheels and Sava tires.
You can manually spin the front wheel and start your stop
watch. The wheels would spun forever! The Mag rims had
all flashing removed and the heavy spot on the rim was
noted. I installed the Sava tires with their lightest spot on
the area where the rims were the heaviest. When we static
balanced the wheels I did not need any weights.
Suffice to say the bike was smooth and rolled forever
which helped my little 49cc power plant propel me to
speeds of 42 mph on the flats and 53 downhill! If you’ve
ever been on a moped going 53 mph anywhere you know
that isn’t a good feeling because the motor is spinning so
fast it sounds like a sewing machine and you wonder when
it’s going to throw it’s rod at you!
The next day I started the break in process by starting
Slug-O, let him warm up then shut him down till the
cylinder was cool to touch. I did this over the next 10 hours
progressing each time, letting Slug-O run longer and longer
finally going part throttle, then ¾ bursts until at the end of
the day being able to move up and down the rpm range.
Each time checking the spark plug for any telltale signs of
leaning out. Everything was chocolate brown and that’s my
favorite color! After the initial break-in I took Slug-O out for
speed trials. I have to laugh, Speed isn’t commonly used
when referring to riding a moped but as you’ll see, Slug-O
gradually through gearing changes and jetting started
flexing his muscles. The cockpit had a tachometer, digital
volt meter, GPS and an Hour meter. I started the trials by
determining the top speed over a predetermined course
and what RPM I was pulling. Once I had those figures I
could start the gearing changes. I put roughly 150 miles on
it running the same course day after day testing various
gearing combinations with an eye towards keeping the
engine within its maximum rpm range and also making
sure I had the ability to pull most hills.
After Slug-O was ready to go I took a look at what parts
I would need to bring with us in the event of a breakdown,
what route I should go on, and finally select a support staff.
As far as parts go, I brought spare carb parts, spark plugs,
transmission oil, air pump, shield for the K&N sponge filter
and extra tubes for the wheels. I filled 7- one gallon gas
cans and mixed each with Amsoil 100:1. I borrowed a van
from friend Bob Davis, whose a motorcyclist and owner of
Fairway Ford . Bob gave me a Ford Transit Connect XLT (I
eventually bought it and it’s my daily driver today).
My crew comprise of Chief Mechanic Kenny Sampson,
Fuel Attendant and Route Coordinator Roy Dyckman and
Ron Craig who was the Communications, Video and my
personal well being adviser for my record attempt .
After the riders meeting Roy Dyckman suggested I run
the loop counter clockwise avoiding I-90 (as much as
possible) and sticking to route 5, 20 cross over from Buffalo
to Highway 3 in Canada and follow that till I could make my
way to the bridge at Windsor then cross over and come
back I-75 out of Detroit. We decided to gamble on I-75
thinking if all went well I’d be hitting I-75 at 3 am Sunday
morning and hopefully less traffic to contend with.
At 5:50am on June 10, 2011 I sat on the starting grid
Slug-O was sleeping at that point but I would soon
summon him to awaken and start this record attempt. The
small displacement 50’s were first up and at exactly
5:55am the starter signaled to make ready and I fired up
Slug-O. The coolest sound ever, that high pitched staccato
of his little heat beat came to life as we prepared to do
battle. The flag dropped for the 50cc class and I was off
heading towards 600 plus miles and little did I know what
an adventure this would turn out to be. I worked my way to
Buffalo by way of a wrong turn taking me to the Cuyahoga
National Forest, then to some farmer’s place and
eventually got on track and made the turn at Buffalo.
Crossing over, the border guard asked if my bike was
“Street Legal”. It is street legal but not highway legal. He
didn’t ask about the highway part so I handed him my
registration, drivers license and Canadian Insurance Card
and my passport. He asked again Street Legal? I said
“sure, it has a horn (beep beep), a mirror, turn signals,
lights” and a wicked sounding pipe for which I produced
ample sounds for him to hear. He asked me to remove my
helmet, took one look at my gray beard and told me to get
out of there. See age does influence people.
I met a moped riding buddy who lives in Canada and he
shared a double secret short cut that really saved me an
hour on my journey. We met at Tim Hortons and I downed
donuts and coffee to celebrate. Of course eating donuts
and drinking Tim Horton coffee and shooting the bull cost
me half an hour, not to mention the pit stops after drinking
all the coffee. Anyways, everything was going fine until
about 2am when a thunder storm started. Remember that
open K&N filter??? I added the word “sponge” when
identifying the filter earlier, well that’s exactly what it did
was soak up water and eventually drowned Slug-O . I got
off the bike, my pit crew ran over, I told them what was
wrong and I went to the van and sat with all my gear on
waiting for the fix. Wasn’t more than ten minutes they had
the sponge squeezed dry, the filter cover attached and had
emptied the cylinder of water, installed a new plug and
Slug-O was again under his own power! Yeah…well not so
fast..seems not all the moisture was gone, so Slug-O was
only making 20 mph for the longest time. I had thoughts of
abandoning, but as soon as I thought that, Slug-O started
picking up speed and eventually cleared his throat and was
sounding like his old self!
I crossed back into the USA around 3am and I have to
tell you I was starting to get tired. I had been up 23 hours
plus and I think the only thing keeping me going was the
constant knowledge that I am on a 70 mile per hour
highway where everyone does 80 and I’m going 35-40. So
I had to be aware all the time of my surroundings and SlugO’s little heartbeat was making loud noises everytime I
crossed under an over pass, Braap braap braap! My chase
crew keep the vans bumper pretty close and I stayed to the
right hand side of the lane and was able to make the turn
onto roads that had lower speeds like 55 mph. At that point
I was struggling with sleep deprivation. I had packed in the
tank bag 5 Hour Energy. I’ve never taken this stuff before
but it works, sort of. I had eventually downed three bottles
on my trip and became the poster boy for 5 Hour Energy!
As I make the final turn to the campground where I’m
certain there will be hundreds awaiting my arrival, probably
a ticker tape parade etc, I smiled because underneath me
was a true champion. Slug-O purred along never missing a
beat and behind me was the greatest bunch of guys who
helped me set the record. I mean who would sit in a van for
24 plus hours traveling at an average of 35 mph?? My
buddies did just that!
I arrived at the final check in and was given not a ticker
tape parade, not hundreds of adoring fans just one sleepy
old guy came out and said “will ya turn that thing off, you’ll
wake everyone up!” My time was 24 hours and three
minutes. It is the current record for the moped 50 cc class. I
don’t know if it will ever be broken because we can’t find
anyone dumb enough to want to sit on a moped for 20 plus
hours!
Later that day was the awards presentation. I took my
class with a first place finish on the box and set the record
for the 50cc Moped Class. Collectively we raised close to
$4,000 to help send children who have been disfigured in a
fire to Summer Camp. Someone asked me why I did this
and how much discomfort and pain I endured during the
run and I simply told them… “ The pain I felt was small and
insignificant considering the pain these kids endure
sometimes over their lifetimes”.
I was proud to help the kids and their families and would
like to acknowledge the following who made it possible.
Bob Davis owner of Fairway Ford who not only lent us the
chase vehicle, but paid all the gas for the loop. Roy
Dyckman, Ron Craig and Ken Sampson for their friendship
and enthusiasm to be part of not only setting the record
and ultimately helping kids have a better life. Finally Bill
Murar, the retired Firefighter whose mission in life is to help
these kids whose lives have been altered through these
unfortunate incidents with fire.
I don’t often think of the Loop unless someone brings it
up, but it’s nice to be able to share with you my POG
buddies a little piece of history that is now in the record
books. This photo (insert Packard Museum ) was taken
from a Moped Army member living in Michigan who visited
the Packard Museum where for the first six months of July
2012 Slug-O and his magnificent accomplishment were on
display. You’ll note in the photo there was a jar with dollar
bills inside. The museum was kind enough to allow me the
opportunity to place the collection jar out and ask for
donations to help the Aluminum Cans for Burned Children
Pediatric fund. Thank you Bruce Williams, Head of the
Packard Motorcycle exhibit for selecting Slug-O to be
honored in that manner.
Slug-O was sold in the spring of 2015 to a young man
that is a decent hard working kid who wanted a faster way
to deliver his newspapers. I couldn’t think of a better way
to let Slug-O go than helping be a this kids first
experiences riding on motorized 2 Wheels. And really isn’t
that what all of us are about in the motorcycling
community? Giving back? I occasionally think of Slug-O
wondering what life he has. But soon after I start thinking
about my 7 year old grand daughter Charlotte when she
said , “Grandpa I’d like a little motorcycle”…
And so the cycle begins all over. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll
find someone willing to part with his or her bike that like
Slug-O is doing now giving my granddaughter a chance to
start her own adventures.
To all of you my POG friends I truly hope you enjoyed
my road down memory lane as I revisited the Lake Erie
Loop!
Larry Ward