Anything Goes With Crossover Riders

Anything Goes With Crossover Riders MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Since motorizing his 1896 Deere planter Vol 37 No 6 Julius Cross has been busy “I just use what I find or people give me ” says Cross     He has created a fleet of crossover bikes and motorcycles Here’s a roundup of a few of his creations Honda 350 Lawn Mower     Cross removed the motor and cut the frame on a Honda 350 just behind the motor mounts After chopping off an old mower’s front end he overlaid the frames on an old riding lawn mower He slipped an 18-hp Kohler under the 350’s fuel tank     “I switched the large pulley on the Kohler for a small one and it really goes ” says Cross “I can do 40 to 50 mph with it ” Honda Hillbilly Lawn Mower     When a neighbor offered Cross a self-propelled walk-behind mower he added “You can’t drive this one home ”     Cross immediately went home and came back with a bike minus the rear wheel He welded the two frames together and mounted the mower’s disengage control to the bike frame behind the handlebars     “I drove it home ” says Cross “When my neighbor saw me cutting my lawn with it he called it my Honda Hillbilly Mower ” Honda Dream Machine     When Cross married a 1965 Honda Dream to an old Montgomery Wards walk-behind with a 3-hp Wisconsin engine he got more than he bargained for With the tractor tires and a 3-pulley transmission the Dream Machine can go anywhere     “It sounds like an old putt-putt but I drove it through 2 1/2-ft deep mud ” says Cross “It sat covered up under a tree for several years I cleaned the points gassed it up and took it down the road ” Dad’s Bike     Cross inherited his love for hybrid bikes from his dad who cut the rear wheel off an old girl’s bike He replaced it with a rear wheel from an old gang mower salvaged from a golf course He installed a 160cc motor and a small gas tank hanging from the bike seat     “It has a centrifugal clutch built into it with a horn button on the handlebar that kills the motor ” says Cross “A metal band runs from a brake on the wheel to the bike pedals ”     The bike sat for years until Cross’ dad gave it to him “I got it running ” he says “It had a twist grip for the throttle but now I just set the throttle on the motor pull the rope and go At full throttle it does 50 mph easily ” Predator Schwinn     Cross’ Schwinn bike has a top speed of around 50 mph thanks to the 6 1/2-hp Predator motor mounted to a plate welded to the V-bar on the bike     “I put a sprocket on the motor and ran a chain to the big sprocket on the bike ” says Cross “It’s scary driving at 50 with those skinny tires ” Stretched Out 3-Wheeler     Weld the front end of an old shop-built electric motorcycle to the front end of a Craftsman garden tractor and you have a stretched-out 3-wheeler Cross retained the yellow fenders he originally fabricated for the motorcycle the seat and the foot pegs A cable stretches from the cycle clutch back to the garden tractor’s clutch     “I have the throttle on the handlebars and a blowtorch in place of headlights It puts out a 2 1/2-ft flame ” Electric Drive Cultivator     Every planter needs a cultivator to follow when the crop emerges so it was only natural for Cross to motorize one Cross’ son bought the cultivator as a birthday gift and the next day he went to work on it     “I removed the rear wheels on a 3-wheel Yamaha with air shocks on the front wheel ” says Cross “I welded the back of the motorcycle frame to the cultivator and welded a huge sprocket to one of the wheels ”     Cross was pleasantly surprised when the wheel slipped off in preparation for adding the sprocket The cultivator sat in a farmer’s field for decades but it was still well-greased     “I mounted a 48V electric motor with a small sprocket above the sprocket on the wheel and it was ready to go ” says Cross     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Julius Cross 30 Ubly Rd Sandusky Mich 48471 ph 810-537-4377

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