Henry Hoover motorbike inventor wants to 'race' his bonkers creation
The inventor of a Henry Hoover motorbike has said he would 'love to race' the makeshift vehicle after flaunting it on TikTok.
The creative mind behind the Henry Hoover motorbike has expressed his desire to take the quirky contraption for a spin on the racetrack, but stringent rules are thwarting his ambitions to make it street-legal.
TikTok user @awesometoaster had long harboured plans to power up the iconic vacuum cleaner and seized the opportunity at MK Makerspace in Milton Keynes.
By fitting an engine underneath and beefing up the wheels, he's turned the humble Henry Hoover into a nifty ride. The vacuum's original power switch now serves as a kill switch, and a diminutive front wheel has been added for stability.
His TikTok channel features him zooming around on the modified Henry.
However, the innovator says "intense" regulations are blocking his path to road legality. Nonetheless, he remains hopeful that one day he'll be able to race his creation.
He told The Mirror: "The engine itself is a two stroke 50cc pocket bike engine and it just happened to fit the Henry body shell. The real work was in building a custom frame to hold everything together, but a serious challenge was making the rear axle.
"We were very fortunate our little club shares its space with Men In Sheds, a men's mental health charity, who happened to have matching tools. And some retired machinists helped me make up all the flanges to mount the sprocket, brake discs and wheel hubs."
The owner of the unique vehicle has received numerous cash offers but remains reluctant to sell. He admitted that making it road legal presents a challenge and he's encountered "some difficulties" in determining where he can legally operate it.
Driving experts share the best used cars for new motorists, priced under £5,000 [LATEST]
Little-known black button on car – and people realise it can fix wiper blades [LATEST]
Warning to drivers filling up with diesel this week as law changes [LATEST]
He added: "We did look into making him road legal but the requirements are quite intense, it's an eventual goal though.
"So far I've experienced some difficulties figuring out where we can ride it, I've been in touch with the local police but they've not been insightful.
"I would love to race it, and I think it may have some challengers as I've heard others are now building similar 'motorised appliances', so far we've learnt Henry is quite fast but still has the same issues with corners as he did as a vacuum."
