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The Ground Up Designs flamethrower bike certainly attracted some attention at the 2010 NAHBS show, making people first play a guessing game as to what exactly it did, and then how it looked in action. Skip to the fun part—in action the flame pulses out of the nozzle with the press of a button, letting out a fairly sizeable cloud of heat. The small crowd that stood by was excited to say the least.
How’s it work? The stainless bottle mounted to the downtube takes a splash of race car fuel, and is then pressurized a minimal amount with the downtube mounted shock pump. The box on the seattube houses a battery, switch and solenoid to control the length of fuel burst that sprays from the repurposed fuel valve from an old scooter that gives a fine but controlled mist for maximum ignition. The spark is provided by the Fred Flintstone taillight—on the back of the fender sits a bottom bracket axle on end with a tapered cap, forming a miniature, open oil lamp. Click the button and fuel bursts across the tiki-flame, I wouldn’t want to be behind it as it lights up, or around as lit fuel potentially splashes around. This bike requires adult supervision.
It’s cool and would certainly get the attention of motorists. But otherwise…why did Ground Up Designs want to build a bike with a flame thrower?
Better question, who WOULDN’T want to build a bike with a flame thrower?
I support this… 100%
Does it come with marshmallows?
This is the thing you need for tailgaters.
Please switch to inert gas for your propellent. Using a bike pump to pressurize your fuel with air is not ok! You risk an explosion! I’d hate to see that happen, I work with fire art and accidents reflect poorly on all of us. Also please be sure your solenoid is rated for gasoline. Some solenoids loose their ability to seal when exposed to hydrocarbons.
Also try denatured alcohol mixed with boric acid (roach killer) green flame!