Mario Lopez is the Mastermind behind Motorized Bicycles in Aurora

Aurora, Colorado—The nationwide fad of converting road bicycles into motorized bicycles has come to the Metro Aurora/Denver area due to the ingenuity of Mario Lopez, 32, who works at a dry cleaners, and his cousin, Bobby Perez, 23, who works at a local Subway.

Both of the entrepreneur's families come from San Pedro, California, where the lowriders reign during Christmas parades and the Cinco de Mayo low-and-slo' cruise, led by their Uncle Rick Perez. “It’s been in my blood for all of my life,” Lopez said. “Grandma has pictures of old people standing in front of antique cars with Cragar rims, whitewall tires, and custom suspensions.”

Similarly, bicycles have always been in the lowrider scene, he said, but they are rarely spotted on the streets of Aurora. Until now.

They want to change that by setting up shop in Lopez's backyard. A motorized bicycle starts out as a frame and parts arrive from all over the world including Gru-bee inc. engine kits, the centerpiece being the Yangdong 2.0-cycle gas engine. Add custom stretch Ape hangers (handlebars) and custom paint jobs. “The hardest part is the back sprocket because I have arthritis, which makes it difficult to install,” he said.

The purple lowrider has a 66-Stage 2 SkyHawk engine along with a 3.5 liter gas tank and the Schwinn beach cruiser has a Super Rat 66cc engine with a 2.3 liter gas tank. Total cost for the lowrider retrofit is $700 ($300 engine kit / $400 labor) and total cost for the beach cruiser retrofit is $500-$600 ($300 engine kit / $200-$300 labor). 

“How many mopeds do you see on the streets?” Bobby Perez asked. “I really love these bikes and I’d really like to see people have them." The technical name of the motorized bicycle is a loped, he said. “Kind of goes with my name,” he said.

Here’s a funny story:  In a foot of snow last winter, the two rode from 11th Avenue and Dayton to the Aurora Mall on their motorized bicycles. Lopez said: “We were a chivalrous couple then. It was icy as hell. Don’t know how we made it.”

Most important:  If the Yangdong engine has less than 49cc, then the rider does not have to have a driver’s license; however, if the Chinese-made engine has more than 49cc, then the rider does need to have a valid driver’s license. On their “To Do List,” Lopez said that he and Perez will be required to add headlights and tail lights, and to install turn signals to get the lopeds up to par to drive legally.

Mario Lopez is one lucky man. Not only has he survived a 9-turn rollover in a 1995 Chevy Baretta going 100 mph on Route 9 near Gun Club Road during his junior year at Hinkley High School, he also had brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor all the while fathering five kids.

“I’ve overcome a lot of adversity to make it this far in life,” he said. “I hope that I can further my career in the bicycling biz by doing this.”

For more information about motorized bikes, contact Mario Lopez at (720) 620-7023.