The wierd cars you see in South America but not Europe Part 1: The Mototaxi

After spending a couple of weeks in Peru, I thought I'd try and get some observations about the cars here jotted down.

The cars you see here are "Different" from those available in Europe, obviously there are some that are the same.

Firstly, lets get Iquitos out of the way. You don't see many cars at all there, so it's mostly scooters and mototaxis. There are several makes of mototaxi, the most popular being Honda CG125 based contraptions, I honestly don't know if they are made or just lashed together from a kit of parts.

I'll try to describe it and you picture it in your head. After I've finished, I'll show you a photo and see how close you are :-)

You get the front part of the motorbike, front suspension, handlebars, motor and gearbox. Then all trace of normality goes out of the window, behind the drivers seat is a tubular frame with a seat and luggage platform. Underneath are 2 trailing arms with 2 coilover dampers each, each holding a hub assembly and a wheel.
The left hand side wheel is driven by a chain, coming from a shaft which in turn is driven by another chain on the centreline of the "bike", coming from the gearbox.  All of this is topped by a cloth "tent" (?) which serves as weather protection.

Got it fixed in your mind ?... here we go...

A Honda CG125 motortaxi

Pros:

• Super light weight, so a few hp can go a long way. so...
• Economical
• Cheap, the Honda shown above is about 6,000 Soles or about 1500 Euros.
• Easy to repair, the thing is basically bullet proof and as they are like cockroaches, spares are easy to come by.
• Soft suspension means a comfortable ride on broken roads.
• You can get to the bottom of the machine for maintenance by flipping it on its side. 

Cons:

• S  L  O  W
• Unstable
• No Crash protection whatsoever.
• Only one wheel drive. 
• You get wet if it rains, the tent is really only for the shade.

I reckon 90% of motorised transport in Iquitos is a variant of the above, there are (even) cheaper chinese versions and also little trucks that even have an axle with a differential and 2 wheel drive.

There are roads specifically designed for the things too. They are like jungle motorways... poured concrete slabs just wide enough for two moto taxis to fit side by side, a car would cause chaos.

I tried designing a replacement in my head with 4 wheels (maybe using suspension from a quad), a generator and battery for power, then a couple of electric hub motors. 

To be honest, it would be more stable, more economical to run, safer and 2WD !, but unless the parts could be sourced very cheaply it may cost a bit more. Also the spares would be more expensive for a while until a critical mass of donor vehicles have been crashed.