Henry Hoover converted into a motorbike is the best mini-moto you’re likely to see

  • Henry the Hoover is one of the best-selling vacuum cleaners in the UK
  • An engineer decided to turn it into a mini-motorbike
  • He gave it a 50cc engine, more wheels and a bike handle

Published on May 28, 2024 at 2:26 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis

Last updated on May 28, 2024 at 6:52 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

Cleaning the house using a vacuum cleaner is a chore, but even though it’s a tough job, somebody has to do it.

And there’s a guy in the UK who came up with an unusual solution to facilitate the job.

He decided to give his vacuum cleaner a motorcycle engine.

READ MORE: Windowless and doorless ‘Lo Res Car’ is a spaceship-like futuristic vehicle launchead nearly a decade ahead of the Cybertruck

The vacuum cleaner in question is Henry the Hoover, which sounds like something out of a Victorian-era novel, or perhaps a cartoon character, but it’s actually one of the best-selling vacuum cleaners in the UK.

Allan Gallop, an engineer from Buckinghamshire, decided to modify his vacuum cleaner with a motorcycle engine.

Or, to be more accurate, a 50cc engine out of a minibike.

After that, Gallop fitted some extra wheels and turned the vacuum cleaner into the body as well as the ‘saddle’ of the bike.

Then he added a minibike handle and, Bob’s your uncle, the motorized vacuum cleaner is good to go.

Ordinarily, a 50cc engine such as this one could theoretically propel a mini-motorbike all the way to a ‘massive’ top speed of around…20 or 30 mph.

In this case, we’re going to go ahead and assume this ‘vehicle’ is potentially a lot slower than that.

As far as DIY projects go, this is up there with the best of them.

Mind you, competition is fierce.

From the guy who built a 1:1, fully operational Boeing 737 flight simulator in his shed to all those people who built their own DIY Cybertruck before the actual Cybertruck was even launched, it’s a long and illustrious list.

But this is definitely one of the most interesting ones we’ve seen.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.