All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S15E05.Transformers.1080p.AMZN.WEBRip.DD2.0.x264-CasStudio_track3_[eng]

[ Projector running ]

[ Ragtime music plays ]

Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

so, Jamie, you know
how we like to use
tools and materials

for purposes they were
never intended for, right?

Like, transforming them?

It's, like,
second-nature for us.

Well, now,
we have an entire episode

devoted to transformers.

Well, that's cool.
Like what?

Well, we got one about a guy

who supposedly took
some 5-gallon water-cooler jugs

and converted a bicycle

into a fully amphibious
commute vehicle.

Sounds dubious...
But fun.

But first up,
we've got an amazing story

about a frenchman
stranded in the African desert

in his little French car.

This is
the citroen deux chevaux,

except two of the wheels
are busted.

He uses the remaining two wheels

and rebuilds this car
into a motorcycle

that he uses to ride
back to civilization with.

I think we should get ourselves
a 2cv and try it ourselves.

Absolutely.

Narrator: It's a tall tale
of French transformation.

Supposedly, using nothing
but hand tools and hope,

a working motorcycle was made
from a broken-down car.

But before
any mechanical metamorphosis,

the guys must start out

by meeting the motorcar
from the myth... a '67 citroen.

All right,
picking up some speed here.

Oh, yeah, baby!

[ Laughs ]

Whoa-ho!

Now, this is the actual car
we are going to be turning...

Or trying to turn...
Into a motorcycle.

This car feels insane!

It was originally conceived of
by a frenchman

named Pierre-Jules boulanger
in 1935

but went into production
in 1948.

Come on!
Gimme all your power!

Between then and 1990, they made
over 3.2 million of them.

And its 425cc engine puts out
a blistering 12 horsepower.

Ladies and gentlemen,
may i present to you...

the citroen deux chevaux.

Nice dubs, homey.

Isn't it beautiful?
[ Laughs ]

Narrator: It's clearly
not fast or furious.

But for this
motorcycle-from-car conundrum...

Let's inspect,

see what's going on
under the hood here.

It'll be the car's
adaptability that's key.

[ Laughs ]

Where's the engine?

[ Laughs ]

Adam: I have to say,
if ever there was a car

for turning into a motorcycle,
it is this baby right here.

And once you look
under the hood, you can see why.

There's very little there.

I'm genuinely excited

about getting our hands dirty
in this thing

and then seeing
what we can make happen.

So, what are you thinking?

Well, we've run it
through its paces,

and we know
what it looks like mechanically.

I can't think of anything else

except for taking this out,
stranding ourselves,

and seeing if we can turn it
into a motorcycle.

All right, then.
Road trip!

All right.

[ Engine turns over ]

Here we go.

[ Engine revs, tires squeal ]

Off to Africa.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
The frenchman in the myth
got stranded in Morocco.

Adam: Oh, man.

I think there's vultures
circling overhead.

But Adam and Jamie's
saharan substitute...

Jamie:
Let's try over there.

Is a little closer to home.

Jamie:
Nice little workspace.

Flat, desolate...
Perfect.

Jamie:
Prior to this experiment,

all we know is that it's cute
and it's pretty basic.

But, like any normal car,
it also has four wheels

and an engine
under the hood in the front.

And somehow, we're gonna
have to reconfigure it

to where we just use
two of those wheels

and all the necessary components

to be able
to power it and steer it

in such a way that we can
drive it motorcycle-fashion.

I'm gonna go grab the toolkit.

Okay.

Adam: In the myth,
the guy is stranded

with nothing but a 2cv

and a bunch
of standard hand tools.

All right, sir.

We've got a Jack...

hacksaw...

And we are gonna be replicating
exactly that.

Screwdrivers...

C-wrenches.

Perhaps, the very first thing
we're gonna be testing is,

can you even take this car apart
with this simplicity?

Narrator: Having so few tools
would seem like a hindrance,

but with this car, maybe not.

How's this held down there?

Ooh. [ Laughs ]

[ Laughing ]

Well, that's a nice start.

If the whole car is like that,
then we're home-free.

Once the hood's
literally been slid off...

Adam, it looks like all
this stuff comes off that way.

No way.

It's soon joined by the doors.

Who built this thing?

[ Chuckles ]

Next come the seats...

Now we've got a place to sit
and have some lunch.

Also without any tools
being touched at all.

Wow.

And while a few parts
do need a helping hand...

I've already got the bumper
half off.

Oh, oh, oh.

Aah! Aah!

Whoa. There we go.

Mostly, it's a case
of unlock and unload.

I've never
worked on a vehicle...

Anything close to this.

This is so basic,
it's actually quite wonderful.

Taking just 60 minutes...

Nice!

It is an encouraging start.

But stripping back the car

was never going to be
the tough task.

[ Grunting ] Okay.

All right.

[ Both laugh ]

Yeah!

That's what I'm talkin' about.

That belongs to transforming
what's left into a motorcycle.

Jamie:
Now, we rocketed through

removing all the stuff
that we didn't need,

but at this point,
taking it the rest of the way,

actually removing
two of the wheels

and making it into
something like a motorcycle,

i don't have a clue
how we're gonna do it.

Narrator: Without doubt,
there's a lot to do.

So let's cut to the other chase.

So, tell me about
this amphibious bicycle.

Well, according to
the pictures we've got...

And we have a bunch of them...

All it takes
is eight of these guys

and a simple steel structure

to turn a bicycle into,

effectively,
a paddle-wheel boat.

So you want to replicate
what you see in those photos

and see if it works?

That is exactly
what i want to do.

Cool.

Narrator: Crossing one of these
with one of these...

[ Boat horn blows ]

may seem a little far out.

Yet, in the far east,

that's supposedly
what this invention has done...

Unless it's a case
of Photoshop fakery.

So, there's a lot of steps
to this process,

the first and foremost being

that there will be paddles
on this back wheel

that allow it to propel forward.

But the paddles require
a fair bit of re-jiggering

of the frame of this bike

in order to accommodate
the effectively wire back wheel.

Narrator:
With a paddle wheel

5 inches Fuller
than its regular counterpart...

All right. Here comes the part
that'll make you cringe.

Narrator: Adam first removes
the rear of the frame...

before welding
a wider version in its place,

using exactly the same bracing
as in the photos.

Adam: It's not pretty,
but it'll do.

Narrator: Next,
Adam reinvents the wheel,

as he secures
the 12 aluminum paddles...

Hoo!

Bet that was riveting.

Narrator:
Directly to the spokes.

Adam: Come on.

Come on.

Come on!

Last bit, last bit!

Let's all cooperate.

Got it! Yeah!

Narrator:
And when the new drive wheel
fits like a glove...

[ Laughs ]

* it's totally working *

narrator:
It's time to get buoyant.

Now, the way this bike
achieves its amphibious nature

is with these...
5-gallon drinking-water jugs,

which i have to mount to
the steel frame of the bicycle,

and I'm gonna do it with
these pieces of strap steel.

I'm about to roll them
in a machine called a... Roll.

Narrator: Despite adding
a large amount of steel...

Beautiful!

Narrator: For both the straps
and the bottle-jug frame...

[ Grunts ]

Oh, my gosh.
This is a heavy bike now.

Oh, my god.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
The bike should stay afloat,

because each jug
can support 40 pounds.

And with eight jugs in total...

Adam:
This is the part of any project

where i get genuinely
kind of excited and thrilled.

Narrator:
The overall buoyancy

should be plenty enough
to support rider and rig.

Ah! There it is.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the ugliest bike
in all of creation.

Now, it should have some nuts

that lock these
in the upright position

so you can ride around.

And then,
when you get to the water,

[ chuckling ]
You simply lower them down,

and you're ready
to ride on the water.

This might just be...
An amphibious bicycle.

Narrator: It may be
a dead ringer for the photos...

But down at the pool...

So, what kind of job
do you imagine

that's
an appropriate outfit for?

[ Grunts ]

will it be sink or swim?

Narrator:
6,000 miles from Morocco...

I think i was supposed to
turn off earlier.

And Adam and Jamie's
motorbike from motorcar

has started well.

[ Both laugh ]

Jamie: I love it.

Don't you love the suspension?

But as deconstruction
turns to construction,

the guys' progress stalls.

The challenge
is fairly significant.

We've got this heavy thing,

an engine which weighs
hundreds of pounds,

and it's meant
to drive two wheels

that are way off-center
to the engine.

But on a motorcycle,

the engine needs to be
in the center of gravity.

So we have to figure out
some way

to get the engine
as close to center as possible

while still driving a wheel
so we have power.

And how that's gonna work,
i have no idea.

Jamie: Um...

Narrator:
There's two key conundrums...

How to provide power
to a central drive wheel

and how to do that
without moving the engine.

So, sir, i guess it's time
to start talking about

how we're gonna get this thing
balanced on a single line.

I know.

I'd love to leave the engine
where it's at

and have, like,
a wheel there and a wheel here.

You have any thoughts?

Yeah, i do, actually.

These things here
are the output shafts...

Right.

So if that was simply placed
right on a wheel...

Well...

just having that abrade
on the wheel...

Oh, abrade on the wheel.

It could drive the wheel.

Huh!

Oh, dude.
You know what i realized?

We'd rather have the engine
in the rear of the bike

so we're not trying
to move the whole engine,

and that actually works
with the abrasion technique,

because it means
the engine's running

in the opposite direction
than the wheel,

so we can go in first gear
and go that way.

Well, where a little while ago,

we had no freaking idea
what we were gonna do,

now, at least
we have a plan of attack

towards investigating
a possible solution.

And it feels like somewhere.

We've got our car frame
with the engine at the front

and the two wheels on each side.

We're going to start by
discarding two of those wheels

and reattaching the other two

as close to the center line
as possible.

The wheel under the engine
will be the drive wheel,

and we're basically
gonna shove it

right up against
the engine's output shaft,

so when the shaft spins,
the wheel will also turn.

Now, the wheel
will actually be turning

in the opposite direction
of the output shaft,

which means that
the thrust vector is reversed.

In other words,
the back of the car

is gonna become
the front of the bike.

At least, that's the theory.

Ready?
Yeah.

3, 2, 1.

Narrator: It's a plan
that is undoubtedly complex.

Nice.

Excellent.

But without access
to power tools...

Ready?
Uh-huh.

Okay.

Having the engine stay put
is imperative.

All right.

Want me to get this thing
up and in?

I guess now is
as good a time as any.

[ Laughs ]

And after three hours
of nontrivial teamwork...

Okay.

3, 2, 1...

[ Both grunting ]

the design
is starting to take shape.

There we go.

Okay.Okay.

Down.

There we are.

Ah, bingo.
Bingo.

Now we can finally explain

what we've been talking about
this whole time

and you can see it in action.

We've taken one of the swing
arms from the back of the car

and put it on the front, which
is the new... Back of the car.

[ Chuckling ] Bear with me.

That swing arm brings the tire
underneath the frame,

where it is pressing into this,

one of the output shafts
from the engine.

Now, that output shaft
goes in this direction

because this was
the former front of the car,

but it drives the wheel
in that direction

because this is
the new rear of the car.

And the groove
lines up beautifully

with this Ridge
on the output shaft.

Will this make the bike run?

I'm not willing to say just yet,
but I'm hopeful.

Narrator:
With the untested drivetrain
in place,

the guys move forward...
Literally.

Oh, baby, don't fail me now.
[ Smooches ] Here we go.

Narrator:
Adam's hacking through the car's
rear-wheel swing arm...

My god. This is like
breaking out of jail.

Narrator:
So that it'll hook securely
onto the front of the frame.

[ Laughs ]

Oh, my gosh.

Starting to look like
a motorcycle.

Adam's right.

What was once a sassy citroen

is being transformed
into a "mad Max" motorcycle.

Jamie: So, we've managed
to line things up

without having to
unmount the engine.

We've got the front wheel
up here,

and we've got
our suspension system.

All we have to do now
is hook up the steering

and then see how it balances
and if we can control it.

I want to break in here
and also point out

that in order to control,
that's the gear shifter.

That's the clutch.

That's the brake.

One of us, i believe,

will have to be sitting facing
the rear of the motorcycle

in order to maintain
the controls,

while the other's
calling out what they need.

Which is kind of how it normally
works with us, anyway.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
With one transformation
coming together...

How's their water bike
working out?

Jamie: We're here
at the Brisbane community pool

to test out
Adam's amphibious bike.

He should be done by about now.

[ Laughs ]

[ Laughing ]
Here i come.

Oh, my goodness.

Yeah.
Isn't it pretty?

Jamie:
Adam's done a very careful job

of replicating
what we saw in the photos.

But the thing is that
he's a good 50 pounds heavier

than the woman we saw floating
on that bike in the water.

I step into this bathroom
an ordinary mythbuster.

Jamie:
And so what that means

in terms of how deep
the paddles on the wheel go

and balance issues,

just because she floated on it

doesn't mean
that he's gonna be able to.

I come out super-amphibious-
vehicle-commuter-mythbuster.

So, just to recap...

If what is claimed
in the pictures is true,

this thing ought to be able
to float, hold me up,

move me forward on the paddles,

and be able to steer,

all while keeping me
relatively dry.

Yeah.

Good luck with that.
Here goes nothing.

[ Laughs ]

Amphibious bike
in 3, 2, 1... Go.

[ Grunts ]

Okay, it's holding me up.

Oh! Oh!

Okay, here we go.

Wow!

Hey!

That's not bad!

Okay, steering, trying to steer.

Hey, steering's not bad.

Narrator:
Apart from some soggy shoes,
it's a decent-enough start.

But then...

[ Clanking ]
Uh-oh.

Uh-oh.

Aah!

Now, I've got
a little chain problem,

which I've got to fix
on the bike.

Uh-oh.
Whoa!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Narrator:
Fixing this chain slip in situ
is no mean feat.

But Adam bends over backwards.

Yep.

Whoa!
[ Speaks gibberish quickly ]

[ Laughs ]

[ Sighing ] Okay.

I got it.

And soon, he's riding high.

Hey!
This is great!

Dude!

I'm on an amphibious bike!

Yeah, I'm gonna go in a circle.
Here we go.

Not exactly a tight circle,
but pretty reasonable.

That seems like
it's working really well.

Narrator: Remarkably,
the bike's not only buoyant,

it's also got good speed
and steering...

I'm ready for
my first day on the job.

At least, so far.

Whoa!

I let my attention lapse
for a second,

and i go right over.

Narrator: Adam's off.

And what's more, with him
being unable to remount...

[ Grunting ]

Yes! Yes!

Aah!
Aw, shoot! Aah!

He's effectively
down for the count.

Okay. I admit defeat.
I can't get back on this thing.

We found its fatal flaw.

Jamie: This thing
works surprisingly well,

especially given that
it's actually just improvised.

It could use
some improvements, though.

I would say, first off,

it'd be nice if you could use it
without getting wet,

because if it's
a commuter sort of thing,

you don't want
to have to change your clothes.

The pontoons
aren't exactly streamlined,

and if they were, you'd be able
to go faster with less effort.

And then, last but not least,

i would say
steering also could be improved.

Well, that went beautifully

until i took my attention
off it.

Then i went over, and there was
no getting back on.

But all in all,
it worked surprisingly well.

But, you know,
it does give me an idea.

What's that?

I think i can go one better.

By all means.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator:
Adam and Jamie's 2cv

is undergoing
a mechanical metamorphosis.

It's starting to look
like a motorcycle.

And their next tack
is the steering.

Jamie: We were thinking
that we were gonna have to use

a tiller to steer this,

which is basically
just a long stick,

but those are real awkward.

Yeah!

Ahh!

[ Panting ]

That was satisfying.

And since it has
an existing steering system,

i think i may just be able
to jury-rig it to work,

even though now it's on
the back side of the car.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator:
A steering wheel on a bike
may be a little unusual,

but necessity is
the mother of invention.

Okay.

Let's see here.

[ Laughs ]

Jamie.

That works great.

It turns to the right,

better than it turns
to the left,

well, so we'll just
only make right-hand turns.

Hey.

[ Both laugh ]

Narrator: Next, the guys
check the engine controls...

Clutch.

Brake.

Okay, so the clutch works.

Brake works.

Before crossing their fingers
and firing her up.

[ Engine rattles ]

[ Engine sputters ]

[ Engine turns over ]

Yeah!

That is badass, right there.

With the engine turning over,

Jamie literally
wires in the throttle.

Jamie: It's a little crude,

but my throttle
is this piece of baling wire.

If i put a little crimp in it,
like so...

[ Revving quickens ]

we accelerate.

When i straighten it back out...

[ Revving slows ]
We slow down.

Ha ha!

Narrator: And with that,
their motorcycle is all set.

It's got two wheels,
a unique drive system,

gears, brakes,
steering, and suspension.

The only issue is that it takes
two people to operate it...

A driver
to control steering and throttle

and a passenger
for clutch and brakes.

So, will it work?

I'm gonna start it up.

Okay.

Come on, baby.

[ Engine turns over ]

[ Laughs ]

For run 1, Jamie will drive,

but Adam
will first jog alongside,

changing gear as needed.

All right.

Clutch in!

First gear.

Yeah!

Yeah, baby!

Yeah!

That's a motorcycle!

We're good!

Whoa!

Whoa!

[ Engine shuts off ]
Ignition's out.

That was pretty cool!

Narrator: Incredibly,
their motorcycle did move,

even if 30 feet wasn't very far.

We're good!

Whoa!
Whoa!

Can Jamie better that benchmark
in test 2?

There we go.

Clutch in.
Okay.

First gear.

3, 2...

Like last time...

Yeah!

Yeah!

That's a motorcycle.

Whoa!

Jamie is in control,
but just barely.

Agh!

Stop it!

Stop!

[ Engine shuts off ]

Brakes worked.

Hey, i used the brakes!

[ Both laugh ]

You were helping
support it, though.

Oh, yeah.
I was helping support it, man.

I'll do anything at this point.

Jamie: So, the good news is
that we've got steering,

we have suspension,

and we have an effective way
of getting power to the wheels.

Stop it!

Stop!

The bad news is that you have to
ride this sidesaddle.

Combined with the fact

that you've got this
massively heavy weight up high,

and you're trying to balance it
off to the side,

it's effectively impossible
to ride.

It's frustrating.
It is.

Because it's so beautiful.
I know!

This is the most beautiful thing
we have ever made.

[ Laughs ]

Adam:
Look, this little powderpuff
here is beautiful,

and it's postapocalyptic
times five.

But what it's not
is a viable motorcycle.

[ Sighs ]

This is not the device that's
gonna get you 20 kilometers

from the middle of nowhere
and into civilization.

Narrator: Yep,
to get out of dodge...

[ Both grunting ]

they're gonna need a plan b.

At the pool...

Adam: Dude!

I'm on an amphibious bike!

Narrator:
The guys have proved

this water-bottle bicycle
is no Photoshop fake.

Adam: This is great!

Narrator: But with clear room
for improvement...

Jamie wants to see
if he can go one better.

I'm gonna be using
the exact same frame

that Adam used
on his amphibious bicycle.

Time to get to work.

Narrator:
With a clean slate,

can Jamie
scratch-build a water bike

where failure is not an option?

Jamie: There we go.

Narrator: To find out,

he's starting... like Adam...
With the drive system.

That'll work.

But instead of 12 paddles,
he's adding 20...

Love that tool.

Narrator: For more power
and more control.

Let's see how this looks.

Oh.

That's perfect.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator:
For buoyancy, he's ditching
the simplicity of the water jugs

and going for
some high-tech hydroforming.

Jamie:
We take a piece of sheet metal

and clamp it between
two massive plates of steel.

We've cut out an almond-shaped
hole in the top plate

and attached
our pressure-washer pump

to a small hole
in the bottom plate.

Now, here's the fun part.

All we do is start the pump,

and the water pressure

pushes the sheet metal
out the almond-shaped hole,

inflating it
just like a balloon.

Ha! It's perfect.

Narrator: Jamie hydroforms
eight half-hulls,

which are cut to size...

That's one.

Narrator:
Before being paired together.

[ Chuckles ]

The four resulting pontoons are
not only super-streamlined...

That's it.

They should be
super-buoyant.

[ Chuckles ]

Jamie: There are a number of key
differences between this bike

and the one that Adam built
based on the photos.

Now, the first
and most obvious one

is that the pontoons
are tuna-shaped,

because they should move through
the water with less effort,

as well as provide me
with better steering.

Now, secondly,

I've made the back pontoons
able to telescope out.

Oh, yeah.

That's perfect.

I'm hoping
that the extra foot or two

that I've put on these
will keep me more stable.

Looks about right.

And then, of course,
last but not least,

i think it looks way cooler.

Narrator: Indeed.

But to see if it works,

Adam's upped the ante
with a head-to-head race.

Adam:
Jamie and i now intend

to test our amphibious
commuter bikes fully.

That means land and sea.

So we've come here
to beautiful horseshoe lake

in fremont, California,

because it provides
all the terrains

pretty much any bicycle commuter
is going to encounter.

We've got
a little bit of pavement,

we've got some dirt roads,
and right down there behind me,

a beautiful, placid lake
to ride our bikes upon.

But first up,
Jamie's gonna test his bike

and make sure
it actually floats.

Narrator:
Jamie positions his front
pontoons in the pond...

That's one set.

Narrator: Before
spreading out the rear ones

for extra stability.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
Then there's one last piece
of mechanical modification...

An electrical crankshaft

that lowers the paddle wheel
into the water.

[ Laughs ]
Check that out!

Narrator:
And before you know it,
he's away.

Jamie: It's working!

Ha ha!

It's working
exactly as it was designed.

Narrator:
Both forwards and backwards,

Jamie's design
is looking good...

Almost too good.

Jamie: One thing I'm wondering,
though, is,

it looks like
one pontoon is sinking.

There may be a leak.

Aah!

Narrator: If the goal
was to improve on Adam's design,

it's hardly
"mission accomplished."

But with a competition
coming up,

Jamie's not
going to abandon ship.

Narrator: The story goes
that an ingenious engineer

turned a motorcar
into a motorcycle

to escape death in the desert.

But Adam and Jamie's design...

All right!
Civilization, here we come!

Came closer to causing death...

Stop it!

Stop!

Than preventing it.

But all is not lost...

because back at the shop,

the guys have unearthed
a series of photos

that supposedly show
the real deal.

Adam:
Oh, that's fascinating.

Back at the start
of this episode,

Jamie and i decided
to build our motorcycle

without reference
to these photos,

and we did that partly because
people say these are fake.

Oh! Same drive system!

But given
that our bike didn't work,

we're now going to rebuild it
to these specs.

The engine must be reversed.

What's interesting is that
both of our design approaches,

while incredibly similar...

For instance, we used
the exact same drive system...

They differ in two distinct ways
that may give his design

a better chance of working
than ours.

All right, graphics,
help me out.

So, this is our bike.

Note the rack-and-pinion
steering

and the engine
high up on the back.

It's these that made our bike
hard to balance.

But the French guy not only
replaced the steering wheel

with a tiller system that
ought to give better control,

but he also lifted the engine
up, spun it around,

and placed it in the middle,
giving the bike

a much more easy-to-handle
center of gravity.

But there's a problem when
you flip the engine 180 degrees,

and that is, the only gear

you can make the bike
move forward with is reverse.

And i don't know
if the reverse gear

can actually make this thing
move fast enough to be stable.

Narrator:
To find out,

it's time to turn transformers
one last time.

We don't need this anymore.

Only now,

they're not only following
the frenchman's photos,

they're also using power tools
to power through.

We've already proven that we can
put together something like this

using only those simple tools
that the guy had.

So this time,

we're gonna use whatever we have
handy here in the shop,

and that'll
just make it go quicker.

That would've taken a while
with a hacksaw.

Yeah, like a day or two.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: With a hole
cut for the rear wheel...

Adam: Look at that.

The guys
next centralize the engine.

Jamie:
That looks about right.

We can lock it down about there.

And when Jamie adds a steering
system that seems stable...

Oh, my god.

Is it significant?

Oh, yeah.
No problem.

[ Laughs ]

the guys are confident.

I love that!

But before this bike
hits the road...

two others are gonna have
a river race-off.

Adam:
This is a tale of two bicycles.

One is one whose design we found
online and replicated it.

And it worked on the water far
better than we thought it would.

Thus, we'd like
to run it through

a full set of amphibious
commuter-vehicle paces.

Yeah!

At the same time, that design
gave Jamie some ideas,

and he thought he could
improve upon the original.

Thus, he's completed a bike

we're gonna run through
the same paces

to see if he has in fact
succeeded at that task.

Narrator:
Jamie's proof of concept
started well...

Jamie: Ha ha!

Narrator: But ended badly.
Aah!

Narrator:
But a quick leak fix later,

and Jamie's all set
for a duck-pond drag race.

[ Ducks quacking ]

All right.

You ready?

Yeah.

Amphibious conversion,
implement!

[ Chuckles ]

The rules are simple.

The guys must transform
their bikes into water mode...

Okay, where's number 1 pin?

There we go.

[ Laughs ]

before pedaling
to a buoy and back.

Here we go!

And we're off!

First back to the beach
boasts the best design.

[ Laughs ]

Leaving hyneman in the dust.

Adam: I am happy to say
that i handily beat Jamie

in the conversion
to amphibious mode.

[ Laughs ]
I'm way ahead.

I was in the water
a good, probably, 60 seconds

before he was,
and pedaling furiously...

As furiously as i could...
Towards our buoy.

And i thought that i was gonna
be able to keep up that lead.

I would say funnier things,
but I'm getting tired.

But sadly,
i was totally mistaken,

because once Jamie
started pedaling,

it was really clear
that his bike

was so much more hydrodynamic
than mine.

Ohh!
He's catching up!

Ha ha!
Come on.

Come on. We've got to get
some raw power.

Jamie's so much faster
in the water

that he quickly overtook me.

Daah!

Now, i started pedaling harder,

but i was in danger
of skipping my chain.

And if i did,
that was a guaranteed loss.

Aah! I thought
this was mine!

Agh!

Come on.

Maybe I'll catch you
upwind, Jamie.

Yes.
Here we go.

So, i had to stay
slow and steady.

Unfortunately,
that didn't keep me

a consistent distance
behind Jamie.

Good luck there, little buddy!

He kept on outpacing me...

Look. I can actually see a wake.
He's leaving a wake.

And ended up reaching the shore

a good probably 3 or 4 minutes
before i did...

Ding!

And a lot less winded.

Worked like a champ.

His bike won... handily.

Aah! Come on.

Jamie: I'm glad this turned out
the way that it did,

because these shapes, even
though they did take more work,

were far more streamlined.

And it was quite easy
to move it through the water.

The amount of effort,
due to the size of the paddles,

was lower.

It meant that i could pedal
a little quicker.

It did sling a little more water
up my butt,

but I'll settle for that.

All in all, I'm pretty happy
with how it behaved.

Adam:
Well, i am impressed

with the design
we pulled off the Internet.

I'd say it's confirmed.

Yeah, I'd say, as well.

This one worked better,
but the concept is sound.

Absolutely.

All right. If you don't mind,
I'm gonna walk back to the car.

Okay.
I'll race you.

Okay.

Narrator:
So, one tale of transformation
is triumphant.

Will their
motorcycle from motorcar

make it two for two?

[Bleep]

[Bleep]

You know, over the years,

Jamie and i
have gotten the chance

to ride on some
pretty unconventional vehicles.

We've sailed in a boat
made solely of duct tape...

Yee-haw!

[ Laughing ] Yeah!

Driven a sports car mounted
backwards on its frame...

[ Laughs ]

driven a truck
with square wheels...

Ho! Oh!

Hey!

Heck, we've even taken a ride

in the mouth
of a great white shark.

How is this little puppy
gonna compare

to that litany
of amazing vehicles?

Well, you're gonna find out
very soon.

Jamie and i have been
investigating a very cool story

about a frenchman who turned
his car into a motorcycle

to get him back to civilization.

Now, Jamie and i turned our car
into a motorcycle...

That is badass, right there.

Except that, well...
[Sighs] We couldn't drive it.

Stop it!

Stop!

So we've gone back
to our motorcycle,

reconfigured it
to the frenchman's specs.

And now we've come back
where this all began,

at the Alameda runway,

to see just how drivable
this motorcycle might be.

Narrator:
After a double transformation,

their "mad Max" motorcycle
is on the final straight.

But will it be
their ticket to ride?

Jamie's up first.

The bike now feels
much, much better.

But it's either gonna work
or it isn't.

Hopefully, i can bail out
without breaking my legs on it.

Narrator: With stable steering
and a lower center of gravity...

Come on, baby.

[ Engine turns over ]

Yeah!

Yeah!

This bike
should be better balanced.

You feeling good?

[ Laughs ] No!

But with reverse gear
as its only option,

will it go fast enough
for a smooth ride?

Here we go.

3, 2, 1...

[Bleep]

[Bleep]

[ Laughs ]

Whoo!

Wha... oh, no.

Dude!

Well, it was sort of going.

That was going!

But i got to say, that was...

That was actually
a pretty good rpm,

and it was barely enough
to keep it upright.

Well, if that was your only way
back to civilization,

i would choose this
over nothing.

I'm not so sure.

Narrator:
Despite the unstable start,
Jamie did travel 100 feet...

Twice as far
as his previous best.

But with reverse gear providing
little in the way of thrust,

balance was still a beast.

Wha... oh, no.

So, it's Adam's final chance.

With the rpm cranked
to the very Max...

This thing is terrifying!

Will he escape to victory?

3, 2, 1!

[ Grunts ]

Aah!

[ Engine slows, stops ]

Aah!

[ Groans ]

[ Panting ]

[ Chuckles ]

Um... Wow!

Adam: I have ridden
a lot of vehicles in my life.

This is hands down the scariest
thing I've ever straddled.

Look at it this way...
I'm able to jump free,

as evidenced
by the film we just got,

but if i didn't jump free,

if i got any part of me caught
under this 600 pounds of steel,

i would be
seriously, seriously damaged.

That's the definition
of "scary."

Narrator: With a total journey
of just 150 feet...

[ Grunts ]

Aah!

It's not good news for the myth.

Argh!
This one is so close.

It's right on the knife edge
between busted and plausible.

But let's look
at some of the parameters.

Every two-wheeled vehicle

needs a certain amount
of forward speed

in order to stay balanced.

And this thing... which can only
run in reverse gear, remember...

Because of the way
it's mechanically driven,

at full throttle, it's going
at about jogging speed,

which in our tests
is just not enough

to keep it upright reliably.

Jamie: Look, Adam and i,
between the two of us,

we can pretty well
drive anything that moves.

But even in a perfectly flat
surface like this

and ideal conditions,

this thing is undrivable.

Man, i went back and forth

on whether this thing
was gonna be plausible

about six different times
during that story.

But i think we agree
where it ends up.

Yeah, it's busted.

It's totally busted.

Well, see you back at the shop.

All right.