WTB: minibike

Donnie Barnes · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2014 9:42 pm

Anyone got an old non-functional minibike sitting around? You know, the kind with a horizontal shaft Briggs engine. Looking for a cheap fixer upper project, doesn't even have to have a motor.

--Donnie

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Thu May 22, 2014 7:49 am

No bike, but wow, haven't thought about those things in ages. Back in the 1960s a friend up the street got a Rupp minibike and wherever he stopped in the neighborhood, a swarm of kids would gather. Probably the most popular (with friends) / unpopular (with parents) thing for a kid to have back then.

Donnie Barnes · **Posted:** Thu May 22, 2014 9:08 am

We've got a ton of property and have avoided buying our kids anything motorized so far (boys, 9 and 12). Reason being is that we figure once they have a dirt bike or four wheeler they will never ride their bicycles again. They have friends with those toys, but they all live in neighborhoods and as such pretty much have to load the things up and take them somewhere to ride, so they still ride their bikes in the neighborhood (yeah, I know they'll turn into hoodlums eventually on their powered devices).

But I figured a beater minibike would be a fun project that they can help fix up. Being pull start and having no suspension will mean they're pretty shitty to ride off-road, so they'll still use their bicycles for that. But it'll be fun to buzz around on otherwise. If it works out like I think we'd fix up a second one, too.

I'm watching CL, but there's nothing super-local. Plenty around and I'm sure something will pop up, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask here.

--Donnie

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Thu May 22, 2014 9:30 am

Riding my uncle's Honda Trail 90 when I was about 11 or 12 changed my life. :lol:

I became a dirt bike fanatic, but this was actually right at the time off-road riding was about to explode in popularity (~1970). A few years later, I was able to get a Suzuki TS-185 when I was 15, and if I could have slept on that thing I would have. Unlike today, you could ride just about anywhere you could find in north Georgia in the mid-70s, and we found tons of places to ride. It was the perfect time for off-road riding as liability stuff and all was still out into the future, so riding spots were everywhere. At that point, I got into motocross and hare scrambles stuff (this is motox mid-70s style prior to all the (stupid, crazy, idiotic) jumps and massive whoops like modern mx. This drove me to become incredibly fit as competing in a 30 min race at a peak level was intensely aerobic.

Anyway, my interests shifted from electronics to mechanical things during that time period. Fortunately, I came out alive/not paralyzed from that period given how many times I crashed. :shock:

Broken collar bone was the main frame damage although a mostly compressed lowest disc in my back is likely from that experience too.

...still have my 1975 CanAm 125MX2, bike totally stock as delivered.

clinehall · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 7:25 am

I wanted one of these SO BAD, when I was 12 and 13. I had brought home an old broken lawn mower from my granddad's Dad had to explain to me about horizontal shafts, vertical shafts, oil, etc etc. So I talked to him abot buying one out of the JC Penney catalog, it was 12 bucks a month. I think he was going to buy me one and make me to pay him to teach me about credit but my Mom went APE CRAP. I'm talking head spinning nuts. Ruined me for life, as of last count 39 cars and 9 motorcycles, maybe I should buy one of these too.

Keith Quistorff · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 8:36 am

Donnie - a craigslist search ("minibike") came up with several of them in the relatively local (but outside the Triangle) area. For instance, one for $60 in Fayetteville area -
http://fayetteville.craigslist.org/bar/4420991856.html
The ad's a month old, so may no longer be available, but there are others, at higher cost, posted more recently also.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 8:42 am

clinehall wrote:

I wanted one of these SO BAD, when I was 12 and 13. I had brought home an old broken lawn mower from my granddad's Dad had to explain to me about horizontal shafts, vertical shafts, oil, etc etc. So I talked to him abot buying one out of the JC Penney catalog, it was 12 bucks a month. I think he was going to buy me one and make me to pay him to teach me about credit but my Mom went APE CRAP. I'm talking head spinning nuts. Ruined me for life, as of last count 39 cars and 9 motorcycles, maybe I should buy one of these too.

Ditto here..... My mom was and still is a nurse. The mere mention of a motorcycle would set her off as she'd seen her fair share of accident victims come into the emergency room. Having one of these in my youth simply wasn't going to happen. I've since bought 2 older Jap bikes and had fun w/ them, but I guess having to put on all of the proper safety gear has taken some of the fun out it having to don jacket, gloves, helmet, shoes and pants if you want to be truly protected. Giving a choice I'd love to own a Harley V-Rod, one to the best looking factory bikes I've seen, but now I'd have to deal w/ Pam. Not worth the battle right now....

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 8:50 am

clinehall wrote:

...but my Mom went APE CRAP. I'm talking head spinning nuts.

That's what Moms are for!

Remember when the skateboard first came out? You know, the 1960s metal wheel job that every kid in the neighborhood had to have? That was my Mom's ape crap moment at the mere suggestion of wanting one. Some time after trying in vain to get a skateboard, a kid in the neighborhood fell, hit his head on the curbing along our street and was....dead.

A sobering lesson for me at a young age. My Mom never said "I told you so" or anything like that, but she didn't have to.

Keith Quistorff · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 8:53 am

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

Riding my uncle's Honda Trail 90 when I was about 11 or 12 changed my life. :lol:

I became a dirt bike fanatic, but this was actually right at the time off-road riding was about to explode in popularity (~1970). A few years later, I was able to get a Suzuki TS-185 when I was 15, and if I could have slept on that thing I would have. Unlike today, you could ride just about anywhere you could find in north Georgia in the mid-70s, and we found tons of places to ride. It was the perfect time for off-road riding as liability stuff and all was still out into the future, so riding spots were everywhere. At that point, I got into motocross and hare scrambles stuff (this is motox mid-70s style prior to all the (stupid, crazy, idiotic) jumps and massive whoops like modern mx. This drove me to become incredibly fit as competing in a 30 min race at a peak level was intensely aerobic.

Anyway, my interests shifted from electronics to mechanical things during that time period. Fortunately, I came out alive/not paralyzed from that period given how many times I crashed. :shock:

Broken collar bone was the main frame damage although a mostly compressed lowest disc in my back is likely from that experience too.

...still have my 1975 CanAm 125MX2, bike totally stock as delivered.

Cool - wish I still had at least one of my old dirt bikes. I recall CanAm's (and Maico's & Husqvarna's) were popular dirt bikes in the early-to-mid 70's, until the Japanese companies began stealing the show in '76.

At age 11 I got a paper route with one goal in mind - to buy a trail bike, and within about 6 months I had saved enough to buy myself a used 1972 Honda Trail 70 for $175. Not much power, but perfect to learn on - had a 4 speed manual tranny with real clutch, unlike some of the other semi-auto trail bikes of that time. Continued to save up and trade up to better bikes w/more powerful 2-stroke engines, eventually landing a 1980 Suzuki RM125 and doing some motocross racing. Lots of fun, I sure miss those days.

Keith Quistorff · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 9:14 am

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

Remember when the skateboard first came out? You know, the 1960s metal wheel job that every kid in the neighborhood had to have? That was my Mom's ape crap moment at the mere suggestion of wanting one.

Ahhh yes, skateboards - a sobering recollection -

No joke - the first time I tried riding a skateboard I decided it looked easy enough to ride it down my driveway, which was steep enough to get up some good speed pretty quickly - big mistake. All went fine for the first few seconds, until I tried to throw in a turn and ended up flying through the air upside down and landing with all my weight on my left hand. Broke the hell out of my wrist - looked completely ruined. Worse than the break was getting it set at the hospital emergency room - the doc didn't give me anything for pain, didn't say a word to prepare me for setting the bones, and I was young/naive enough to have no idea what was about to happen. He looked over the x-rays, stood in front of me and quickly jerked/popped my wrist straight in one quick movement. The pain was excruciating.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 9:23 am

Keith Quistorff wrote:

Continued to save up and trade up to better bikes w/more powerful 2-stroke engines, eventually landing a 1980 Suzuki RM125 and doing some motocross racing. Lots of fun, I sure miss those days.

Well...

Right here in Raleigh: http://www.eastcoastvintagemx.com/bikes-for-sale.html

That coming soon list looks interesting. Also the vintage riding day private track rental stuff looks like fun too. The first MX bike I ever rode was a 1974 Suzuki TM250 in the summer of '74, a friend owned one and didn't mind anybody riding it. I see one of those on that list.

My problem though is I KNOW if have teenage level mx-bike programming in my brain, but a 55 year old body that can't process those inputs in the physical realm properly. Still want to get back into it, mildly, though...

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Fri May 23, 2014 1:10 pm

Keith Quistorff wrote:

Ahhh yes, skateboards - a sobering recollection -

No joke - the first time I tried riding a skateboard I decided it looked easy enough to ride it down my driveway, which was steep enough to get up some good speed pretty quickly - big mistake. All went fine for the first few seconds, until I tried to throw in a turn and ended up flying through the air upside down and landing with all my weight on my left hand. Broke the hell out of my wrist - looked completely ruined. Worse than the break was getting it set at the hospital emergency room - the doc didn't give me anything for pain, didn't say a word to prepare me for setting the bones, and I was young/naive enough to have no idea what was about to happen. He looked over the x-rays, stood in front of me and quickly jerked/popped my wrist straight in one quick movement. The pain was excruciating.

Ohhhh, that reminds me of a painful story..... Good friend of mine was living w/ his relatives as his natural parents were having issues. Anyway, he had two cousins, Lee and Jamie. Jamie was too damn smart for his own good. Growing up in Southern Pines, there was a great place to sled in the winter, Sky dr. Pretty step as roads went. Jamie decided in order to keep his feet on the skateboard, he's simply nail a pair of shoes onto the board. You know where this is going right? I never saw the accident, but I saw the bandages. I'll give him credit, he ran w/ a completely bad idea and almost made it work. Did I mention he's now a lawyer in Southern Pines? lol.....

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

Rodney wrote:

Quote:

Growing up in Southern Pines, there was a great place to sled in the winter

What....snow in Southern Pines? I thought that it never snowed east of Sanford.

I recall the early 1960's and a local boy had one of the "Popular Mechanics" advertised horizontal shaft Briggs & Stratton powered scooters. Man he was popular...until we all realized that he really wasn't going to let any of us ride. Then we scrounged every mower engine that we could find and built a few wooden, washing machine belt & pulley machines and did a lot of pushing to get the high geared carts moving. At full speed they were really dangerous with those pull-rope steering systems and stolen tricycle wheels with semi-pneumatic tires. I still recall the "Heaven Can Wait" special with that wood box for a body.
Charlie G

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