Not quite motorcycles...minibikes

I bought these minibikes earlier this year to rebuild. The one on the right is a Manco Thunderbird that had most of its parts, the one on the left is a Bird Terra Torque thats missing pretty much everything.

The original 3.5hp tecumseh motor wasnt running but still had compression. Missing the air cleaner and exhaust but thats ok, I was doing a harbor freight motor swap to a honda gx200 clone motor (6.5hp). Lots of chips and surface rust on the frame and hardware, tear in the seat.

I started taking apart the Manco to paint it but it ended up just being scattered on my garage floor for a few months. But this past week I finally got around to putting it back together. All I really did was just paint it and put the new motor on, and lube up all the moving parts.

Should be wrapping everything up on it this weekend, hopefully the centrifugal clutch from the old motor is still functional. Will do about 40-45 mph when its done, I have 2 friends with the same bikes and motor swap.

much like this picture, that is odd, but cool

Awesome! I have fond memories of mini bikes from when I was a kid with mountain william friends. We had a Honda 3-wheeler, it was suitably deadly for children. The mini bike was safer because we didn't leave the pavement as much.

we are all near 30 with no kids, just playing with the toys we didnt have when we were younger. Pretty fun to blast around the neighborhood on them.

The tires arent so short on these ones, they can handle gravel roads and some light off roading fairly well.

the other minibike in the first pic, those tires are the size of golf cart tires so that should be fun once its put together, i understand it was originally built to handle sand with the super lug rear tire. I am debating if it should recieve a v-twin engine.

I was going to start a mini bike thread a while ago (or maybe I did and I forgot )

I have this one

And this was for the local flat track series. It has the GX200 clone motor, and I have a flat top, performance cam, pipe and timing advance key. Other projects have gotten in the way, though.

Mini bikes are bigger than you can imagine. If you want to see some real mini bike insanity, check this forum, and what these nuts are doing

I've been looking (sorta) for one. We've currently got a little 50cc Quinqi dirt bike for my son, plus a vintage Yamaha Chappy. I'd like to pick up something just to tear around the dirt with.

i am on OMB, username friction no mods on my motor, it hasnt even been started yet.....but i do have a seized honda gx160 that came on the other bike.....i hear you can swap the head to the gx200/clones for a compression bump......

Minibikes.......the gateway drug to the motorcycle addiction.

There's an epic vintage minibike thread over on the HAMB board: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119200

got a little muddy this weekend. probably did about 15 miles on the bikes.

failboat wrote: we are all near 30 with no kids, just playing with the toys we didnt have when we were younger.

that seems to be the same rational for things/ projects i want. just stuff i could not afford or have as a kid. I still want a mini bike, a powerwheel truck, and a magic 8 ball too

i sheared the teeth off my new clutch because the chain was old, and my rear sprocket was bent and had a bit of a wobble to it. i scored a newish wheel/tire/sprocket on ebay, got a new chain, and threw my "old" clutch on there and go figure, it works better than the new one ever did.

this weekend riding the exhaust managed to break off its welds and its pretty much trash. basically an open pipe now. also broke the front fender bracket. so now I know what its like to fling mud off the front tire and just straight eat it.

throttle issues all day then your pull start breaking means you get towed home.

Is your tow strap strong enough to tow a mini bike? Those bikes look fun.

I raise you this.

I was playing with paint and a few other things to make it look fatigued.

My collection:

1987 Yamaha YSR50, Honda XR100 Engine, rare aluminum wheels, custom led lights, R6 replica body, etc...

1970 Honda Trail 70, 88cc aluminum big bore, ported big valave head, cam, almost everything new...

Been haunting garage sales looking for one of these. Not too picky on model or brand, I just want vintage and complete. I'll find it someday.

Me too, though I don't care about complete. I've had a bunch of cool bikes ever since I was a kid, but when I was about six, my older brother had an orange minibike, probably a Lil' Indian or a Ruttman.

I was begging my parents to let me buy one and when we moved out into the sticks when I was 10, they got me a 60cc, two stroke three speed Rockford Chibi, which was exponentially more badass. But my world won't be complete until I have an orange, 5 hp minibike.

I live in the sticks with a 1/2 mile long driveway. One of these would RULE for getting the mail. It also would fit in the back of my CRX for track days.

I've seen the obvious advantage to having some type of pit bike at the track vs walking (screw my health! I want an excuse for something else with an engine). I've thought about getting some unloved old POS mini bike and doing it up. My other choice, though, is a pretty modern moped my father-in-law has parked in his garage. It's obviously larger, but I wonder which would weigh more? Space use is a little important also as I'd have to fit it on my car trailer somehow and the moped may be twice as big. Thoughts? What does a mini bike typically weigh?

ddavidv wrote: What does a mini bike typically weigh?

I would guess the average minibike to weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 pounds.

Mopeds are pretty light.