Dang It. Another Thing Followed Me Home.

[cheesy]

It's an Electra Mini Chopper. Also sold through Pep Boys as a Harley Mini chopper. 43 cc electric start along with front and rear suspension. And the dual rear wheels are stock. I guess this puts me back in as a real Chinabike owner.
As you can see, it has been 'worked on'(?) before. I'm only interested in the frame and fork, so that didn't enter into it. Right now, plans are to rip out the rest of the electrics, loose the engine for a 6hp Briggs Intek I have and to convert the dual rear wheels to a wide single. And to do it as cheaply as possible.

Until I have two working feet, though, the CX and the chopper will be bonding in the garage.

[FastDoc]

Cheesy, you outdid yourself. That odd ball machine has to be the answer to a question that I never imagined much less asked. Excellent project. We all look forward to seeing it to completion.

[Weldangrind]

As I slowly scrolled down (for maximum drama), I spotted the handlebars and thought it was a mobility scooter.


My geek factor just went way up. I love minibikes and I have a ton of silly ideas floating around in my cranium. I might even have some parts for you. What is the displacement of your Briggs?

[cheesy]

Weld-I think the engine may be 212cc. And it's 5.5hp, not 6. Because of the 0.4hp output of the stock engine, I might need to beef up the frame just a bit. I did find an owners manual online and according to the lawyer pages, you probably shouldn't even ride it.

Advertised top end was a blistering 14mph. Either of the Solexes would kill it in a drag race.

I have found a boatload of mini bike parts online, so stuff is available.

[2LZ]

What a cool project!...and you already have a motor. Nice........

[Bruce's]

Old school minibikes is a website that will have info on lawn mower engine powered bikes ,personally I would put a honda pitbike type engine in it and be done with it .About how wide would you like the rear tire to be ?I might have a wheel from something like a super pocket bike that might fit the bill ,and I have the matching front wheel as well if I have the rear ,I usually strip those bikes for the racing engines and pile them in the back for scrap .

[cheesy]

Thanks for the offer, Bruce.
I still need to get out to the garage to stare at the little booger for a while and think about what exactly I'm going to do. When I get a better handle on that, I will let you know about the tires. A pitbike engine would be something, but the Briggs I have is a new take-off engine with 0 hours, that my boss told me to 'Make it go away'. So I did.
I plan to have a basic centrifugal clutch drive system and decent brakes that I do some minor off road stuff and that the grandkids can putz around the yard on.

I do think that I will steepen up the head tube a couple degrees and shorten the front fork to bring the front wheel in a bit. I also see some issues with the design of the swing arm that will need to be ironed out. Plus, the wimpy the 12mm rear axle will be replaced by a 5/8" one. So, opportunities to use the plasma cutters and welders abound.

Also, the grandson has insisted that I paint it blue.

[Weldangrind]

I used part of a Quadrajet linkage on a Briggs mini that I built about 10 years ago, along with the Quadrajet return spring. While that worked relatively well, if I had it to do over again, I'd buy or fabricate an intake tube that would accept a conventional motorcycle carb. Since you're dealing with a 212cc mill, I suspect that a 30mm Mikuni (which I believe to actually be 26mm) would work well. It's cheap enough to try.

[cheesy]

That's something to keep in mind, Weld.

I stripped the little beast down today to see what I am up against. Lots of stuff that can be cut off.


This is what I pulled off.

I'm keeping the seat and some of the electrical bits. There's a starter relay, turn signal relay, and a small cdi. I may see if I can adapt the cdi to a Solex. Some of the connectors may come in handy, too.

I did find this wonderful example of how not to weld.


In order to use the briggs, I'm going to have to use a remote fuel tank and remove the muffler guard. Maybe raise the back end of the upper frame an inch or so to gain some clearance. Probably just make my own exhaust pipe to fit a spark arresting muffler, too.

There's a motorcycle swap meet tomorrow that Mrs. C has agreed to take me to. It's been 18 months since I've been to one. Maybe I'll find some goodies. Probably CX parts galore as I won't be looking for any.

[BlackBike]

Wow, that was a weed eater motor!

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Wow, that was a weed eater motor!

With electric start and gear reduction.

[Louis Angel]

Hahahahaha!!!!! How cute.

[BlackBike]

Well, after all, 2 strokers were the kings of motorsports

That looks like my messes, someone used a stick of dynamite and lit the fuse.

[FastDoc]

Sounds like a fun outing Cheesy. I bet you'll find some good bits.

[Weldangrind]

A remote tank means you'll need a carb with a float.


Rather than de-raking the front end, have you considered simply switching to low bars?