We are a mature group that love vintage bikes and intend to rip up some trails on Pucker Street.
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Bringing One Back To Life Part 1
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In this multi part series, you’ll see the progress from ratty old shed find CT to a nice driveable vintage bike. Here’s what I started with.
Making a Tecumseh Snowblower Engine Look Vintage As a kid, the Honda bikes were what we dreamed of owning. Their motorcycle feel with steering head bearings and a transmission were high end features in a day when lawnmower type flathead engine powered mini bikes were the norm. I remember as a kid, looking for the reel type lawnmowers that had horizontal shaft engines. Hoping to find one no longer being used and pulling the engine off to put on a mini bike I didn’t even have at that point! They were around in the late 60s, early 70s, but were usually 2 or 2.5 hp maximum. My first “go kart” was one my Dad built, using parts from an old baby carriage and a sheet of plywood. I pestered Dad until he finally conceded to find an engine to bolt onto the back of it. I believe it was 1967 or 1968 in Ancaster when we found an old outdoor wringer washing machine engine. Yes, gasoline powered washing machines were common up to the 1960s....
Well, this is the final installment of this bike build. One other thing to mention is that when fitting a 125 to a CT or and small bike chassis, the foot pegs need an hour or more of “adjustment” with some heat. This is because the 125 is wider than the 50 or 70 engine. The bolt pattern for fastening the foot pegs is the same though. It just takes a bit of work to get them to clear the engine and sit level. Finishing touches were to install the headlamp and bezel, engine oil and adjust everything. John V. bought the bike and kept it for a couple years. Pete bought it from him and rides it regularly. Pics include John riding it at the sand pit near Norway Bay, being parked up at Bell’s Lake after a day of riding and it loaded with the other 1978 CT70 I fixed up. It is a fast bike, wheelies with ease and is very reliable.
I saw a pitbike exhaust online for sale for about $60! Free delivery, too. Anyways, once the suspension was figured out, lining up the exhaust system was next. The new larger diameter pipe fit like a charm at the front, but angled upward to much to suit the vintage nature of the bike. It would appear I needed a way to bend the muffler down, but without heating or damaging the chrome on the pipe. If I cut the pipe ahead of the factory upward bend and fit a sleeve inside the pipe, I could rotate it to the angle I needed. So, out came the cut off tool and I began. This would also hide the clamp and cut behind the heat shield. Once clamped and the heat shield was put back on, you’d never know it was bent upwards. Thanks again to my friend John V for the chrome handle bar pipe and clamp! The rear brake pedal from the pit bike wouldn’t work at all on the Fox bike, so into the parts bin I dug. I came up with a 1...
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