Sweet Hog
She gets 70 mpg and carries ice cold beer
Testing after airing up the tires which hold air for 37 seconds according to bro.
Confirmed they go flat very fast.
And It Was Mine
My brother randomly asked me if I wanted his mini bike with a cooler attached. He had been using it to carry around his girls on his property, but seems its fallen to less use.
I of course said yes. It will be a perfect pit bike to carry parts and cold beverages.
The Trade
He traded a bottle of Maker’s Mark for this awesomeness.
I continued the tradition by exchanging some 805 6-packs for it.
Cleaning It Up
While it was in great condition overall, the carburetor was clogged with rotten gummy fuel and the tires were rotten and didn’t hold air. Had to rectify those before it’s first outing.
Gross
Brembo brake (yes singular)
Overall the restoration was minimal and boiled down to general maintenance. Cleaning the carburetor, creating new gaskets, replacing the tires and tubes, new spark plug, adjusting the brake cable, greasing the steering tube. After reassembly and a few pulls to prime the carb she fired to life and purred happily along. Looking forward to the adventures and beverages it will carry. Below captures some of the efforts and for future me here are specifications for parts.
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Champion Engine 196 cc - 6.5 hp
Spark Plug - NGK BPR6ES (intermittent use)
Oil - 5W-30 Synthetic
Tires - 4.10/3.50-5 with tubes
Step 1, remove the carburetor
Ultrasonic part washer baby! So easy to use, wait to warm up, run for 20 minutes and presto.
Like New
No more gunk
New gasket material since I couldn't find any local fast enough (yes impatient)
Making templates from the broken old gaskets. Using a bit of patience and manila envelope.
Easy way to confirm alignment of pencil marks.
Voila. New gaskets and a clean carburetor.
Clearly needed a new plug, this one was covered in fuel.
New rubber and tubes. No more leaking air or cracked tires.
Exploding all the wheels took a bit of effort. Nothing a few gentle ugga dugga's couldn't fix.
Wiped down and ready to assemble
Instructions said don't inflate beyond 10 psi when seating the bead, I went to 45 psi since tire is rated for 24 psi. A tool box is like a tire cage right?
'Trick' I learned from helping at the local race tire shop. Hitting with a hammer while pressurized can help seat the bead.
Three wheels mounted
The cooler third wheel is attached with two bolted slip connections. They were a bit rusty, I hope some grease will help reduce that going forward.