Stripping the poor minibike down!

First video.



Been shopping for parts, and man this could get expensive! Going the budget route for now. Plan on fixing / cleaning / painting everything I can on my own, but there's a couple of things I haven't found at decent prices used- muffler, gas tank, and front end. Think I'll buy repro's for the tank and front end, and trying to make my own muffler using the stock header pipe.

Spent the afternoon pressure washing the big parts. Most of them came out great. The one exception is the exhuast... The pressure washer punched all the rust spots all the way through. Don't know that I could save this one even if I had all my tools accessible.

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Before and after- Saving a vintage Honda minibike that should have gone to the scrapyard.

So 3 years ago, I found a Z50 for my 3 year old. I figured it would be an awesome fun project for us to work on. I teach. I have all of my boys with me during the school year, and no time to work on fun stuff. In the summer, the boys go to mom's. I have plenty of time, but no kids to work with.

It's time to make a go of this, because he's already tearing it up on his older brother's Z.



A few "before" pics we took just a couple days ago:








Annnnddd.... where she's at now.





It is MEGA rough. But I think we can save it. Going to need a few harder to find parts- front end, muffler, rims, maybe a gas tank.

Not going to restore it. A 6 yr old will be thrashing on this one, just like his older brothers did on theres. They got them for Christmas 12 years ago. https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/hope-my-boys-like-second-hand-junk-for-christmas.646877/

Stay tuned for more. Planning a whole YouTube video series on this one! Goal is to have it done by August 10.

Think I can do it?!

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Spring Riding in Idaho...

The morning commute was great. Mid to high 50's. No wind.  Little overcast but sunny. This afternoon, however, not so great...

Getting ready to leave:




Doesn't look like much until you look out at the field and see all the snow swirling around there in the wind.

Finally made it home.  Fair bit of build up on the front but the roads were just wet and the bridges oddly enough were almost bone dry.





The snow wasn't the bad part- the 30 mph winds + gusts made it less than desirable. It's not even that cold- only about 36 degrees but just a yucky trip home. Apparently, we need to get some longer pants for my 11 yr old son who was with me- his left ankle "was so cold it's about to fall off" by the time we got home.

February Riding.

So with the Presidents Day long weekend and the SUPER nice weather we had, I was able to get out and do some yard work, till up the flower bed, AND!!! Dig the bike out of its winter cocoon. Got the plates renewed on Tuesday, and rode it to school Weds, Thurs, and Fri. Weds was super cold but doable. Thurs and Fri were great- but of course I look out my window Friday afternoon and see this...


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Didn't last long or stick, but sheesh.  60 degree temps in February?!  Then it drops back down to the mid teens.  Dang tulips don't know what to do- noticed today that they are poking up already.

Side note- Son 1 is now playing the trombone and rides home with me after school... So I'm sure that makes for an interesting sight as we go through town with the 'Bone strapped on the rack and us with our backpacks and coats on, in February.  Did I mention its only February and we are RIDING!?  ;)

How to keep a 10 yr. old busy for hours...

Drag home an old pile of junk, park it in front of the garage, and wait for said boy to wander by.

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Scrounged up this bike with the intent to have my students play with it, but son-one took an interest in it- spent an hour trying to "get it started".  When I finished mowing the lawn we had a quick lesson in troubleshooting- checked spark, compression, and squirted some gas down the carb and by golly it popped.

Did a little more work and got it running half decent and had a short lesson on clutches. He only killed it once (keep in mind, its a TL and 1st gear tops out at something like 3/4ths of a mile an hour...).



He road it down the street, turned it around, and stopped and started a few times in the process. Its a little tall and plenty too heavy for him, and he said he was done after that one pass. Once we start changing gears so he can go faster, he might like it more. Next issues to address- leaking petcock, bent gear shifter, and busted brake lever.  We also discovered that the swingarm slopped around like it was connected with a rubber bolt.  Found a used one on ebay, gave it to him, and turned him loose.

He's had very minimal help from me. Helped him crack a few bolts loose that were too tight and showed him some nuts he forgot to take off, but he's figuring it out mostly by himself.  The swingarm fixed our wobble issues-

Now time to keep DAD busy for hours!!!





























Still have to do some finish work up- inside still needs a redkote. New petcock on the way. Trying to decide if this should be a Christmas present or if I should ride it...

__________________

I've hit the BIG TIME!

I entered my Worlds Smallest Flying Merkel in the Eastern Idaho State Fair, and hit the jackpot!  Took "Second Premium", whatever that means...  Apparently, it comes with a monetary reward, although I don't know what I'll do with all this money! 

In other news, I've managed to survive the first week back to school.  Shaping up to be a decent, albeit extremely busy, year.  Hoping I manage to survive it!

World's Smallest Flying Merkel!

Got a wild hair and built myself a Flying Merkel.  This is, without a doubt, THE COOLEST motorcycle to ever grace this planet.  Merkel built "motorcycles" in the early 1900's.  You can read all about them on the interewebs.

Here is my very favorite:  The 1911 board track racer.








I've dreamed of building a version of this bike, and even went so far as to design one around an old Honda XL 350.






I still hope to be able to build that bike someday, even though someone already beat me to it and built one around a Yamaha XT 500 engine.  You can see his entire build here:  http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619303  There is some incredible craftsmanship there.  It turned out GREAT too:

Oh, right, so the one I built.


Lets see what we can do with all of my wifes jewelry stuff.







Frame was bent out of little bits of wire that are supposed to be made into earings. The rims were pre-rolled just like they are there.

See that lump of aluminum?



Thats the gas tank.



Forks done. Look familiar?


Engine was made from the bottom of a 1/4" bolt and the tops cut from two spark plugs.



Test fitting.



Painting was a real pain in the hiney.




Starting to come together. Used this fancy wire from Walmart to add some detail.






Took me 4 tries to get the pedals right, 3 tries to get the mag and plug wires right, and lots of tries for various other bits...






Made some custom decals with water transfer paper. Took several tries on regular paper to get the size and curve right but I think they turned out okay.



Voila! Done.











And to get a better idea of the size:






"Final" pic.




Now if only I could afford the REAL one!