1974 Owosso Explorer?

farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#1
#1
I want to say hi to everyone on this forum. I just joined because I picked this beauty up the other day. It's actually in really nice original shape and complete. I was just wondering if anyone can send me in the direction of finding info on this. I think it's a 1974 but not sure. It has an original 1974 plate on it that was last registered in 1975. Does anyone know what year this is? Also, can I register this and put it on the road? It has blinkers, high/low headlight, tail/brake light, horn, and mirror. It appears this was meant to be street legal. I'm not sure, but everything that makes this street legal appears to be stock from the factory. Any help or info on this is greatly appreciated. I will get some better pics and post them now that it's out of my truck. Thanks

Andy
 
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farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#4
#4
Thanks guys. I can't wait to start playing with this. I just had a new ACL put in my knee 2 days ago so I'm kind of layed up right now. I want to get it all squared away and drive it around town. I'm wondering if I would register it as a moped, motorcycle or car. It appears to have a motorcycle plate on it. Does anyone know where I could find a good resource for these explorers? I'd really like to find out the year for sure. Here's a couple more pics.
 
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farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#6
#6
Why thank you. I figured for $175 bucks I could have some fun showing the kids how to tinker on things. I had a couple MTD Mud Bugs that were totally torn down and all cut up. It seems like over time people really cut these up and alter them. That's why I was so happy to get one that was from the original owner that hadn't been hacked up. I'm just trying to find some pics somewhere that show what these came with stock. I can't tell what has been added because everything on it came from that era. It's been sitting in a barn a long time. I wonder what the value would be on this in perfect running condition?
 
70sVintageTrikes

70sVintageTrikes

New Member
#9
#9
farleypug said:
I want to say hi to everyone on this forum. I just joined because I picked this beauty up the other day. It's actually in really nice original shape and complete. I was just wondering if anyone can send me in the direction of finding info on this. I think it's a 1974 but not sure. It has an original 1974 plate on it that was last registered in 1975. Does anyone know what year this is? Also, can I register this and put it on the road? It has blinkers, high/low headlight, tail/brake light, horn, and mirror. It appears this was meant to be street legal. I'm not sure, but everything that makes this street legal appears to be stock from the factory. Any help or info on this is greatly appreciated. I will get some better pics and post them now that it's out of my truck. Thanks

Andy
Click to expand...
farleypug said:
Thanks guys. I can't wait to start playing with this. I just had a new ACL put in my knee 2 days ago so I'm kind of layed up right now. I want to get it all squared away and drive it around town. I'm wondering if I would register it as a moped, motorcycle or car. It appears to have a motorcycle plate on it. Does anyone know where I could find a good resource for these explorers? I'd really like to find out the year for sure. Here's a couple more pics.
Click to expand...
farleypug said:
Why thank you. I figured for $175 bucks I could have some fun showing the kids how to tinker on things. I had a couple MTD Mud Bugs that were totally torn down and all cut up. It seems like over time people really cut these up and alter them. That's why I was so happy to get one that was from the original owner that hadn't been hacked up. I'm just trying to find some pics somewhere that show what these came with stock. I can't tell what has been added because everything on it came from that era. It's been sitting in a barn a long time. I wonder what the value would be on this in perfect running condition?
Click to expand...
That Owasso seems to be in good shape. :thumbsup:

I just Picked up a Owasso Explorer 800s a couple weeks ago. Mine is gold and has a lighted 8hp w/elec start. I also have a Mtd Mudbug. (18 Trikes)

As for the plates and register. I would be doing some dmv research. See if they show a record of anything with it. I would of first thought someone just put that plate on there for fun. After looking at all your pictures you posted. Having the headlight is oem but someone added the signals for a reason and that would be for street driving purposes!:thumbsup:

I would be curious to see what you find out with dmv or what ever it takes to get that thing running down the street again.... I will be watching this thread.

If you have any questions, Just send me a personal message..:scooter:
 
farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#13
#13
We love those Corn Huskers too! 18 sure is a lot of trikes. I have also had a couple of MTD Mud bugs but they were pretty rough. Coffee4meplz, I found that same article in Popular Mechanics from 1974 and that's the year of the plate on this. It looks identical to mine but mine seems to be missing the speedometer. Judging by the wiring harness to the blinkers and headlight, it all appears to be stock. I know the article in that Popular Mechanics mentioned that this was one of the only ones that comes out of the box " Highway ready" because of the lights, mirror and horn. I could be completely wrong but I think that's how this came from the factory. After spending hours online, the only picture I can find is the one from popular mechanics. I will keep you updated on how I get this street legal. It's obviously registered as a motorcycle so I'm going that route. I will post some pictures once I get it cleaned up and all squared away. The original paint is going to clean up like new and the motor is super clean. I really think that this has low use on it. It's killing me because I can't do a whole lot of work on it because of my knee surgery so it may be a while.
 
70sVintageTrikes

70sVintageTrikes

New Member
#14
#14
Farleypug

I added your Explorer 800R to my trike thread. If you want to add some more pictures would be good.

Also I want to know how many teeth are on Jack shaft and axle sprockets. I want to compare it to the gearing on mine because it said the 800R was capable of 50mph..!!!

Thx and Ride on..
 
farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#15
#15
I will count those teeth right away tomorrow. I couldn't believe that it said this goes 50mph. I worked on it the other day and buffed the body and it came out real nice. I also sanded and painted the rear rims. I have to do the front yet. I'm going to order some cb 750 blinkers to replace these because they really are corroded. I got it running like new but need a new drive belt. Does anyone know the measurements for the drive belt i will need?
 
farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#16
#16
70's vintage trikes, The sprocket on the axle has 54 teeth and the front one off the clutch has 10. I didn't count the teeth on the idler sprocket because I don't believe it matters. I did notice an odd but cool thing. Not only does this have the rear individual brakes, but it also has a brake for the front tire as well that is mounted by the right foot. The odd thing is that it's a hand brake mounted by your foot.
 
farleypug

farleypug

New Member
#17
#17
Took the old Explorer out for the first time today after getting a belt. It was fun as hell for about 5 minutes until I blew up the driven clutch:shrug:. It started jumping real bad while running it and then the belt shot off about 20 feet in front of me. I went to put it back on and the spring in the clutch came unwound and twisted all around. Plus it shot out the little plastic slides. It was a bummer so back to the drawing board. On the plus side, I have the headlight/tail light working, blinkers working and all cleaned up, and am finishing cleaning the horn up. It's getting closer to being put on the road. I'm going to look like one hillybilly delux driving around the neighborhood to my friends houses. I'm going to have to make a cooler mount on the back:laugh:.
 
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