I've just completed a new Bad Dog Enterpises Balloon Knobby Tire Mini Bike.
This was my first build and I selected this kit because it had 14 inch knobby tires, installed kickstand, extended seat and it was a pretty decent price. It also looked like it would be a good match for the Harbor Freight 6.5 motor.
The kit shipped promptly and soon it pulled up in my drive on the big Fedex truck.
As I unpacked all of the parts I was first a little surprised to find there were no, zero instructions. I'm fairly mechanically inclinded so figuring out this relatively simple machine was not too much of a challange. I was dissapointed that several parts to my kit were missing. I was missing both of the nylocks that hold the axels in place, the kill switch and was short about 2 inches the special tubing used for the axel bushings. A quick call to Robin at Bad Dog had the parts on the way via express shipping and I had everthing in short order. Robin is a nice guy and confirmed there are zero instructions for the kit but offered some good suggestions on how to measure out the axels bushings for the best fit.:thumbsup:
I didn't really encounter any major problems and it was fun figuring everything out. My new HF 6.5 bolted right in and I engineered a throttle hookup that seems to work alright so far. I did cut the throttle lever off as it was just in the way of the cable. The whole bike was primed and and finished off with Krylon in True Blue. I think it looks pretty nice!
Just one pull and the HF motor was running smoothly. I let it warm up and ran it up a little with the back wheel off the ground. The only concern I had was that the chain was probably a couple of links too long, but I don't own a chain breaker so I was in hopes it would stay together. Everything looked and sounded good so I hopped on and gave her a little gas.
Holly smokes! My little bike was a lot more powerful and fast than I had anticipated! My ride was cut short when the too long chain came off.:censure:
Tomorrow I should have a chance to have the chain shortened. I will update this post after a get some real riding experience with it. Also will try to include some photos of the project in progress.
This was my first build and I selected this kit because it had 14 inch knobby tires, installed kickstand, extended seat and it was a pretty decent price. It also looked like it would be a good match for the Harbor Freight 6.5 motor.
The kit shipped promptly and soon it pulled up in my drive on the big Fedex truck.
As I unpacked all of the parts I was first a little surprised to find there were no, zero instructions. I'm fairly mechanically inclinded so figuring out this relatively simple machine was not too much of a challange. I was dissapointed that several parts to my kit were missing. I was missing both of the nylocks that hold the axels in place, the kill switch and was short about 2 inches the special tubing used for the axel bushings. A quick call to Robin at Bad Dog had the parts on the way via express shipping and I had everthing in short order. Robin is a nice guy and confirmed there are zero instructions for the kit but offered some good suggestions on how to measure out the axels bushings for the best fit.:thumbsup:
I didn't really encounter any major problems and it was fun figuring everything out. My new HF 6.5 bolted right in and I engineered a throttle hookup that seems to work alright so far. I did cut the throttle lever off as it was just in the way of the cable. The whole bike was primed and and finished off with Krylon in True Blue. I think it looks pretty nice!
Just one pull and the HF motor was running smoothly. I let it warm up and ran it up a little with the back wheel off the ground. The only concern I had was that the chain was probably a couple of links too long, but I don't own a chain breaker so I was in hopes it would stay together. Everything looked and sounded good so I hopped on and gave her a little gas.
Holly smokes! My little bike was a lot more powerful and fast than I had anticipated! My ride was cut short when the too long chain came off.:censure:Tomorrow I should have a chance to have the chain shortened. I will update this post after a get some real riding experience with it. Also will try to include some photos of the project in progress.
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