Barn Find - Part 1

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Broken-n-Smokin'

New Member
#1
#1
Hello, Gentlemen -

New guy on the forum, lots of great info here - and it is very much appreciated!

I was picking up a couple of old Honda ATC's from a farm east of Denver, and stumbled on to a couple of interesting mini bikes. I'm pretty sure I have one of them "sort of" figured out (will post that one separately), but this one has me completely stumped.

Has a sticker on the neck that says "Pedersen Imports". Says "MFD IN: 1970", but has stamped over that "77". Not sure if anything is under that sticker, haven't tried removing it.

It has a 49cc motor, but can't really tell who the manufacturer is. Don't see any other serial numbers or other info.

Looks a little like the Fox or Rupp style with mini ape-hangar handlebars, but not really. Those seem to use what I would call a "modular" motor that you could bolt in almost anything, this one has the motor hanging down off the frame, sort of how the old Honda's have the motor as part of the frame structure. Looks kind of like a Fuji motor, but not quite.

Would love to get this thing running again. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance
-Tim
 

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B

Broken-n-Smokin'

New Member
#2
#2
Update -

I found this 1962 Tohatsu that looks to have the same (or very close) motor:
https://ridermagazine.com/2019/07/11/retrospective-1960-1964-tohatsu-ca2-runpet-sport-50cc/

The carb, exhaust exit, and air cleaner look to be the same. Side covers are very close, with some fairly minor differences - mainly the bolt on emblems and ower arel where the chain exits toward the rear wheel. I also counted the number and arrangements of the cooling fins on the cylinder jug and head, those seem to match as well.

Also looks like the emblem on the side of the Tohatsu tank is very similar to the one on the side of my engine cover, just rotated.

Hope this helps.

-Tim
 

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ssparx

ssparx

Member
#4
#4
What a cool bike! I've never seen one. Definitely a Tohatsu engine. The rest looks like a copy of a Honda Z50, except that they realized it needed rear suspension before Honda did. Wonder why they didn't sell a ton of these?
 
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Broken-n-Smokin'

New Member
#5
#5
ssparx said:
What a cool bike! I've never seen one. Definitely a Tohatsu engine. The rest looks like a copy of a Honda Z50, except that they realized it needed rear suspension before Honda did. Wonder why they didn't sell a ton of these?
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Do you happen to know any sources to get engine parts? I haven't torn into it yet to see what all it will need, but I haven't been able to find much info at all on the motorcycle engines.
 
ssparx

ssparx

Member
#6
#6
Broken-n-Smokin' said:
Do you happen to know any sources to get engine parts? I haven't torn into it yet to see what all it will need, but I haven't been able to find much info at all on the motorcycle engines.
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Ouch!, haven't really thought about it before, but I bet that locating parts for that Tohatsu engine is going to be a real chore, Good Luck.
 
danshale

danshale

Member
#7
#7
Broken-n-Smokin, sent you a PM, email me haledan72@gmail.com. I can offer some info on Pedersen motorcycles. But as others said parts are nearly impossible now. Tohatsu is made in Japan, other Pedersen's models from Taiwan were clones with lesser quality machining. One guy said toured them in 60's and making head castings in sand box outside. Internal parts may not interchange if found them- like Fuji not with Hodaka. Lack of parts in US and poor quality is why not last but 1-2yrs.
 
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Broken-n-Smokin'

New Member
#9
#9
jim66 said:
Your bike looks a lot like the hap jones minibike. I think they were made in taiwan.
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Hey Jim - Thanks for the info. Yes, the front end / handlebar setup definitely looks like the Hap Jones Victor. That was throwing me for a loop, but I just couldn't find anything quite like it. But you're right, even the way they have the "quick disconnect" on the handlebars looks very much the same as Hap Jones. Good eye!

Tank also looks like a late 60's / early 70's Victor.

I'm still fairly convinced that the frame / motor are Tohatsu, though. Looks like maybe they used a Runpet frame, but swapped in the HJ wheels and suspension?
 

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Broken-n-Smokin'

New Member
#10
#10
danshale said:
Broken-n-Smokin, sent you a PM, email me haledan72@gmail.com. I can offer some info on Pedersen motorcycles. But as others said parts are nearly impossible now. Tohatsu is made in Japan, other Pedersen's models from Taiwan were clones with lesser quality machining. One guy said toured them in 60's and making head castings in sand box outside. Internal parts may not interchange if found them- like Fuji not with Hodaka. Lack of parts in US and poor quality is why not last but 1-2yrs.
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Dan - I did get your PM. I appreciate your offer to purchase it, but I'm going to stick with it a bit longer and see what happens. The most worthwhile projects are sometimes the most difficult, so I might enjoy the challenge of piecing this puzzle back together. If I do decide to sell it at some point, I'll be sure to post it up here on the forum.

In the meantime, I have some old military buddies who are still overseas. I might be able to source some parts from Aisia or the UK and have them sent back. Wish me luck!

Thanks again, have a good week.
 
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