Bird Thunderbird - First minibike build

#21
Update - With Pics

Well, I went from this:



to this:



and have since started the rebuild. Here is what the engine looks like now:



And I have since moved on to the wheels. New tires and tubes, repaired rims and a red black and silver color scheme:



Now on to the frame.....
 
#31
Tank pic

Here is what I did on the tank. Got rid of the chipped and bubbled metallic purple and went with the Rustoleum 2x for which they claim works on plastic (after two coats of plastic primer). Then silver racing stripes which I pinstriped with an enamel paint pen.


Frame comes next....
 
#32
great job and good progress... i was going to suggest using bulldog adhesion promoter or the sem adhesion promoter (on the tank, or other plastic parts) and just paint it regular after that, but you said you used a plastic primer of some sort, prob had adhesion promoter in it... anyhow, nice job...:thumbsup:
 
#33
Many Thanks to ATKRIDER

I took my wayward Tecumseh HS40 out to him, and we worked on it for a couple hours. Got it not only to spark, but start and run pretty well. It appears that when one of the other two repair guys I had look at it took it apart, they installed the offset ring that opens and closes the points backwards. It would have never fired, because the points were opening completely reverse time from when they should.

So, the engine starts up, the chain is mounted and the bike goes out for a test ride (thanks to ATKRIDER's stepson) and when he hits a rut in the yard......
BOTH UPPER FORK TUBES BREAK!!!! SON OF A BI***........(Remember the bent forks from the "before" pics)

Not the young man's fault, it appears as though they were cracked (which couldn't be seen under the spring housing (will post pics later when I take them).

So now I either have to find a set of forks (good luck with that), or more than likely, I will buy a couple pieces of pipe to match what was there originally, cut out the old pieces and weld in the new pipes to make new upper fork tubes.

Any thoughts and suggestions on options for fixing/replacing the forks???

I am beginning to think this bike just doesn't want to be ridden any more!!!!

Again a great big thanks to ATKRIDER (Bill) for all his work and guidance. If any of you out there need work done, this is the guy to call!

Nick
 
#34
Hello all,

I recently purchased a mid 70's Bird Manufacturing Thunderbird from a CL seller ($100), I have the Tecumseh engine out of it for cleaning, and will be going over the bike to disassemble it for stripping and repainting.

Where can I find manuals for this bike?

How do I break/get the chain off? What size is the chain? How can I identify the chain size?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Nick
Hi....did u ever figure out chain size, length on this thunderbird?
I have one without chain.
Let me know...thx. keithnodaros@yahoo.com
 
Top