Bought a cat

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dwadholm

Member
#41
#41
Blissment said:
Looking awesome. I'm watching the progress!
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Thank you. We are having a lot of fun. Wire wheel cleaned up the handlebars and forks nicely. Parts should arrive Wednesday.

Still not sure if there will be room for the chain without a jack shaft but we'll find out soon enough. I got another $100 bill tucked away just in case my plan doesn't work and we need to add the jackshaft.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
 
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dwadholm

Member
#43
#43
Made a little more progress tonight.

Hit the bike with 1000, 1500, 2000 & 2500 wet sanding paper then polishing compound and finally wax. It really brought back the rust that was hazed out with my rattle can clear coat job.

Found a set of lights and reflectors for it. They won't work as that Honda doesn't have a lighting coil so they are just placeholders for now.







I know Edgar Hetteen is rolling over in his grave with my Fleet Farm parts but none of it is irreversible. Some day we'll do it right but for now I just want it rideable. You might ask about the square reflectors...I never liked the look of those round ones on the rectangular plate. These just look like they fit and they are adhesive so hey, no harm no foul.
 
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dwadholm

Member
#44
#44
The parts arrived! We made quite a bit of progress yesterday but most of the brake components I ordered will not work. ArcticMinibike - You were right, that brake lever will not work. Also, the cables I ordered don't fit.

Anyone know where I can get Arctic Cat brake cables with the right size threaded rod and barrel? I also need the large left Cherry brake throttle.

I'll post pics later today.
 
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dwadholm

Member
#45
#45
Photo Update:

Tommy helping me get the rear wheel setup.





Because the tires are a little wider we had to devise a spacer.




Tommy got tired after a couple of hours and two trips to Macs so Zac took over. He wanted me to show how good a little wire wheel is on steel.






Not a lot of room in there...hopefully the chain will clear!




Moving on to the front.






Then the rear shocks.





And that is as far as we got. What do you guys and gals think?




We worked a little on the brakes but with the hardware we bought we didn't get very far. Any help with finding the right brake cables would be appreciated!
 
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dwadholm

Member
#46
#46
Engine mounted tonight. Had to add some spacers to allow the chain to clear the plate.



Cut the chain and gave it a spin with the engine mounted. Unfortunately we didn't drill the holes in the sprocket completely true so the chain would tighten and loosen as the tire spun around. Going to retry to drill new holes Sunday.



Was nice to see the tire spin under its own power even if it was slightly binding.

Can't sleep...thinking about mini bikes at 3:00 AM.
 
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dwadholm

Member
#47
#47
Got the throttle cable hooked up.



Redrilled the sprocket and got it closer...but honest to God I think the center hole is off because it still runs loose/tight/loose/tight...

Ordered a new sprocket and some other stuff from OldSchoolMiniBikes. Probably take it into a machine shop to have it drilled professionally this time.
 
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dwadholm

Member
#52
#52
OND said:
Very Cool Build, you and the boys are doing a awesome job !
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Thank you.

I'm ashamed to say I never thought to align the old sprocket with the new one but rather I was transferring the pattern to a piece of paper from the hub and then lining that up. Well duh...when I used the old one it worked perfectly despite it looking like swiss cheese!

So we did a little more tinkering. Tommy is the only kid in the world with a summer flu so he is in bed but Zac took the first test ride...

https://youtu.be/sPIQXA6pklA
 
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dwadholm

Member
#54
#54
Anyone ever buy anything from old school mini bike parts and stuff ?

I placed an order early Saturday morning and have not receive any order confirmation, shipping info or anything. I sent an email and left a voicemail but still haven't heard anything back. I paid extra for priority shipping so it's kind of a bummer to not get an update.


Rigged up the front brake to work OK...A little video of Tommy driving.
https://goo.gl/photos/TKcBLpKtFiKXfWB37
 
ArcticMinibike

ArcticMinibike

Member
#55
#55
dwadholm said:
Anyone ever buy anything from old school mini bike parts and stuff ?

I placed an order early Saturday morning and have not receive any order confirmation, shipping info or anything. I sent an email and left a voicemail but still haven't heard anything back. I paid extra for priority shipping so it's kind of a bummer to not get an update.


Rigged up the front brake to work OK...A little video of Tommy driving.
https://goo.gl/photos/TKcBLpKtFiKXfWB37
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Oldschool is a great supplier. I've bought many things from them. Their primary business is a mom and pop plumbing supply shop (Mathison Supply) with a minibike collection and supply house on the side. Nothing to fear, they are 100% reliable. It's probably either on its way or they're in process of shipping. I'd just give them a call at Mathison Supply during business hours. They get busy so you might have to leave a message. Ask for Frank or Virginia. Nicest couple of folks I ever bought from.

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dwadholm

Member
#56
#56
ArcticMinibike said:
Oldschool is a great supplier. I've bought many things from them. Their primary business is a mom and pop plumbing supply shop (Mathison Supply) with a minibike collection and supply house on the side. Nothing to fear, they are 100% reliable. It's probably either on its way or they're in process of shipping. I'd just give them a call at Mathison Supply during business hours. They get busy so you might have to leave a message. Ask for Frank or Virginia. Nicest couple of folks I ever bought from.

Home
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Thanks, that's reassuring. I'll try calling them again today.
 
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dwadholm

Member
#58
#58
Never mind, I received confirmation for my order today. Aparently, they were using their website to contact me but it wasn't going through...

My order is on it's way via FedEx!
 
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dwadholm

Member
#59
#59
Made this tensioner today. It was drivable without it but the chain would tighten up quite a bit with my 230 lb frame on it.



This little Arctic Cat is a sweet cruiser. If it was street legal I'd drive it all over town.







More parts coming this week!
 
ArcticMinibike

ArcticMinibike

Member
#60
#60
dwadholm said:
There might be a problem. Mathison Supply is permanently closed according to Google - https://plus.google.com/112102284212243609475/about?gl=us&hl=en

I tried calling again today and still get a voicemail saying "This is Old School, leave a message"

I wonder if there is trouble in paradise?

Donovan
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I know they were moving to a new location a few months ago. It's possible they were prepping for retirement or getting out of the hardware business altogether and just doing the minibike stuff. I've been meaning to give them a call for parts. I'll see what I can find out. Glad you got your confirmation.

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