Great project :thumbsup: you may be alright and not have to alter the tank, the 700 (5hp model) in 1969 at least was a 6" mag wheeled bike according to the brochure.
Were they calling those "Geronimo" up in Canada as well, I've seen an add for the Sabre/Grand series from Canada called that.
Good luck with the Build :thumbsup:
Had to notch tank rusty inside but have lots of room to get in and sand blast,
Marcus the small frames werent called Geronimos I just thought it was afitting name,I think you find a lot mixed parts on bikes here from new the Canadian dist was located in Toronto,you woudnt be allowed to import complete bikes because of duties so they would receive them in pieces and them ship to retailer where they would assemble them I sure along the way with to may hands in it parts got mixed
I wasnt sure because of the 6in wheels when I put the 5 hp in with the tank against the tire I had less then 1/2 adustjment the adjustment slots are 1 1/2 so I took 1in out of the tank which makes sense ,on the 4in wheel with 5hp they had to move the plate 1 in forward to clear the tire so 6in wheels you need another inch,with the 3hp and move to the rear of the slots it clears the tank by 3/8 .im posting apic.and I guess on normal mounted briggs a 6 inch wheel will hit the tank . so i will say they never put a 5hp in a small frame with 6in wheels,I thought maybe the wheels were swaped but it was so rough I would have thought you would keep them?I dont know when they started to put 6in wheels on the small frame?now the only engine that fits the frame is the small brigg.now it has the large fork tube 1 1/8 so its a 68 and up and if they were running 6inch wheels the only engine that would fit is the small briggs and 69 they went to tecumseh so theres no clearance problems with standard plate,maybe some on has more info they could add
Thanks for the extra input. The reason I'm interested is that I also have a Briggs 5hp chassis that I'm going to try and get ready for the build off before the cutoff date. I had been planning on restoring it for a while now and having somebody else doing one is motivating. You don't see these very often.
I had edited because I had thought they only came with 6" wheels. After doing some looking Bill is correct and it looks like they came with the 4" wheels. I'm really confused because my chassis came with the original fenders and they measure out to match the 6". I've got to mock up this bike soon.
Edit: Addition of catalog images.
Ok, I had originally posted (and then erased) that I believe they came with 6" as mine is set up for 6" wheels. I know this is mine because it still retains the Forest Green paint under the respray and the fenders are correct for 6" wheels. What you'll notice here is that it has a shallower fuel tank. This catalog was from around 1967 or 1968 I believe which was the last of the Briggs. The other catalog which was probably from right before this one and it shows the Model 700 with 4" wheels so we're both right according to the catalogs.
Sorry about the low res pics! It's the best I could do on short notice but I hope it helps guide you some.
I had edited because I had thought they only came with 6" wheels. After doing some looking Bill is correct and it looks like they came with the 4" wheels. I'm really confused because my chassis came with the original fenders and they measure out to match the 6". I've got to mock up this bike soon.
Edit: Addition of catalog images.
Ok, I had originally posted (and then erased) that I believe they came with 6" as mine is set up for 6" wheels. I know this is mine because it still retains the Forest Green paint under the respray and the fenders are correct for 6" wheels. What you'll notice here is that it has a shallower fuel tank. This catalog was from around 1967 or 1968 I believe which was the last of the Briggs. The other catalog which was probably from right before this one and it shows the Model 700 with 4" wheels so we're both right according to the catalogs.
Sorry about the low res pics! It's the best I could do on short notice but I hope it helps guide you some.
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