Ding How?
- Thread starter Someguy
- Start date
Heres the poop on the rear brake.
Check out the rear tire name on the side wall :thumbsup:.
Apparently you have to click on the pic to see a larger image.
Todd.
View attachment 10700
Check out the rear tire name on the side wall :thumbsup:.
Apparently you have to click on the pic to see a larger image.
Todd.
View attachment 10700
A kid down the alley from me had it sitting in his yard.
I remember them ripping up and down our alley with it,
but I didnt see it in a while so I went down and saw it just
sitting behind their shed. The kid said it didnt work anymore
so I got him to bring it over and I checked it out.
$80.00 (Canadian) and a 1/4" key in the clutch, drained the water
out of the carb and she was rippin in minutes.
I don't know where they got it from, I'm in southern Alberta Canada.
Todd.
I remember them ripping up and down our alley with it,
but I didnt see it in a while so I went down and saw it just
sitting behind their shed. The kid said it didnt work anymore
so I got him to bring it over and I checked it out.
$80.00 (Canadian) and a 1/4" key in the clutch, drained the water
out of the carb and she was rippin in minutes.
I don't know where they got it from, I'm in southern Alberta Canada.
Todd.
dinghow
Wow that is a blast from my past. Looks like the same bike i had as a kid and if yer brother is ridin shotgun and he is opening the governor right up it will do about 50... haha
We had a blast on it until he tried to run me over and hit the plow and broke the frame.It had a 5 hp briggs I beleive but was exactly the same as the blue one pictured. I shopuld ask the guy i sold it too if he still has it
Wow that is a blast from my past. Looks like the same bike i had as a kid and if yer brother is ridin shotgun and he is opening the governor right up it will do about 50... haha
We had a blast on it until he tried to run me over and hit the plow and broke the frame.It had a 5 hp briggs I beleive but was exactly the same as the blue one pictured. I shopuld ask the guy i sold it too if he still has it
My first job was with the importer of Ding How mini-bikes around 1971 in Seattle. The owner was Heinz Weil (pronounced weel not sure of the spelling). He had a daughter, Laurie, also around 16-18 at the time. I can't seem to locate them now. Fellow employee Paul Wyman might be locatable though. We imported trailers, then these Ding Hows, then onto Jupiter bicycles for the local Bon Marches. The head salesman, Terry, went on to form Seattle Bike Supply but has since passed on. I was the bike mechanic, didn't learn much about the mini-bikes or trailers and I went on to work as the Bon Marche's bicycle assembler/repair guy. The location for the Ding How importer was across the street east from the Northgate mall in Seattle and then down to a warehouse in the Fremont district. Heinz Weil had been a negotiator in Japan/China and used his contacts to procure these imports during what we called the 'bike boom' when we helped import a lot of bikes-everybody wanted to add bikes to their sales floor. I still have a handful of stickers, a memory of riding around the parking lot a few times, and seeing a prototype Ding How motorcycle. I might have a payroll stub, but he paid cash, reluctantly after 2 monthes, after I kept a log of all my work and hours. He negotiated a pittance, but hoped the couple of hundred I had would seem like a lot. I took it and never came back. The bookeeper knew we were going under too. She had a cool Opal GT. So...not much from me about your bike but I do have some stickers.
AWESOME!!! Thanks for the awesome reply 53 Honda F !!! Great story on the bike shop job. I was a bike mechanic in my youth and I also worked for a tyrant owner, too funny (not at the time though).
I would love to see the stickers you have. Please post a picture if you dont mind. Thanks for another piece of the puzzle.
Todd.:thumbsup:
I would love to see the stickers you have. Please post a picture if you dont mind. Thanks for another piece of the puzzle.
Todd.:thumbsup:
Thanks for sharing that, Honda F. I used to work for a guy like that, it was one of the cheap lessons in life, hopefully that I never have to learn it again.
Any idea what these things sold for new? They seem to be at the midrange of the quality for bikes of the era, with the sprung seats, frame mounted tank and nice upholstery. I assume the engines were installed after they were imported.
I love both of mine, they are the only ones I have seen in person.
http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/general-minibike-talk/10646-ding-how-nova-products-california.html
Any idea what these things sold for new? They seem to be at the midrange of the quality for bikes of the era, with the sprung seats, frame mounted tank and nice upholstery. I assume the engines were installed after they were imported.
I love both of mine, they are the only ones I have seen in person.
http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/general-minibike-talk/10646-ding-how-nova-products-california.html