Early Bug Flea

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Havasu Dave

Moderator
#1
#1
Late fifties photo, as Bug Engineering scrambled to market a mini bike. These were tiny in comparison to later models, and much the same size as the current "micro" minis out there. Powered by Clinton A400's, they were touted to go 40 MPH.



A hard life. No serial number found. Probably 1959 model, give or take. It was common for these to break right at the seat mounts.



Lots of pieces cut off, everything serviceable is retained. No blast media used. Paint stripper, and very reduced muriatic followed by boric bath.



The good wheel half. Later on, Hands 4" wheels were used. These use tapered hubs for Timken bearings.



Detail of rear brake backing plate. A band brake configured as an expanding unit is pinned to this plate (round hole) where it is anchored. The slotted hole contains the actuation on the other end of the band via standard cable.



Replacement 1" steering tube welded to hoop. (All 3 hoops on this frame are 6" centers) Weight of bike is taken up on welded washer.



Assembled with replacement top frame. 1" X 22" long. Coped to neck which is 75 deg.

 
superflea

superflea

#2
#2
Did that one come from Spokane? I almost moved on one up here but it was beyond my skill set. You should donate that to KKK when done. He has been looking for ever for one.
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#3
#3
Steering stem and handlebar mount. Bottom section would have been same dimension as steering neck. (This was all missing) I was unable to source an I.D. of 1" plus, and without a lathe, I had to shim the inside of the lower portion. The lower portion is 2.25" long. Shim was a piece of .030 sheet metal rolled up inside.

Top is set at an angle of 47 degrees, and 4 inches long. It will be coped and the handlebars will go there.



Yes Fred, I will be trading this straight across for Gerry's vintage Chevy Sportvan. Looking at my welds, do you think I let a simple thing like "beyond my skill set" bother me? No idea if it came from Spokane, only that I paid more for it than anyone else would have. ;)
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#4
#4
Does anyone know what kind of seat this is/was? It has the shape, almost, of an old Troxel, but it almost looks metal, or plastic molded. The seat would have been available in late 1950's, and very early 1960's.

Bug%20Flea.jpg

Fleas.jpg
 
Daniel Coop

Daniel Coop

Well-Known Member
#6
#6
Dang Dave, a real sweet little piece of history there. Couldn't think of a better guy to bring that back to life. Will you be going all original with a Clinton 400 again? That's gotta be a rare little beast to find. Very cool! I had no idea exactly how far mini bikes went back in time. Forgive me if it's a stupid question, but what and when was the first mini bike manufactured? That's the oldest I have personally seen...
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#7
#7
Raskin said:
I've been looking at seats awhile i have beach cruiser bikes ..those remind me of bicycle seat coz no bend in them..scroll down ...maybe you can use one of these..
Click to expand...
Thanks Raskin, a couple of them look like they'd work. Using "beach cruiser" as a search criteria is a better way to search.

Daniel Coop said:
Dang Dave, a real sweet little piece of history there. Couldn't think of a better guy to bring that back to life. Will you be going all original with a Clinton 400 again? That's gotta be a rare little beast to find. Very cool! I had no idea exactly how far mini bikes went back in time. Forgive me if it's a stupid question, but what and when was the first mini bike manufactured? That's the oldest I have personally seen...
Click to expand...
Thanks Daniel. Yes these are rare, and not a whole lot is known about them. My joy comes from the nostalgic aspect of this hobby, and what it meant to me as a kid in the 60's.

The early days of mini bikes are interrelated to karting, and were more of an afterthought to early karting, than their own entity at first.

Since the 1940's, folks were putting small gas engines on two, three and four wheels. But it wasn't until the late 50's that these were mass produced- and mass produced here means more than a couple. Here is an interesting thread on it from a few years ago.

There would be no way to tell which "farmer" was the first to slap a washing machine engine on to a bicycle, and then there is the argument of the British Paratrooper bikes, later called the "Corgi" and if it was a mini bike by definition. The Michrina Brothers will tell you their Lil Indian was first, but an interview with Duffy Livingstone (early karting) gives you a pretty good idea of who the players were, including patent on the word "Go Kart" and mention of Lynn Wineland, who was the editor of Rod and Custom, and whose purple flake paint job from his 32 coupe ended up gracing Taco frames.

In the case of the Bug Flea, it appears to be a case of Bug Engineering (Later K&P Engineering) rushed to produce a mini bike just like the folks up the street at Go Kart were doing. Some say Bug beat Go Kart by a week. All of this was happening outside of Azusa CA.

The frame hoops in the Bug Flea where the steering hoops used on the Bug Karts. So were the A400's. K&P went on to produce larger and more powerful bikes, (as well as successful karting business) including one model that came equipped with a Yamaha 125cc two stroke engine. (I'd love to have that bike)

Anyway, that is the short of it from memory, as much of this on the internet. I will be using a 60's A400 Clinton two stroke. I was fortunate enough to find some vintage hot rod parts for it as well, that should result in a bike too fast for what it is. But like you, this is what I do for fun, and when I get something old, I never feel like an "owner," but more like a custodian. My purpose in documenting what I am doing in this thread is simply that- documentation. This is not a build thread per se, or a welding contest. (wink and a grin) Just me putting it down somewhere, because there is not a lot out there on this bike.

Man, you younger guys- you should have seen how cool this stuff was in the 60's and 70's and what these little machines said to freedom! Life changing enough that 50 years later, we'd be spending thousands on machines too small to ride.
 
superflea

superflea

#9
#9
Man, you younger guys- you should have seen how cool this stuff was in the 60's and 70's and what these little machines said to freedom! Life changing enough that 50 years later, we'd be spending thousands on machines too small to ride.

Nicely said Dave, especially the freedom part !

Flea on my man.

Fred
 
Daniel Coop

Daniel Coop

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
Man, you younger guys- you should have seen how cool this stuff was in the 60's and 70's and what these little machines said to freedom! Life changing enough that 50 years later, we'd be spending thousands on machines too small to ride.

Lol, I wasn't even born until 1977 and like football, mini bikes were deemed to dangerous for me and my brother by my mom... Lol. We never had money for what my mother considered frivolous purchases. By the time I was earning money to buy my own stuff, it was the height of the mid 80's and BMX/Freestyle was I ended up spending most my time and money on. I always wanted one, but forgot all about them until seeing one again last year. I can only imagine what it'd have been like to get one of these cool bikes as a kid.
 
james c

james c

Active Member
#12
#12
seats were off tricycles, steel, welded in front (on top) and bottom to help strengthen the tube of the frame and keep it from bending down in the back. pm me for pics and ill email you what im using on my build.
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#13
#13
james c said:
seats were off tricycles, steel, welded in front (on top) and bottom to help strengthen the tube of the frame and keep it from bending down in the back. pm me for pics and ill email you what im using on my build.
Click to expand...
Ha! Thanks James, that is what I was coming up with too. I sent you an email requesting photo.
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#15
#15
james c said:
seats were off tricycles, steel, welded in front (on top) and bottom to help strengthen the tube of the frame and keep it from bending down in the back. pm me for pics and ill email you what im using on my build.
Click to expand...
James sent me a few photos of how he is doing his. Thanks James. I've got a seat coming in, very vintage, very "deco." Very small. Note James' bike was originally blue? Mine was red.

I'll post my photos later, but in the spirit of keeping the information flowing:

James C Seat



 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#16
#16
7/8" kandle bars are 22.25" long in total. They are bent 6.75" from the ends at 20 degrees.

I went to seven different machine shops, hot rod fabricators, and the like, and NO ONE could do 7/8" tube! All dies were much larger. Finally the owner at Premier Street Rods says, "go to a boat manufacturer, they do bow rails and stuff."

LOL, just down the street is Advantage Boats, and oh yes, they can bend my little handlebars, but the "guy in the back" is $120 per hour.

So here are my $105 handle bars.



 
S

scrambler1

Member
#17
#17
I found this Bug Flea ad in a March 1959 Rod and Custom magazine.
I didn't think the seats were 'sprung', but it looks like Dave's seat may be original?
Also, note the rear wheel seems to be larger than the front?
I thought I had to find an old bug 4"wheel and expanding brake, but now I can probably go with a generic 5", which is much easier to find. Flea March 1959.jpg
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#18
#18
scrambler1 said:
I found this Bug Flea ad in a March 1959 Rod and Custom magazine.
I didn't think the seats were 'sprung', but it looks like Dave's seat may be original?
Also, note the rear wheel seems to be larger than the front?
I thought I had to find an old bug 4"wheel and expanding brake, but now I can probably go with a generic 5", which is much easier to find.
Click to expand...
Terry, thanks a lot for that ad. It looks like the wheels are the same, but that the rear "Tire" is taller. This is the first photo I've seen that shows the sprung seat, and yes, what I have looks exactly the same. I still have the spring bits as well. These wheels appear either white, or aluminum finish if they're Hands.

Early production was 59. The later production bikes show the different tricycle seats, and Hands wheels. Note that this early version goes 45 MPH without the Palmini header, where the later one goes 40 MPH "with" it.

Apparently, those of us with an interest in these bikes have our choice of iterations we can chose from. Now that I have a seat on the way from a vintage tricycle, I find myself wanting to get a damn Troxel! Oh, if only we had some color photos of these from the day.
 
S

scrambler1

Member
#19
#19
Dave, I will leave it up to you to test the top speed!
Hard to tell on the wheel size, but you may be right that it's just the tire that is bigger.
I have a 4" wheel, but no hub, brake and sprocket to fit.
A real pain in the ass to piece that stuff together.

terry
 
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