Few questions about my old 5hp motor

buckeye

Well-Known Member
#4
No problem. There are so many different carbs it would be hard to tell ya how to hook up a throttle.
For the grips, just measure the handlebars.
 
#5
It was orignally 7/8" but my dad welded on a 1". So that solves that. I can hook up the throttle I just want to know how to do the kill switch. I have a idea but wanted to make sure.

Hook a push button to the front of the bike somewhere, one wire leads to the ground and the other wire leads to the spark plug wire??
 
#6
If your briggs is a points engine,you can hook up an extra wire to the condenser under the flywheel.If its a magnatron...pointsless engine they usually had a wire hook up on the coil.
 
#7
go for a toggle switch rather then a pushbutton. Reason is if you want to stop the engine and you have a pushbutton you have to hold that button till the engine comes to a complete stop, release it for even a second and it keeps on running. Toggle is dead sure to turn of the engine for keeps. Ever have a engine throttle stick you will never regret a toggle switch to stop it. Some day you just may have an emergency that needs to turn off that engine running at full bore and you do not want to be hanging on for dear life while it is kicking around on the ground at wide open throttle and your trying to find and hold down a little red button till it stops. I personaly buy those neat little on off switch that they use on Baja blitz as they are easy to mount and sure fire with easier to turn off then on.
 
#8
go for a toggle switch rather then a pushbutton. Reason is if you want to stop the engine and you have a pushbutton you have to hold that button till the engine comes to a complete stop, release it for even a second and it keeps on running. Toggle is dead sure to turn of the engine for keeps. Ever have a engine throttle stick you will never regret a toggle switch to stop it. Some day you just may have an emergency that needs to turn off that engine running at full bore and you do not want to be hanging on for dear life while it is kicking around on the ground at wide open throttle and your trying to find and hold down a little red button till it stops. I personaly buy those neat little on off switch that they use on Baja blitz as they are easy to mount and sure fire with easier to turn off then on.

Thanks for the reply. I have tons of buttons, toggle switches laying around, I'll definitely use the toggle for sure, when I get around to it. You make a good point.
 
#10
What kind of bike is that? It's cool. It looks like it just kind of hinges in the middle to provide the suspension pivot.
A Alexander Reynolds "ARCO" from 1969-1972. My dad got it as a Christmas gift when he was around 12. He is now 55. The suspension is s**t. Bumpiest ride of my life. lol
 

oldfatguy

Active Member
#12
I never saw a ARCO with the springs built into the frame like that. I have seen shocks on the seat pan but never that setup. can you post better pictures of it and ask your father if that was the factory set up because it it is you have a very rare bike .
 
#13
I never saw a ARCO with the springs built into the frame like that. I have seen shocks on the seat pan but never that setup. can you post better pictures of it and ask your father if that was the factory set up because it it is you have a very rare bike .
My father had to reweld some parts on the front probably before I was born, also the foot pedal was installed by him. So the front spring probably wasn't there factory wise. The shocks on the rear were originally there.
 

oldfatguy

Active Member
#14
My father had to reweld some parts on the front probably before I was born, also the foot pedal was installed by him. So the front spring probably wasn't there factory wise. The shocks on the rear were originally there.
they all came with the spring on the fork bolt, I was wrong, they did build that bike. Yours is the only one that I have seen like it. Is there a model number tag behind the fork plate. If you look at the second bike down on the left that is your bike.you have a very rare model because there are none in the picture section on this site
 
Last edited:
#15
they all came with the spring on the fork bolt, I was wrong, they did build that bike. Yours is the only one that I have seen like it. Is there a model number tag behind the fork plate. If you look at the second bike down on the left that is your bike.you have a very rare model because there are none in the picture section on this site
You'll have to explain to me where the fork plate is, I'm new to mini-bikes. However the one you pointed out in that picture, looks exactly like it compared to the others. Toward the front of the engine mount, the two bars come down and are pretty close to each other in the middle. Also has a swivel thing. If your confused let me know, I'll circle it in the picture.
 

TomH

New Member
#16
If you haven't done it yet, type in ARCO in the google custom search up top of the page. With a little love, that will make a really nice mini. OldMiniBikes parts can take care of most of your parts needs. real quick shipping too.
 
#17
You can just put your switch on the handle bars right at easy access.. If the motor hangs wide open or something, it's nice to have the button RIGHT AT fingers reach...

The wire just grounds out to the frame or motor wherever.. That engine is old enough to be points, but may have been converted to EIC..

Typically you don't have to remove the flywheel or whatever, as there SHOULD be a spot somewhere on the engie, where a wire is already ran out to a remote location on the engine, so you are allowed to shut it down via the engine controls..

On your engine, it will be a stud underneath the gas tank.. There should be a prong with a little stud where you can bolt down whatever other wire you want to attach to it.. I always unhook that thing anyways, because if you have the throttle setup so as it's pulling ALL THE WAY back to zero, when you let off the throttle, it would kill the engine, because ALL THE WAY shut down is (turn off) on small engines... When the throttle comes all the way back to zero, it makes contact on your prong thing,and grounds out your ignition system.....

So I unhook it there, then tie on another 4 feet of wire, then snake it up to my handle bars... Then just bare a wadd of bare wire, and a good clean spot on the handle bars.. and mash the wad of wire down to kill it...

You need to find your wire.. :laugh: it's either under the gas tank, or someone rerouted it.. Then you'd have to take the pull rope cover off and find him in there wherever he went..
 

oldfatguy

Active Member
#18
You'll have to explain to me where the fork plate is, I'm new to mini-bikes. However the one you pointed out in that picture, looks exactly like it compared to the others. Toward the front of the engine mount, the two bars come down and are pretty close to each other in the middle. Also has a swivel thing. If your confused let me know, I'll circle it in the picture.
the fork plate is the square plate on the forks that the bolt fits through, on my ARCO there was a label behind that plate on the right side. You will need to turn them to the left and look behind that plate next to the bolt. If the tag is there it will have the model number and a serial number. it may have been painted over. Most of the Arco bikes had either just the tube frame in the back or two shocks holding up the back of the seat. The version that you have with the springs as part of the frame different. There probably aren't very many still out there. That bike is probably more rare then some of the chopper versions. Definitely post some pictures of it in the Arco section when you finish it.
 
#19
If you haven't done it yet, type in ARCO in the google custom search up top of the page. With a little love, that will make a really nice mini. OldMiniBikes parts can take care of most of your parts needs. real quick shipping too.

Thanks for the information. I've been searching quite a bit :thumbsup:

You can just put your switch on the handle bars right at easy access.. If the motor hangs wide open or something, it's nice to have the button RIGHT AT fingers reach...

The wire just grounds out to the frame or motor wherever.. That engine is old enough to be points, but may have been converted to EIC..

Typically you don't have to remove the flywheel or whatever, as there SHOULD be a spot somewhere on the engie, where a wire is already ran out to a remote location on the engine, so you are allowed to shut it down via the engine controls..

On your engine, it will be a stud underneath the gas tank.. There should be a prong with a little stud where you can bolt down whatever other wire you want to attach to it.. I always unhook that thing anyways, because if you have the throttle setup so as it's pulling ALL THE WAY back to zero, when you let off the throttle, it would kill the engine, because ALL THE WAY shut down is (turn off) on small engines... When the throttle comes all the way back to zero, it makes contact on your prong thing,and grounds out your ignition system.....

So I unhook it there, then tie on another 4 feet of wire, then snake it up to my handle bars... Then just bare a wadd of bare wire, and a good clean spot on the handle bars.. and mash the wad of wire down to kill it...

You need to find your wire.. :laugh: it's either under the gas tank, or someone rerouted it.. Then you'd have to take the pull rope cover off and find him in there wherever he went..
Ohhhh, so that's what that wire is for. Gotcha. So the killswitch question is answered. Thanks


the fork plate is the square plate on the forks that the bolt fits through, on my ARCO there was a label behind that plate on the right side. You will need to turn them to the left and look behind that plate next to the bolt. If the tag is there it will have the model number and a serial number. it may have been painted over. Most of the Arco bikes had either just the tube frame in the back or two shocks holding up the back of the seat. The version that you have with the springs as part of the frame different. There probably aren't very many still out there. That bike is probably more rare then some of the chopper versions. Definitely post some pictures of it in the Arco section when you finish it.
Thanks for the info, I will take a look and see if I can fine the number. I will definitely make a build thread for it as well as post pics.
 
#20
Another question guys:

I'm trying to remove the brown/rusted "sprocket"? from the engine. The driveshaft/axle piece that the chain moves on...I can't really describe it...(the brown round piece above the bike/motor mount area.

How do I remove it? I removed two allen screws already, but can't seem to get it off. Any help would be great.
 
Top