Fix'n up an old Ruttman

[minibikedude]

I got my XL Frijole up and running. I was going to get started on my Ruttman bike I picked up earlier, I have to weld the motor pan in the correct place someone thought the original one was not any good and welded a big piece of metal to the bottom of the frame instead of leaving the original one on top, The weather still nice out around here so I,m taking advantage of it, I do not like to weld in the garage.
I have the wheels that came on it, I was wondering if any of our Ruttman guys would be able to tell me if the wheels on my frame are the correct ones. They are 6 inch Alton wheels. Most the Ruttmans I see use the four spoke Lil Indian ones if there 6 inch wheeled model. I also wondering if the sprocket is mounted correctly one it, it seems very close to the tire.
I have started on the frame cutting out the old motor pan and straighting the front forks. Here's some pictures of the bike currently and wheels.

 

[marksteinhilber]

Nice work!

Saw your other build, Awesome! This one is gonna be nice too. Now you will have extra bikes for friends and family to ride with you. The bikes look like they will be good comfy riders even for adults. Just make sure the brakes work really good...

I'd say just put some washers under the sprocket before bolting it on if you feel you need a little extra clearance from the tire. Won't cost much, It's nice to just refurbish all the vintage parts, yet make it work even better. The next phase of your mini bike illnessaddiction will have you designing really cool chain guards out of aluminum and stainless that can be polished up real nice, and selecting cool paint colors, tricking out the motors and worrying about the aesthetics of the exhaust you add, the style of the seat and how to compliment the colors on the bike with colored piping on the seat. I've found that a plastic bristle surface prep wheel, fine grit , in the electric drill will polish up most cast aluminum parts quickly and makes things look great next to painted steel parts. Works great on alloy wheels like the Bonanza kidney beans. It also works great on engine blocks and other cast aluminum like clutch guards. Here's a picture of what I did on this Tecumseh HS40 block and the reproduction unpolished cast aluminum Taco clutch guard I bought from TacoJoe.