I picked up a Fox Trail Tramp at an Estate auction that is in pretty good condition for being 44 years old. When I was about to leave someone who I assumed was the Daughter of the Estate owner mentioned there's was some paper work that goes with it. When I opened the packet I was speechless and think it's my favorite part of the whole deal. They "charged" $306.80 on March 3rd, 1970. The engine serial number even matches all the paper work.
When I got home I had to know if it would run so I checked the oil, poured in some gas and turned on the valve...no gas to carb:doah: The inside of the gas tank is clean so the shut off valve must be gummed up. Then the recoil spring stopped working:doah: I rewound it manually, squirted some gas in the carb, gave it pull and it started right up:clap:
It did suffer some damage in its life since the front hub is bent, the left front shock spring is broken and the front fender is missing. The left handlebar is a little loose but appears straight. The rear fender is cracked in half and one chain is missing on the 2 speed so I am not sure what is up with that...might be related to a quarter sized hole burned in the clutch cover? There are scratches and dings here and there but is still a very nice survivor in my book.
I am no Fox expert but as far as I can tell everything is pretty much there except the front fender and foot peg covers. How the paper sticker on the headlight survived 44 years is truly amazing. Based on the condition of the dent free gas tank, fox branded tires and seat it must not have been ridden much. I would guess it was parked in the shed after the incident that caused the damage.
I didn't need another mini and will reluctantly admit it was the most I ever spent on a single bike. Now what to do with it? Leave it as is and don't ride? Disassemble, deep clean, Evaporust all the chrome and make it as close to perfect as possible? Fix what needs fixing and ride?:shrug:
I don't think the pictures capture how nice it really is...
When I got home I had to know if it would run so I checked the oil, poured in some gas and turned on the valve...no gas to carb:doah: The inside of the gas tank is clean so the shut off valve must be gummed up. Then the recoil spring stopped working:doah: I rewound it manually, squirted some gas in the carb, gave it pull and it started right up:clap:
It did suffer some damage in its life since the front hub is bent, the left front shock spring is broken and the front fender is missing. The left handlebar is a little loose but appears straight. The rear fender is cracked in half and one chain is missing on the 2 speed so I am not sure what is up with that...might be related to a quarter sized hole burned in the clutch cover? There are scratches and dings here and there but is still a very nice survivor in my book.
I am no Fox expert but as far as I can tell everything is pretty much there except the front fender and foot peg covers. How the paper sticker on the headlight survived 44 years is truly amazing. Based on the condition of the dent free gas tank, fox branded tires and seat it must not have been ridden much. I would guess it was parked in the shed after the incident that caused the damage.
I didn't need another mini and will reluctantly admit it was the most I ever spent on a single bike. Now what to do with it? Leave it as is and don't ride? Disassemble, deep clean, Evaporust all the chrome and make it as close to perfect as possible? Fix what needs fixing and ride?:shrug:
I don't think the pictures capture how nice it really is...
