Good starting point for new build?

#1
So I am looking at doing my first mini bike build. I don't really have a budget but the more it cost the longer it will take me to build. Looking for something fun. I have never owned a mini bike before and just want a new hobby. I like building motors and my current project, my 4X4 truck is not cheep to work on. I am wanting something with the honda clone 196 motor on it. I am wanting to keep the cost to around $1,000-$1,500 total using all new parts if I can. Going to be taking it on dirt roads quiet a bit but will be riding on some street.

My first thought is to get a Coleman ct200 and mod the motor. Its only $500 and is a running bike. Its also about the cheapest price to getting a bike on the road and leaves some room for mods. I plan on disabling the governor and adding the supporting mods so it stays together along with some light mods to increase power a little.

My other though it to start with an American Flyer 215 frame and building that instead.

I do plant on taking this camping with me so it will see a few less than perfect roads what should I start with? The 215 looks like a much stronger frame with more mod potential but the ct200 is cheep and has larger tires on it. I want something that will do 40+ MPH on a flat road with out killing my self. I am about 5'9" and 180 LBS so it needs to be sized for an adult.
 
#2
I would say get the Coleman because it Pay & Play. You may find that it is exactly what you want and you may find that the better choice is something with suspension front and rear since it sounds like the majority of your use will be off road. A member here [MENTION=54903]Raskin[/MENTION] has a Coleman and rides a lot of on road and off road sandy trails. He is talking about a new bike that is similar to a Baja Warrior but it has front and rear suspension. He should chime in here and give you the link. I looked but cant find it.

Keep us updated on what you do. If you go the Coleman or Baja based bike route you can find lots of information under the Baja Mini Bikes thread.

Doug
 
#3
Thanks I am kinda leaning the to the ct200 because as you say I can buy it and drive it. I will be driving a lot more off road than on. Might make the wife happy too because I tend to build stuff and she hates it. I know when I told her I wanted a mini bike the first thing she though was dam it he is going to buy it one part at a time and it is going to get expansive. Just wondering how durable they are after you bump the motor up to the 10-12 HP range.
 
#7
TrailMaster MB200-2 Mini Bike greetings welcome... hey guys..this is really better buy coz what you get..says has a tc ,but mph top speed states low..guess depends on rear sprocket and springs in tc 196cc clone..i know little about tc..so don't ask me..I'm chomping on the bit on this bike..i got 3 minis so don't really have room,but got to keep my reputation as an addict ..may pull trigger soon..it itches bad :laugh:
 
#8
Thanks I am kinda leaning the to the ct200 because as you say I can buy it and drive it. I will be driving a lot more off road than on. Might make the wife happy too because I tend to build stuff and she hates it. I know when I told her I wanted a mini bike the first thing she though was dam it he is going to buy it one part at a time and it is going to get expansive. Just wondering how durable they are after you bump the motor up to the 10-12 HP range.
Bump!
 
#9
TrailMaster MB200-2 Mini Bike greetings welcome... hey guys..this is really better buy coz what you get..says has a tc ,but mph top speed states low..guess depends on rear sprocket and springs in tc 196cc clone..i know little about tc..so don't ask me..I'm chomping on the bit on this bike..i got 3 minis so don't really have room,but got to keep my reputation as an addict ..may pull trigger soon..it itches bad :laugh:
There ya go. That's the link I couldn't find. I new Raskin had it....
 
#10
O that's a tough one. The MB200 has a cvt already. I think I am going to go with the Colman though. Its cheep and I am sure it will be my first of many bikes. Working on some possible projects too. I have a friend at work that has a lot of stuff laying around that he is looking at trading. He wants to trade me a honda 200 motor with a 5 speed from a 3 wheeler to put on something.He wants my wide band O2 sensor in my sand truck but might be able to trade him an almost new X box 360 for it. Might be good for a mini bike or a drift trike kit. I don't have a welder but he dose and we are both pretty good at making stuff. He dose a lot of the fab stuff at work and his welds look like a machine did them. Making some motor mounts should be simple enough. You guys might see me get 2 bikes hahaha. A new cheep one and a budget used build. Thanks for the help and advice.
 
#11
Well after a quick search I see why we don't put these motors in the mini bikes. It dose not look like it would fit a normal frame :( He dose have some lawnmower motors laying around though so maybe I will go through some of them and see if there is any thing of use to me. He already tried to trade me a gokart frame but I want a bike.
 
#12
The one big advantage I see for the MB200 though is a real swingarm suspension and you'd notice that big time were you to ride both bikes, should they become easier to buy and maybe sell for a couple hundred less they'd be a hot item but the price is not outrageous. I'd maybe even buy one and I'm a tough customer but I think I'd want a gently used one a couple or three hundred cheaper. The Coleman is a non suspended bike all the way around which sucks off road, a bigger Doodlebug is basically what it is and if you have ever had one off road then you suffered. I thought the fillings would be out of my teeth after a short trip through some off road trails for ATVs. I want as close to full suspension as I can get off road period, better ride and control is a hard combination to beat especially if you're out in the sticks.
 
#14
Well it looks like neither the colman or the MB are going to happen lol. I ordered a UT2 head today to start the build. I did not have enough for a complete motor and the most important part of any motor to make HP is the head so I am going to build that first. I know this might shock some people for me to start here but this is how I started my truck 5 years ago too. This is also how I started My PC I just finished last month, I started with the MOBO. I ordered a bare block and had no truck, finished the motor and found a vehicle to put it in and am now fixing it up. This is how my bike build is going to go too I guess. So now It looks like I will be probably building this thing from the ground up and motor first. The wife is going to be very very mad today that I started a new project. When I get enough parts to assemble the motor I will start my build thread. Thanks for the help though guys. Tell then I will be following peoples builds and doing a lot of reading.
 
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