Manco Thunderbird Budget Build
- Thread starter Dr. Shop Teacher
- Start date
- Tags cheap post progress project thunderbird
Buttoning up the 'Bird
Got the throttle and governor spring sorted out today, and it finally runs smoothly. A little burping as I'm riding at throttle, but I think the more the engine runs, the better it will be. If not, then I have a new carb that I can put on it. Added the clutch guard today....I like the look of the ARCO guards and they're not that expensive, so I put one on this bike and will also on the Fur Ball. All told, I put about $300 into the bike, about 1/3 of what went into my first bike. So I guess I've learned a few things. The 'Bird will be at Windber and it will be for sale but I haven't figured out a price.
Got the throttle and governor spring sorted out today, and it finally runs smoothly. A little burping as I'm riding at throttle, but I think the more the engine runs, the better it will be. If not, then I have a new carb that I can put on it. Added the clutch guard today....I like the look of the ARCO guards and they're not that expensive, so I put one on this bike and will also on the Fur Ball. All told, I put about $300 into the bike, about 1/3 of what went into my first bike. So I guess I've learned a few things. The 'Bird will be at Windber and it will be for sale but I haven't figured out a price.
Attachments
Clipping wings: Deciding to keep the front wheel on the ground
Had the Thunderbird sold locally until the guy (my age) rode it--and it scared the crap out of him. I really didn't like riding it, because there was so much torque the front wheel came up even when feathering the throttle. I also had a miss at full throttle that was driving me crazy. To make the bike more ridable and safer, I ordered a 54 tooth sprocket from OldMiniBikes (thank you!). That got the gear ratio to 5.4:1 and far safer than 8:1 with the 80 tooth sprocket.
I also looked at the GC 190 I have stashed away to make sure I had the carb set up properly. Turns out I didn't. I needed to redo the plastic intake location and add a gasket between the air filter cup and the spacer plate. I also swapped fuel pumps and re-gapped the plug just to hit everything at once. The engine revs much smoother and no burping at throttle. Obviously, the lower ratio made a huge difference with starting and accelerating. The bike now accelerates smoothly and rides mucho better.
So, a live and learn day...
Had the Thunderbird sold locally until the guy (my age) rode it--and it scared the crap out of him. I really didn't like riding it, because there was so much torque the front wheel came up even when feathering the throttle. I also had a miss at full throttle that was driving me crazy. To make the bike more ridable and safer, I ordered a 54 tooth sprocket from OldMiniBikes (thank you!). That got the gear ratio to 5.4:1 and far safer than 8:1 with the 80 tooth sprocket.
I also looked at the GC 190 I have stashed away to make sure I had the carb set up properly. Turns out I didn't. I needed to redo the plastic intake location and add a gasket between the air filter cup and the spacer plate. I also swapped fuel pumps and re-gapped the plug just to hit everything at once. The engine revs much smoother and no burping at throttle. Obviously, the lower ratio made a huge difference with starting and accelerating. The bike now accelerates smoothly and rides mucho better.
So, a live and learn day...
