Manco type with suspension or ??

O

oldbugger

New Member
#1
#1
Any one with an idea what this might be or what flathead engine is in it. I am guessing maybe about 1.5 2 hp by looking at it.
In actual ride you cannot get your foot on the right peg due to the engine offset and the rear tire only clears the frame by about 1/2 inch on the right, and no you cannot move the engine over to the left and all engine mount holes are orginal. The #41 chain barely clears the frame and the rear sprocket is bolted to a hub with no way to shim or change the clearance, (homebaked) :shrug:
Take a close look at the front suspension.. It may not be for this bike.
Note the downdraft intake and the syphon carb from the built in tank (stock).
I can take more pictures for details if needed.
I added a picture here of the top of the frame without the seat, next the mini is one of my Baja for size comparison.
Thanks for looking
 
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Mark G

Mark G

#5
#5
Mickey bikes didn't have those wheels, and they had ape hanger bars and a vin tag was riveted to the top frame.

That bike was just on ebay not too long ago.
 
roccosbike

roccosbike

#8
#8
I don't know what it is but those rims would look nice polished up with stainless hardware on them.I'm thinking if you switch the rear sprocket to a 35 chain it will help out some problems you are having.
 
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SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#9
#9
So then this is not a Mickey bike?


The foot pegs are on the same side of the frame, there is no plate and the frame is the same size. Looks as if the handle bars are off a BMX bike so they might have been changed, also the mounts are just pieces of metal so the originals probably broke which would explain the different handle bars.

And this one has the Mickey plate but doesn't have ape hangers either.


Could the Mickey bikes have come with different wheels other than the five spokes?
Sure looks like the Mickey Thompson bike in this article has the same wheels as the ones on his mini?
 
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Mark G

Mark G

#11
#11
SimpleTom said:
The foot pegs are on the same side of the frame, there is no plate and the frame is the same size. Looks as if the handle bars are off a BMX bike so they might have been changed, also the mounts are just pieces of metal so the originals probably broke which would explain the different handle bars.



Could the Mickey bikes have come with different wheels other than the five spokes?
Sure looks like the Mickey Thompson bike in this article has the same wheels as the ones on his mini?
Click to expand...
I did not know that some Mickey bikes came with Hands wheels, learn something new every day. I do remember seeing that auction flyer for "Mickey Thompsons" minibike, forgot about the wheels though.

Either way, Oldbuggers bike is either a KOL or Aggie bike, hard to tell without the clutch cover or vin tag. It's like seeing a bare '71 to '75 Rupp frame and calling it a Black Widow.:shrug:
 
SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#12
#12
Mac said:
Looks like a KOL/Aggie Bike from here.
.

....with a few differences.
Click to expand...
But in this photo you can clearly see the differences in the frames. The Aggie bike has a much wider space between the top bars and the foot peg bar is mounted under the bottom rails as opposed to on top of the bottom rails as on Mickey bikes.

It's kind of difficult to compare them with only one picture of an Aggie bike and no KOL bike that I have seen that looks like Oldbuggers bike.
 
O

oldbugger

New Member
#13
#13
Thanks for the great pictures, helped a lot :thumbsup:

I looked at yours and that red one in the picture. Your mounts for your handle bars are not like the red ones, mine are, as they are flat and make from what appears to be the same flat stock that has been machine formed to fit the forks, same as the fork yokes, just like the ones on the red bike, yours look like current after market add-ons (sorry).
The foot pegs are on the correct side of the frame, though for some reason it appears
that the right foot peg has been shortened by being cut off at the tip!! (saw marks through the end, not ground off but cut down)!
There is no vin tag as it was removed (there are holes for mounting it in the frame), kinda wondered what those holes were for till the vin tag was mentioned, and with the holes in the front of the frame for the VIN tag pretty sure it is a Mickey Thompson, nothing else would explain the holes as I have seen the plates on Ebay and seen one mounted so it looks about right.
Yes this is the one that was on Ebay, Picked it up the other week in Sacramento, Calif.
I was thinking about the current #41 chain and replacing it along with the sprockets with #35, the chain and re-spacing the wheel as I noticed that the sprocket has "DB Est.1978" stamped on it (obviously a later addition) and also the chain has a very poor alignment from engine back to wheel and appears to be the fault of the sprocket spacing and not the engine or clutch (a 35 chain would make it correct spacing as the tire, a 4.10 3.5x6 slick is nearly rubbing the frame. Notice that your rear wheel spacers that I can see seem to correspond with the fit as mine are just a hodgepodge of galvanized washers here and there.
Lucky it did not toss the chain when I rode it that’s how bad it is.
On the good side, did I say that the engine runs very well and very loud ! :smile:
I will see if I can raise the engine number and hopefully find a better starter assy. The engine appears to have been red/orange under the blue paint, what is under the red/orange paint is unknown.
Actually need some bicycle ape hangers, sprocket/hub etc etc and total clean up and repaint. Simple project, isn’t that how they all begin?
 
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