my Cat 400TS
- Thread starter bbiggs54
- Start date
Well folks looks like we got booted the projects and rides!
I thank you all for the support, likes and complements. OldMiniBikes was the only reason I could restore this bike to begin with. Even though I'm the original owner, 50 years is along time to remember a bike that was wrecked and most of the important parts trashed or lost. I regret that this bike will not be given fuel or oil as it will be stored indoors in a collection for a while. It's not that it won't eventually be started and driven. I I will post a pic when it is put away in the collection. I'm hoping for a few mini bike shows if things lighten up here in Michigan. I did't notice there was a video requirement until just a few days ago if you can believe it (probably didn't read the fine print)! However it wouldn't had made a difference any way as I thoroughly enjoyed everyone that enjoyed the build with me and the opportunity on the OldMiniBikes site. That being said good luck to the winner! Rules are rules!
I thank you all for the support, likes and complements. OldMiniBikes was the only reason I could restore this bike to begin with. Even though I'm the original owner, 50 years is along time to remember a bike that was wrecked and most of the important parts trashed or lost. I regret that this bike will not be given fuel or oil as it will be stored indoors in a collection for a while. It's not that it won't eventually be started and driven. I I will post a pic when it is put away in the collection. I'm hoping for a few mini bike shows if things lighten up here in Michigan. I did't notice there was a video requirement until just a few days ago if you can believe it (probably didn't read the fine print)! However it wouldn't had made a difference any way as I thoroughly enjoyed everyone that enjoyed the build with me and the opportunity on the OldMiniBikes site. That being said good luck to the winner! Rules are rules!
The following has been copied from the first post of the build story;
"Not many can say they have the minibike they purchased new as a kid but this is the one I purchased with my paper route money. Being from metro Detroit, back in the day, there were the Lil indians and the Ruttmans, maybe the rich kids had a few Rupps... So a customer on my route knows I have a Lil indian and tells me he's a rep for HPE Muskin Cat and would I like him to get me a mini bike at cost, wow! So Cats are a west coast thing and I'm the only kid on the block with one, a 2 speeder to boot, lot's of chrome. This is that very bike featured in this build. There is a reason I still have it and it's not because I liked it so much I kept it. About 6 months after I bought it, I was riding it out to a friends house on a path along a river called the Rouge River. It seems someone maliciously dug a hole in the trail to trip up an unlikely rider and I happened along. The story of the circumstances of my Cat ending up in the river and me lying in the field all day unconscious were relayed to me by my dad, he went back and retrieved the bike from the river. My parents were contacted by the Detroit News when I never showed up to pick up my papers. Fortunately not too long after, my parents were contacted by a homeowner nearby whose children found me laying in the field. I guess I woke up enough to tell them who I was. Any way it wasn't until many years later (after my dad had a friend try to make it ride able again) I even rode it again , by then I was a first gen Camaro freak. My kids rode it."
Adds to the story......
I still remember seeing the bike covered in thick black dried mud, the engine was full of mud and water, front wheel stuffed between the frame and handle bars twisted like a pretzel. I was pretty traumatized by the whole ordeal, so much so I never went back to or rode a mini bike on that trail again. However I just turned 16 right about that time and got my first car (1967 Camaro) so riding mini bikes in my life was over. I got my drivers licence and it was cars, cruising Telegraph and girls. I did get a motorcycle to ride back and forth to college to save money, so I had no problem being up on two wheels. The Cat was moved around from place to place for many years until in the 90's I decided to fix it up and paint it the same color as my restored 1969 Z/28 to take to the Woodward Dream Cruse. Fathom green of all things..........the front fender had been bent so I cut it off years ago. To make things easy I chucked the jackshaft, fenders and that coveted disc brake caliper for a Ruttman style clutch band brake, bought different fenders and put the bike back together as you see it in my Avatar photo. That's my son and grandson on it in the photo.
To complete this build I had to locate; a set of fenders, clutch guard, switch plate, correct brake caliper, jackshaft, appropriate clutches and drives and handle bars. Forks got repaired/replaced for this build by me but not documented in the build (it's my secret!). I got that switch plate, switch and mount bracket all for 100 bucks! How? Someone advertised an old what was left of a cat dominator on Craig's list and it still had that switch plate on it. I told him I wasn't interested in the purchase of his bike but I would give him $100.00 for that switch plate. Believe it or not he jumped all over it, I came out to his house, he handed me a couple tools, I removed it, handed him a C note and we were both VERY happy! He made some comment that he thought the plate was hand made! It was pretty good one too, been painted awhile, preserving it from any more rust that I found under the paint. That was just one of the interesting events that it took to bring this thing back to it's former Cat self. Spent quite a bit of time, money and effort to say the least on this restoration.
"Not many can say they have the minibike they purchased new as a kid but this is the one I purchased with my paper route money. Being from metro Detroit, back in the day, there were the Lil indians and the Ruttmans, maybe the rich kids had a few Rupps... So a customer on my route knows I have a Lil indian and tells me he's a rep for HPE Muskin Cat and would I like him to get me a mini bike at cost, wow! So Cats are a west coast thing and I'm the only kid on the block with one, a 2 speeder to boot, lot's of chrome. This is that very bike featured in this build. There is a reason I still have it and it's not because I liked it so much I kept it. About 6 months after I bought it, I was riding it out to a friends house on a path along a river called the Rouge River. It seems someone maliciously dug a hole in the trail to trip up an unlikely rider and I happened along. The story of the circumstances of my Cat ending up in the river and me lying in the field all day unconscious were relayed to me by my dad, he went back and retrieved the bike from the river. My parents were contacted by the Detroit News when I never showed up to pick up my papers. Fortunately not too long after, my parents were contacted by a homeowner nearby whose children found me laying in the field. I guess I woke up enough to tell them who I was. Any way it wasn't until many years later (after my dad had a friend try to make it ride able again) I even rode it again , by then I was a first gen Camaro freak. My kids rode it."
Adds to the story......
I still remember seeing the bike covered in thick black dried mud, the engine was full of mud and water, front wheel stuffed between the frame and handle bars twisted like a pretzel. I was pretty traumatized by the whole ordeal, so much so I never went back to or rode a mini bike on that trail again. However I just turned 16 right about that time and got my first car (1967 Camaro) so riding mini bikes in my life was over. I got my drivers licence and it was cars, cruising Telegraph and girls. I did get a motorcycle to ride back and forth to college to save money, so I had no problem being up on two wheels. The Cat was moved around from place to place for many years until in the 90's I decided to fix it up and paint it the same color as my restored 1969 Z/28 to take to the Woodward Dream Cruse. Fathom green of all things..........the front fender had been bent so I cut it off years ago. To make things easy I chucked the jackshaft, fenders and that coveted disc brake caliper for a Ruttman style clutch band brake, bought different fenders and put the bike back together as you see it in my Avatar photo. That's my son and grandson on it in the photo.
To complete this build I had to locate; a set of fenders, clutch guard, switch plate, correct brake caliper, jackshaft, appropriate clutches and drives and handle bars. Forks got repaired/replaced for this build by me but not documented in the build (it's my secret!). I got that switch plate, switch and mount bracket all for 100 bucks! How? Someone advertised an old what was left of a cat dominator on Craig's list and it still had that switch plate on it. I told him I wasn't interested in the purchase of his bike but I would give him $100.00 for that switch plate. Believe it or not he jumped all over it, I came out to his house, he handed me a couple tools, I removed it, handed him a C note and we were both VERY happy! He made some comment that he thought the plate was hand made! It was pretty good one too, been painted awhile, preserving it from any more rust that I found under the paint. That was just one of the interesting events that it took to bring this thing back to it's former Cat self. Spent quite a bit of time, money and effort to say the least on this restoration.
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