N.Z. made Tru Test
- Thread starter bathcollector
- Start date
- Tags made n.z. test
Hey mate. Good score on the bike. im pretty sure thats a Trutest. from what I can tell the later bikes had the plate on the front of the forks. It looks as if both those bikes have the plate yet of interest is the fact that by the pics the geometry of the forks is different? I also found that the later bikes had those wheels as opposed to the tristar wheels. The Red bike also looks to have a modified gusset. Some of the later bikes I have seen, have a kill switch (toggle type) fitted in the gusset.:detective:
Andy.
Andy.
I don't think I had ever seen this thread until today, but I'm glad you stuck with it and gave us an update. Those little bikes are great and your restoration came out nice.
Those sure do look like "Lil" Indians don't they, Those wheels and sprocket are cool too. Are those pretty popular in NZ?, sure would be cool to have one of those next to my other bikes. Nice that you were reunited with your childhood mini and really cool of your friend to just stop by and drop it off, it's amazing he still had it.
They used to be reasonably common here. I bought my first one (pictured) sometime in the early 70,s. A little guy used to work with my Grandad and rode it to work, road legal. I got a Tecumseh kick start for it, $15.00 brand new and thought I had a real motorbike now, haha. I had a paper run that delivered in town to shops and hotels so would be in town every week day. The local Honda shop got a new QA50 and put it in the window. I used to drool over it every day. Plucked up the plums to go ask about buying it and paying it off with my paper run money, the guy said bring your Mum to sign that she will pay if you don't and it could be yours. Mum agreed on me selling the Tru test to put down 1/2 payment so got it sold and the QA50 was mine. My original Tru test went out of town about 12 miles or so and I didn't think about it for years til I thought about trying to see if it was still about. The guy I sold it to had since died but I went to High School with his younger sister and asked her if she remembered it, nah, so it went cold. The guy I got it from came in to work one day for some bolts and I asked what he was doing and when told a tru test, my ears pricked up and it turned out to be my old one. Has been through only 2 other people since I sold it. My friend was working at a sheetmetal shop at the time and had these sprockets laser cut, the original is still with the stuff he dropped off. Don't know where the original Tecumseh and kick start got to though ? The wheels are original to the bike and are 2 piece design. I also have a couple of QA50 projects in my shed.
@bathcollector One of those would be as rare here in the states as a "Lil" Indian would be there. If you ever find a roller like your blue one with the same kind of wheels, I would be willing to send you a "Lil" Indian roller with original aluminum mags in trade.
-A2M
-A2M
These go usually from $500.00 up to $1000.00 over here depending on how many people just have to have it. The green finished one in the pics here i paid $100.00 for from memory as a roller, it was a pig and needed repair work to the frame around the steering neck where they tend to break. One came up silly cheap, $150.00 almost running a couple of years back and a friend of mine was looking for one for his kids so I passed him the details and he bought it. You never know what turns up though, will keep an eye out for you.