Hey everyone, my name is Blaine. I had a couple mini bikes as a kid and spent a good part of my childhood wrenching on or riding them. I have been wanting to get back into it for a while now that I have a son of my own. So when I saw a Boonie on the side of the road a few weeks ago with a for sale sign on it, I decided to get it. There was no clutch cover, the seat is not original, there was no 2 speed shifter and the throttle and choke linkages were all jacked up, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself in to. The frame was in good shape though, and the tires looked almost new. It also had the 5 hp B&S which I had some experience with. To be honest, I didn’t know what it was when I bought it, but I figured it out once I got on this website and did a bit of research.
Anyways, I got it running and started to realize what I had. Someone had replaced the original B&S with another, and it must have been off some piece of yard equipment because there was no keyway on the shaft for the clutch to grab on to. I’m sure they just threw that thing on there to sell it and make it look ready to go. The clutch only had one sprocket and it had a chain running to the larger sprocket on the original 2 speed Boonie Jackshaft. Speaking of the jackshaft, someone really messed it up by welding the sprockets in place, and welding over the small sprocket to hold the larger one in place
ut:. I’ll probably have to cut it if I want it off.
Once I realized what I was dealing with, I ordered a 6.5 Predator from HF and it should be here any day. I plan on hooking it up to get it going for now, but I am assuming I won’t get much speed out of it using the low gear from the Boonie.
I’m not sure what I want to do about the jackshaft. Would I be better off replacing it, or going with a TAV? If I go with a TAV, I know I have to flip the back tire around, but how much fabrication will I need to do to get this to work? I’m okay with getting an engine running, but when it comes to the TAV and jackshaft replacement, I have very little knowledge. Any advice is appreciated!
BTW, I paid $100 for the bike & photos coming.
Anyways, I got it running and started to realize what I had. Someone had replaced the original B&S with another, and it must have been off some piece of yard equipment because there was no keyway on the shaft for the clutch to grab on to. I’m sure they just threw that thing on there to sell it and make it look ready to go. The clutch only had one sprocket and it had a chain running to the larger sprocket on the original 2 speed Boonie Jackshaft. Speaking of the jackshaft, someone really messed it up by welding the sprockets in place, and welding over the small sprocket to hold the larger one in place
ut:. I’ll probably have to cut it if I want it off.Once I realized what I was dealing with, I ordered a 6.5 Predator from HF and it should be here any day. I plan on hooking it up to get it going for now, but I am assuming I won’t get much speed out of it using the low gear from the Boonie.
I’m not sure what I want to do about the jackshaft. Would I be better off replacing it, or going with a TAV? If I go with a TAV, I know I have to flip the back tire around, but how much fabrication will I need to do to get this to work? I’m okay with getting an engine running, but when it comes to the TAV and jackshaft replacement, I have very little knowledge. Any advice is appreciated!
BTW, I paid $100 for the bike & photos coming.
