The online article:
https://www.weekbladdekempenaer.nl/reader/64815/1467986/goud-in-de-kempen
Translation including the picture:
Minibike 'Li'l Popeye', with which John van Alphen from Riethoven achieved 1st place this year.
John van Alphen, 44 years old and living in Riethoven, has won the oldminibikes . com build-off' competition this year with his 'Li'l Popeye', in the 'Anything goes' class.
RIETHOVEN - John van Alphen has been building mini bikes for several years. These are built on the basis of minibikes, as they have been popular in the United States since the 1960s and 1970s. Often these have a wheelbase of about 90 centimeters and a 4-stroke industrial engine with pull starter with a displacement between 150 and 220cc. John has gained a lot of information about this kind of minibikes through an American forum:
oldminibikes.com. It is at this forum where American enthusiasts show their skills and restoration projects and every spring there is a minibike build-off competition, with different classes, such as: Vintage, International, Under 18 and Anything goes.
Build-off competition
During the build-off competition of 2019, John finished 2nd and 3rd, but this year John beat the Americans, winning 1st prize with the newly built minibike: 'Li'l Popeye '. This minibike is completely self-made from front to back. The engine is a used Honda GX-160, coming from a vibration plate. The engine has also been worked on, such as removing the rev limiter, a stronger connecting rod has been mounted, the original flywheel has been replaced by an aluminum flywheel, the cylinder head has been flowed, the compression ratio has been increased and a 26-millimeter carburettor has been fitted.
The power is unknown, but it is enough for such a small minibike. The power is transferred to the small rear wheel via a variomatic transmission. All this is held together by a frame made of 22 millimeter steel tube. The mudguards, the tank, etc.: it is all homemade and apparently the Americans could appreciate that, because in the class 'Anything goes' no less than 49% of the votes were for the minibike from the Brabant Kempen.