Retro Baja Build

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#1
Just got this one together, and man was it thrashed when I got it! It's a first gen Baja DB30 with an HSSK50 snowblower engine in it.

It needed pretty much all new everything (tires, bearings, controls, chain, clutch, etc.).

Custom touches are the stainless front number plate, Tecumseh-themed clutch guard with AMF model tag, engine mounting plate with rear jack screws for chain tension, footpeg mounts for vintage aluminum buddy pegs, mount for the chrome pod filter, a reflector bracket behind the seat, a ventilated sprocket (cut a pattern in the stock solid sprocket), and the snowblower's ignition switch.

Not a hard build, but I think it came out nice. Love the look of the old DB's! IMG_1797.JPG

IMG_1795.JPG IMG_1754.JPG
 

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#3
Here’s the rear plate I made to mount a reflector. Probably from a Kawasaki or something... I made it because the back of the seat was ripped-up and I didn’t want to deal with fixing it or (heaven forbid) buy a new one, lol...

The Indian head is an old Pontiac logo. I did an image grab and used Inkscape to convert it to .dxf to make a machine path.
 

Attachments

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#4
I forgot to mention that the plastic seat base was cracked, so I made an interior and external sandwich plates and riveted them together with the plastic in the middle. I welded captive nuts inside the interior plate to bolt the rear reflector bracket into, so it's also helping hold the seat together. Added a pound of weight or so, but should keep the seat from breaking again!

Also, the AMF tag came off an old snowblower I'd robbed the engine from and scrapped. The tag was too cool not to keep, but what would I ever use it for? Not trying to actually fool anyone, as it has no relation to the bike, but since AMF made some (non-pullstart) minibikes in the 70's, I thought it might give it a semi-credible more vintage look, lol... :D
 
#5
That turned out really nice.
Can you take a photo of how you ran the throttle linkage for me? I'm trying various methods to control the butterfly valve in the carb.
 

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#6
That turned out really nice.
Can you take a photo of how you ran the throttle linkage for me? I'm trying various methods to control the butterfly valve in the carb.
I can get you an actual pic of my linkage this evening, but I pretty much just modified my stock snowblower linkage to mimic the minibike linkage pictured below (retaining the stock governor).

Mine had a detent set-up in the original application (for constant throttle), so I had to grind the pivot pin off (see #1) and remove the detent plate to allow for free movement of the pivot arms. When reattaching the the arms later, use a screw with a wide head or a washer, and back it up with a nylon locking screw so that you can allow for free movement of the arms, but not have the screw vibrate off

I added a cable housing clamp (probably off a riding mower engine) from my box of goodies at position #2. Sometimes a standard linkage will have the clamp screwed in at the bottom of the linkage (to work in the other direction), and you can just move it to the top.

I then drilled the main arm so that I could swage a cable end clamp into it out of a $2-3 cable repair kit I got off eBay (kit link and specific part circled red in pic below). This mimics the barrel end cable socket at #3. Before swaging the cable end in (it's got a tubular projection that you can pass through the hole and use a taper punch to flare such that it is held in the hole but free to rotate). Before swaging, you'll need to drill a hole through it (see red dot in pic for location) that allows the throttle cable to pass though and be clamped by the bolt when threaded in. This reminds me, on my new throttle assembly, the throttle cable had a little end on it. I had to cut it off to pass through, but before doing so, soldered the line for about .5" from the end piece up. This allowed me to use my Dremel cut-off wheel to cut it off without any of the strands fraying.

Lastly, you need a throttle return spring of some sort. I used an old Predator one I had lying around and hooked one end to the swaged in cable end, and the other to a little bracket I made. This allows the #3 arm to always retract to the left for idle, and be pulled to the right by the cable for throttling up.

#4 is a throttle limiting tab that may or may not be present on your stock linkage. You can bend it flush or cut it off.

Overall, this is a bit of trouble to save $20 or so on buying a ready-made factory linkage, but when you pay $20-40 for your derelict snowblower engine donor, it just offends one's sensibilities, lol...:p Kinda the same reason I made my own air filter mount for a $5 pod instead of buying a factory air cleaner.

TEC_throttle control.jpg
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335845805&icep_item=401776538323
s-l1600 (1).jpg
 

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#9
what did you do to install those longer pegs on it? Here is my DB30
When I got this DB30, the footpeg bar was broken on the ends and cut through the middle (I guess the lunched Briggs Intek OHV that was in it when I got it needed more room, lol), so I had to reconstruct the bar. I think the original peg set-up is decent, but since I didn't have any of that, I made my own bar and welded some vertical plates on the end to attach a set of bolt-on pegs. I just had these on hand (from some highway bars I took off a Goldwing) and used them. Main advantage of putting them higher up like that is you can lean the mini over further without grounding them out. :)

New, something like these would work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/EMGO-FOOTREST-FOLDING-12MM-SET-54-05412
 

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#16
Sweet build. How did you mount the air filter?
Thanks!

I'll have to post a picture of the filter mount, but I made a flat steel flange that screws onto the carb mouth with the 2 stock screws. I sized the flange to project around the edges enough to weld the OD of a section of 1.75" OD exhaust tubing to it (with the mounting screws inside the ID of the tube). I cut the tube at an angle to tip the filter up for rear wheel clearance, though you might not have to do this in every application.

I ordered the 45mm pod filter on eBay, two for $12. I think it looks really cool, though I have to admit, my main motivation was not spending $30+ on a stock (sorta ho-hum looking) filter assembly.
 
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