Sears ARCO, the poor man’s EZ rider

#1
I took a video today of the S-ARCO. It’s a little long at 15 minutes, however I covered a lot of material, which I hope is informative. Non-monetized channel so no commercials. I’m sure I made a few mistakes so don’t feel bad pointing them out to me... it’s the best way to learn.

 
#2
Nice video. That seat needs new foam, sides and a wood base. The reason those seats rip in the back is because the wood separates and the foam goes bad. . I have fixed many of those. Interesting that the vinyl top is the same as the El Tigre seats but just turned sideways. Those engine decals are already reproduced to the exact specs and they are water slide decals. You can find them on eBay by minibike Paul. They are the only correct decals that are available and the best. That bike does look pretty original. Foot pegs and scrub brake rubber is original. Not sure about the grips. Good luck with your restoration.
 
#6
Thanks, I’m onboard... currently searching and ordering the parts I want to replace.
Being new its tough to decipher between what is common knowledge, or useful information. Hopefully by the end of this project I will have given back to the community.
 
#8
Thank you redviper. I’m just repeating what I’ve gathered up from searching through this great forum. Most of which were posts from Markus. Thank you again Markus.
I was talking with a fellow from a local small engine repair shop. He believes the clutch I questioned is the original clutch. I suppose it is possible. In hindsight it makes sense as the gear ratio is 11/60 or 5.45:1, which seems correct for the tire size and MPH stated in the ad. If anyone has an opinion on that one way or the other, I’m interested to hear it.
 

pomfish

Well-Known Member
#9
Just checked my EZ Rider in the basement.
It is the orange Arco model with out the seat shocks, also have it's brother in purple with the shocks.

Yes, the Holland tires are OEM. Very soft rubber compared to Carlisle and Goodyear, etc.
My orange bike has the same clutch as yours with white Tec 3.5 engine.
Purple bike has black 4 hp with different and definitely newer clutch.


Grips on the Orange are the old block pattern like Heald and others had.
If I had to guess your grips are not as born.
Also my orange bike has Leopard seat and have seen 2 others with the same, Arco used whatever they had at the time the bike was built, convinced of that.
Most of the other companies did the same as they were constantly picking up parts from other brands going out of business.

HTH

Later,
Keith
 
#10
Just checked my EZ Rider in the basement.
It is the orange Arco model with out the seat shocks, also have it's brother in purple with the shocks.

Yes, the Holland tires are OEM. Very soft rubber compared to Carlisle and Goodyear, etc.
My orange bike has the same clutch as yours with white Tec 3.5 engine.
Purple bike has black 4 hp with different and definitely newer clutch.


Grips on the Orange are the old block pattern like Heald and others had.
If I had to guess your grips are not as born.
Also my orange bike has Leopard seat and have seen 2 others with the same, Arco used whatever they had at the time the bike was built, convinced of that.
Most of the other companies did the same as they were constantly picking up parts from other brands going out of business.

HTH

Later,
Keith
That is a big help... thank you. I would really enjoy seeing some pictures if you have the time to post them.
 
#15
I notice now the Purple one has chrome bars but the Orange one has the silver paint bars, interesting.
I’m trying to get a handle on when/why changes like that were made. Your fender bracket also has 3 holes(orange bike), but they also made it with 4. Maybe as the minibike craze slowed down, the manufacturers looked to cut building cost? I don’t know.
 

pomfish

Well-Known Member
#16
Well they seem to be famous for breaking off due to vibration as you can see mine has the back half off, so maybe the 4 hole allowed more flex without breakage.
 
#17
Just a quick update and correction. This past weekend I pulled the rear wheel to repair the tire and replace the bearings. While doing that, I pulled one of the handlebar grips only to discover that the handlebars are chrome. Previous owner had painted the handlebars silver.
 

Attachments

Top