Sears Roper

New paint or patina?

  • New paint

  • Patina


Results are only viewable after voting.
#1
So I just picked up a sears roper mini bike from my brother-in-law this past weekend. I originally wanted to do something really gnarly with it until I saw it and realized it was a classic mini-bike. I plan on doing a restoration with it as much as I possibly can so I'm hoping to get some help. It is currently disassembled and I believe I'm only missing the original motor. From looking at all the pieces and some research on google and this forum, I believe it's a 71' and was the 5 hp 2 speed version. I'm hoping some of y'all can chime in to confirm or correct me. I will post pics of the bike in a few when I get back to my phone. A couple things I still need clarification on is:

What engine came on these bikes?
Is it worth or even possible to find an original engine for this bike or should I plan to run a predator motor(with the mini-bike's gas tank)?

As far as the esthetics of the bike go, I'm curious as to what y'all think. Should I strip down the frame and completely repaint it with new decals(which i found on Ebay)? Or just clear coat over whats left for a patina look?
 

old shed finds

Well-Known Member
#3
Nice bike..
We had one loved it it had the forward tank 4hp Tecumseh. ..
The rear arm setup with low rate springs made it the smoothest riding mini bike we had...too many predator stuff keep it original. ..
 
#4
They are only original once. Biggest question is how complete is it . You say the motor is missing and a Tecumseh H50 should not be hard to find. The clutch guard is the hardest part to find on this bike. Frame mounted gas tank is next too. I see you still have the grab bar which is a plus . They are a nice bike to ride and the 2 speed set up makes it fast too .
 
#5
They are only original once. Biggest question is how complete is it . You say the motor is missing and a Tecumseh H50 should not be hard to find. The clutch guard is the hardest part to find on this bike. Frame mounted gas tank is next too. I see you still have the grab bar which is a plus . They are a nice bike to ride and the 2 speed set up makes it fast too .
I have the chain guards, frame mounted tank, original seat, sprockets, shocks and springs, brake and throttle hardware and even the original tires. The tires definitely need replaced though.
 
#9
So I just picked up a sears roper mini bike from my brother-in-law this past weekend. I originally wanted to do something really gnarly with it until I saw it and realized it was a classic mini-bike. I plan on doing a restoration with it as much as I possibly can so I'm hoping to get some help. It is currently disassembled and I believe I'm only missing the original motor. From looking at all the pieces and some research on google and this forum, I believe it's a 71' and was the 5 hp 2 speed version. I'm hoping some of y'all can chime in to confirm or correct me. I will post pics of the bike in a few when I get back to my phone. A couple things I still need clarification on is:

What engine came on these bikes?
Is it worth or even possible to find an original engine for this bike or should I plan to run a predator motor(with the mini-bike's gas tank)?

As far as the esthetics of the bike go, I'm curious as to what y'all think. Should I strip down the frame and completely repaint it with new decals(which i found on Ebay)? Or just clear coat over whats left for a patina look?
I’ll stand corrected, but I thought these were powered by HS40 and HS50 engines, not big blocks. Small blocks are out there, I’m sure.
Nice bike
 

cfh

Well-Known Member
#12
I picked up a roper frame/gas tank. i did some modifications to make it more to my liking. Also i used a tecumseh HS50 motor, not the H50. It fits better in the frame. I too was missing the disc brake parts. So i welded up mounts to use a DB30 disc brake (where parts are easily/cheaply available.) It stops really nice with that brake system. Moved the rear shock mount too, which gives a bit more ground clearance and better geometry. this thing handles nice! 10" wheels rock too, versus 6" wheels.



 

markus

Well-Known Member
#13
@midnight52 your are correct, the original engine for your bike was an "H50", it was craftsman number 143 615062 It was a Tecumseh but they used craftsman stamped/configured engines. the add for those is confusing because they in fact show it with a smaller engine in it (but with a 5hp decal on it), and the pictures of the incorrect TC driven bike above that are setup totally different dont help any either :D. Do you still have the 2 speed jackshaft and box unit with the band brake assembly? or are you missing it?

 

cfh

Well-Known Member
#14
I always wondered why the ad showed an HS motor not an H motor. But i have to admit, that ad did in fact influence me to use an HS50 motor instead of an H50 motor in my Roper. It was a wise decision... you can get an Arc billet rod for the HS motors, can't get it for the H motors. Also my parts inventory doesn't really support H style motors. And again, the HS50 motor fits a lot better than an H50 motor. It's just a more comfortable bike with an HS motor. I also used a series 20 torque converter. Those 2-speed clutches are expensive, and don't perform as well as a torque converter.
 
#15
@midnight52 your are correct, the original engine for your bike was an "H50", it was craftsman number 143 615062 It was a Tecumseh but they used craftsman stamped/configured engines. the add for those is confusing because they in fact show it with a smaller engine in it (but with a 5hp decal on it), and the pictures of the incorrect TC driven bike above that are setup totally different dont help any either :D. Do you still have the 2 speed jackshaft and box unit with the band brake assembly? or are you missing it?

I believe I have most of everything to do the 2 spd clutch setup. I have the jack shaft and a few clutches from the previous owner. However, I don’t believe I have the band brake setup but I may be mistaken. I got the bike in pieces that was spread among a few small boxes.
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#16
I believe I have most of everything to do the 2 spd clutch setup. I have the jack shaft and a few clutches from the previous owner. However, I don’t believe I have the band brake setup but I may be mistaken. I got the bike in pieces that was spread among a few small boxes.
The band and cable itself just bolted to the jackshaft bracket and the drum was on the jackshaft in the center. The drum can be harder to find I think but the brake bands are no big deal as they make them in all different sizes. stopped the bike really well on the one I had, just spend time making sure its drag free when the system is open/not in use as the comet 2 speeds don't like alot of friction in the system.
 
#17
@midnight52 your are correct, the original engine for your bike was an "H50", it was craftsman number 143 615062 It was a Tecumseh but they used craftsman stamped/configured engines. the add for those is confusing because they in fact show it with a smaller engine in it (but with a 5hp decal on it), and the pictures of the incorrect TC driven bike above that are setup totally different dont help any either :D. Do you still have the 2 speed jackshaft and box unit with the band brake assembly? or are you missing it?

So I don’t have an engine for this but I did find an engine on Facebook marketplace. I have attached the pic of the model number. Can you or anyone else confirm if it is a HS50 and/ or what year it may be? I was told it was a HS50 and not to say the guy was lying but I’m not too familiar with these engines.
 

Attachments

markus

Well-Known Member
#18
So I don’t have an engine for this but I did find an engine on Facebook marketplace. I have attached the pic of the model number. Can you or anyone else confirm if it is a HS50 and/ or what year it may be? I was told it was a HS50 and not to say the guy was lying but I’m not too familiar with these engines.
Its a 1994 and yes 5hp, they called them HSSK50 (Horizontal Small Snow King) when they were Tecumseh tagged. That one still has the large exhaust valve in it if its still original block, shows as a standard 3/4" output and no PTO on the camshaft as well , so those are nice bonuses if you going with late model snowthrower engine.
 
Top