OK, I know there's been a couple of threads started on these lately. I just finished cleaning up and reassembling my Pretty much all original Chromed Sears SR and got some decent shots of it to post up.
The motor id plate puts it built in late August of 1970, so this bike was probably ready to go by at least Christmas of '70. I don't know if its classified as a 1970 or 1971 though?
I bought this bike out of Wisconsin and had it shipped to me here in Florida. It was complete, but the original 2 speed jackshaft was broken, front forks were bent, and a few other little things needed attention. Other than that it just needed a serious cleanup. I put it back together with as much stuff that was original as I could, of course I added a few period correct pieces as well
The finished bike:
The fuel tank that came on the motor was not right, It was a metal tec tank and it was dinged up and the wrong color. I found what I believe to be a correct tank from Frank Mathison that sells cool vintage and NOS minibike parts. The tank is NOS. I also found a really cool NOS gas cap with fuel gauge that does not have any mechanical parts, It works really good and is easy to read as well! The "information" decal I got from peeweepinstriping and is very well done (its also covering a hole that was drilled in the bike at one time:thumbsup
:
The paint on the motor is really nice, I wanted to maybe polish up the bolt heads etc. but I opted not to. Note the color of the tank is just about spot on, that was nice. There was a bolt or 2 that was missing or damaged I replaced them as best I could, One day I will get a color match done and touch up what I can. But for 40 years old, I think its in pretty impressive condition! I added an optional tecumseh kick start and an NOS chrome muffler that I got from other OldMiniBikes members :thumbsup:
Right about the time I bought the bike, An OldMiniBikes member found a stash of NOS comet 2 speed jackshaft assy's, so I jumped on one, I could not find an original comet 2 speed clutch, so I picked up a max torque from Brandt Hanson, they are supposed to be modified a little to hold up better than the ones directly from max torque.
The jackshaft brake works amazing! I am very impressed with the stopping power it has. I really could use some new chains, these are actually original to the bike.
original ID decal still pretty decent:
One problem I had, and this is pretty common, was along with the bent forks the front fender was cracked at the mount holes pretty good. I came up with the idea to use these large stainless trim bolts which worked out very well. They cover the cracks pretty good, and hopefully adds a little strength.
I think this bike only came with the tab that grounds out plug wire, so I added a kill switch, not vintage but its a commonly used design.
I ran the cables and wiring through the bracing on the neck, there was just enough room the slide them through. I used those chrome frame hugger clamps to run the cables along the frame rail. You can also see the cool Union Decal on the fork underside from when the bike was built:thumbsup: and the uncool hole someone drilled that the information decal is covering:doah: in this pic
Front tire was perfect the rear was off the rim and not in showroom shape but for the time being I managed to save it with the help of a bottle of tire slime. They are marked ARCO, I don't know if they are original to the bike or not. I dig the valve stem caps though :thumbsup:
The motor id plate puts it built in late August of 1970, so this bike was probably ready to go by at least Christmas of '70. I don't know if its classified as a 1970 or 1971 though?
I bought this bike out of Wisconsin and had it shipped to me here in Florida. It was complete, but the original 2 speed jackshaft was broken, front forks were bent, and a few other little things needed attention. Other than that it just needed a serious cleanup. I put it back together with as much stuff that was original as I could, of course I added a few period correct pieces as well
The finished bike:
The fuel tank that came on the motor was not right, It was a metal tec tank and it was dinged up and the wrong color. I found what I believe to be a correct tank from Frank Mathison that sells cool vintage and NOS minibike parts. The tank is NOS. I also found a really cool NOS gas cap with fuel gauge that does not have any mechanical parts, It works really good and is easy to read as well! The "information" decal I got from peeweepinstriping and is very well done (its also covering a hole that was drilled in the bike at one time:thumbsup
:
The paint on the motor is really nice, I wanted to maybe polish up the bolt heads etc. but I opted not to. Note the color of the tank is just about spot on, that was nice. There was a bolt or 2 that was missing or damaged I replaced them as best I could, One day I will get a color match done and touch up what I can. But for 40 years old, I think its in pretty impressive condition! I added an optional tecumseh kick start and an NOS chrome muffler that I got from other OldMiniBikes members :thumbsup:
Right about the time I bought the bike, An OldMiniBikes member found a stash of NOS comet 2 speed jackshaft assy's, so I jumped on one, I could not find an original comet 2 speed clutch, so I picked up a max torque from Brandt Hanson, they are supposed to be modified a little to hold up better than the ones directly from max torque.
The jackshaft brake works amazing! I am very impressed with the stopping power it has. I really could use some new chains, these are actually original to the bike.
original ID decal still pretty decent:
One problem I had, and this is pretty common, was along with the bent forks the front fender was cracked at the mount holes pretty good. I came up with the idea to use these large stainless trim bolts which worked out very well. They cover the cracks pretty good, and hopefully adds a little strength.
I think this bike only came with the tab that grounds out plug wire, so I added a kill switch, not vintage but its a commonly used design.
I ran the cables and wiring through the bracing on the neck, there was just enough room the slide them through. I used those chrome frame hugger clamps to run the cables along the frame rail. You can also see the cool Union Decal on the fork underside from when the bike was built:thumbsup: and the uncool hole someone drilled that the information decal is covering:doah: in this pic
Front tire was perfect the rear was off the rim and not in showroom shape but for the time being I managed to save it with the help of a bottle of tire slime. They are marked ARCO, I don't know if they are original to the bike or not. I dig the valve stem caps though :thumbsup:
