The Snow Baja Mini...

#1
Just a quick mission statement here. I'll be building an ice - snow going Baja Mini.

The idea is to take a stock Baja Mini and be able to ride it in deep snow and ice like a snowmobile. I'll be modifying the engine, adding a ski, possibly adding a track drive ... who knows!
 
#2
Welcome to OldMiniBikes, glad to see another Canuck on here, I'm looking forward to seeing how this works. Are you going to be using a snowblower track?
 
#4
Welcome to OldMiniBikes, glad to see another Canuck on here, I'm looking forward to seeing how this works. Are you going to be using a snowblower track?
I have access to a snowblower track, but I also hear they're not very tough.
I'm thinking about going with a paddle tire with some snow mobile spikes in it.
I've put sheet metal screws in tires with good results. They wear out fast but they hook up well on ice ...

The real problem is deeper snow, traction on ice is easy. That's why I'm hoping the paddle tire will be able to move me through the snow.
I'll destroy the rear tire to test the theory first, if it works out I'll buy a Kenda Sand Gecko. Then I'll have to contend with clearance issues, they come in 9 inch wide tires..


So that should take care of grip, now I need to float in deep snow. A ski in the front should helps with that...

I'm also considering running a crazy carpet section on the bottom of the engine.


Engine mods will be:

Stock muffler box will be debaffled
gov removal
billet flywheel (Purchased)
billet Rod (Purchased)
8 deg adv timing key
stock carb clean and drill the jets
18lb valve springs (purchased)
air filter and adapter(purchased)
 
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#5
Buying the bike

I saw an ad for a Baja mini on Kijiji. The picture was a brand new MB165, so being lazy I just assumed the bike was new... I live in Montreal so the guy selling it was french and my french really isn't good so I just kept the conversation to a minimum.
We decided on a price by email and I called him for his address and set off to meet him. When I was literally 5 mins away, he called me and told me not to come as he'd broken the pull start and couldn't get it started. I said I was 5 mins from his house and that I'd come by anyways.

In a way, I felt like I was lied to because the bike was rusty and full of mud and obviously not the bike I saw in the Kijiji Ad, but this is good because I have some bartering room.. but not much because I can barely formulate a sentence in french. So I basically used the tactic of long silent moments staring at the bike and shaking my head.
before I made a low ball offer, I took off the blower housing and made sure I could crank the engine over. He had told me it was barely used and still being naive I believed it but wanted to make sure the motor wasn't seized. The motor was free so I decided to move in with my offer..

200$

Now he was asking 350$ which I would have paid, but there was a dented tank, rusted handle bars cracked clutch cover.. I told him thats the best I can do because it needed a new pull start (I know, dishonest.. but I was taking his lead) and the engine might be gone (compression) the carb might need to be cleaned...

He started saying "c'mon man its xmas!" and I reminded him that it was for me too and that the bike is not at all what was shown on the net. I also think he has 0 mechanical ability because his tool kit was a 25 piece cheapo jobmate socket set so I know he didn't want to fix it and probably didn't know how. I also told him the reason that he couldn't start it was because the carb was gummed up because the gas has gummed up. He didn't really understand what I was saying partly because of my broken french and partly because he didn't know what a carb was. It felt like trying to explain to someone that the world is round when they think it's flat.. Long story short he helped me load it into my Element for 200$.

I got it home and 5 mins later I had the pull start back on with a fresh new knot tied on the end and I started pulling... and pulling .. and pulling... It wouldn't start.
Without getting into carb bits, I decided to change the china plug and she fired up. I took her for a quick spin and it ran like crap.. So I guess I was right, the carb did need to be cleaned after all...
 
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#6
Sounds like you have a good bike to start your project with 'the paddle tire idea sounds good.
Show us some pictures of the new bike , allways need a before pic lol
 
#8
I snapped a few, just have to host them somewhere... Where are you in NS? Born and raised there
You can host the photos here at OldMiniBikes. Just go to the Photos section, upload them, and then you can insert them when you are positing in your thread.
 
#9
You can host the photos here at OldMiniBikes. Just go to the Photos section, upload them, and then you can insert them when you are positing in your thread.

Nice!

Here's shot of it just after I got it home....


and this is a horrible mockup of what it I want to do...
 
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#10
Hey Adamd I live in dartmouth , but scour the whole province for bikes and parts lol
Not to bad a looking bike another idea would be to extend the rear and go with tandem rear wheels for extra floatation
One of the guys built a cool tandem for last years build off I went for twin engine instead lol
 
#11
Just to give you an idea how dirty the outside of the carb is ..


Always clean your carb, before you clean your carb ;) The pine sol soak...


I also drained the gas from the tank, it was a dark apple juice color.
 
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#13
A day to a couple of days, it's a wicked degreaser and doesn't hurt rubber and it's not bad for the environment if you're an eco freak... Saw the idea on ADVRIDER a while back.
 
#14
I like the concept but I would question on how well one paddled tire is going to push you. I just dont think its going to be enough to get good traction.
 
#15
I like the concept but I would question on how well one paddled tire is going to push you. I just dont think its going to be enough to get good traction.
Well I'm going off experience with a motocross with studded knobbies in the snow. Worked very well but the front tire sank, which was ok because ground clearance was much higher than a Baja. I'm thinking a ski in the front will help that plus the wider tire with spikes and paddles should work.. kinda like this ..



[YOUTUBE]Paddle tire in snow 3 - YouTube[/YOUTUBE]
 
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#16
i think you should be fine with a fat paddle tire or very grippy fat tire. Like the super broncs have . they do well in the snow. sticking with one wheel eliminates alot of problems and moving parts with a track or tandem rear. plus the fact that it will be all home engineerd . like you said alot of the reason most bikes dont work well in the snow is because the front end digs in and bogs you down. if you can make a ski that works well and doesnt skid out on turns thats probrobly the way to go
 
#17
Now is the time I tell you that the Pine Sol worked great, right? Wrong.. It appears to have eaten away at the rubber... there's a heavy black coating on everything. Pics to follow....

SIGH...

Pricing out all the seals, I decided to buy a new carb for 18$ and keep this as a spare.
 

joekd

Active Member
#20
I have ridden my baja in a few snow storms, 6 inches or less and it moves fine, after that it is exactly like mentioned, front tire sinking and rear tire just spinning trying to push the weight forward

I would think a ski setup on the front and a paddle tread on the rear would help it a lot, considered the ski setup a few times for mine then decided for the amount I snow ride it simply wasn't worth the bother

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with and how the testing goes
 
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