Trailblazers' - Trail Horse - (18 and Under Class)

#24
They're back!

So here is the story. In 2016, a group of my students from my program entered the Minibike Build-Off. They had a great time, learned a lot and it went so well that I decided to incorporate it into my program. The rule was, that when the time came to enter the build-off, my students had to give me 100 percent Monday-Thursday and on Fridays, they would work on the bike. As I said earlier, it went very well the first year. The next year did not go as well. The group of students that I had, in short, struggled with staying focused. True to my word, they did not get to work on the bike and eventually dropped out of the build-off. Move forward to 2021. A couple of those students from 2017 are now seniors and are again in my program. The other day, they asked me about the bike they had tried to restore and wondered what had happened to it. I told them that it was still at my house in pieces waiting to be finished. To my surprise, they asked if they could finish it! I thought it was a great idea so here it is. “Team Trail Blazers” Trail Horse Minibike from the 2017 OldMiniBikes Biker Build-Off! This picture is of the frame in my living room waiting to go to school. I am bringing everything in tomorrow I will have my students take pictures and start posting as they complete the bike. If we can find the password!

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#26
Well, here is the update. Things didn't work out the way we planned and the bike never got finished. Fast forward another year. One of my 7th-grade classes is really small and I thought maybe they might want to finish this bike. They had to learn a lot before they could get started. (tools, safety, etc.) but they started last week and so far they are slowly making progress. One of the big problems that we have faced so far is that time has clouded my memory and some parts are missing. We also needed an engine. Thanks to Havasu Dave, that isn't a problem anymore. It's not exactly correct but it is a fine engine and will do nicely. It should be at my house today when I get home. I posted a couple of pictures here but if you want to see them all you will have to go to my program web page. There are also pictures of it when they started on it back in 2017. My 7th graders are also filming a small video about it. I will post it when it is completed.
 

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#28
Has anyone ever seen a black engine on a Trail Horse with a color frame like ours? The reason I ask is that the new engine came from Havasu Dave today and it is so nice I hate to paint it white.

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#29
Since it's the wrong engine anyway, there's little point in going for a lot of accuracy in the paint. I'm pretty sure it's an acrylic enamel on there and when I dumped fuel all over everything-(I had to rebuild the carb before testing it) the paint didn't run. Messing with catalyzed paint in a school environment probably breaks some rules, and you might have someone looking at how many microns your respirator filters, evidence of "Respirator Fit Testing," stuff like that. (Unless you DIY without students) That is a new gov rod on it and I noted crappy throttle actuation with that bit of throttle cable I left on it, so that needs rigged- probably need to move the Gov rod down lower on the Gov arm holes. There's plenty to do without painting. Maybe save it 'till the last once you get everything buttoned up and working right. Green spring in clutch for example is a cool classroom project. LMK off line if you guys need a hand.
 
#30
Since it's the wrong engine anyway, there's little point in going for a lot of accuracy in the paint. I'm pretty sure it's an acrylic enamel on there and when I dumped fuel all over everything-(I had to rebuild the carb before testing it) the paint didn't run. Messing with catalyzed paint in a school environment probably breaks some rules, and you might have someone looking at how many microns your respirator filters, evidence of "Respirator Fit Testing," stuff like that. (Unless you DIY without students) That is a new gov rod on it and I noted crappy throttle actuation with that bit of throttle cable I left on it, so that needs rigged- probably need to move the Gov rod down lower on the Gov arm holes. There's plenty to do without painting. Maybe save it 'till the last once you get everything buttoned up and working right. Green spring in clutch for example is a cool classroom project. LMK off line if you guys need a hand.
I do the painting at home so that isn't a problem but I was leaning toward keeping it black for the same reason. I will take a look at the clutch. and Decide what to do.
 
#31
Has anyone ever seen a black engine on a Trail Horse with a color frame like ours? The reason I ask is that the new engine came from Havasu Dave today and it is so nice I hate to paint it white.

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I'm not sure that I've ever seen a black Tecumseh on any General Appliance built bike. Not that it shouldn't be, I just cannot place any originals in black. Might look neat with that frame color.
Also, I may have a spare original seat in black that needs some work but would be the correct dimensions and material. If you would be interested in it for the kids I would donate it. Let me know and I'll confirm that it's a platform for a mild repair and clean up....
 
#32
I'm not sure that I've ever seen a black Tecumseh on any General Appliance built bike. Not that it shouldn't be, I just cannot place any originals in black. Might look neat with that frame color.
Also, I may have a spare original seat in black that needs some work but would be the correct dimensions and material. If you would be interested in it for the kids I would donate it. Let me know and I'll confirm that it's a platform for a mild repair and clean up....
The seat would be nice. I have a repop one but an original would be even better. Thanks. The engine that I bought is really nice so for now since we have about a month before school lets out, I am going to keep looking for the correct engine. If I can't find one then I will use it.
 
#35
Well, I have an H25 but for whatever reason, I cannot get it to start so in the interest of time (we only have a couple of weeks before school ends) we are going to install the side popper. It will still be really cool and that doesn't mean that we can't get the H25 running at a later date.
 
#40
LOL, nice photos. Exhaust aint bad. Less is more IMO. Need a jam nut up against the block, or you will wear out the threads, and/or sag the exhaust. Not a fan of heavy stuff against threads. I know why you did this, but there has to be a better way. Like an angled hot dog muffler. Or just use a 45 degree street elbow instead of the 90 and screw that muffler in to the elbow, doing away with that cast iron pipe.
 
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