What bike started your obsession?
- Thread starter GTO
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- Tags bike obsession? started
For me I remember we lived in Bellevue WA and it was the spring of 1968. Our neighborhood was new and there where new families moving in all the time. Our house was at the end of the street right before a wooded area that separated the JR High school from the neighborhood. All the kids got along very well and it was only a mater of time before a family moved in with a Mini Bike. I don't know what brand it was but I do remember the bars where like a Bird/Sears. I was only aloud to ride it a couple of times but that was enough I was hooked. During that summer we moved to Moraga CA and the kids there had Tacos so that's what I wanted. After 40+ years I still don't have that Taco 22. I bought what I thought was a Taco 22 but it turned out to be a Zebra. In my quest for the elusive Taco 22 I have bought allot of interesting bikes (three Tacos but no 22) and an having allot of fun doing it. I almost hope not to find the 22 to soon because of how much fun it has been so far.:biggrin:
I also had a cool Gokart shortly after we built the Taco. From what I can remember of it I think it had a Westbend 820 on it. It was very fast, and surprised some of the local racers when they couldn't get around me on the public track out by the resorvoir.
Somewhere I have one pic of my dad on it from a distance. The shot was from behind, and far away. I need to dig it out and try to ID it.
I remember it being very hard to start cold, and with my dad's bad temper was a scary thing everytime we took it out. It would be just about the time he would start cussing and threatening to smash the engine that it would finally start...same story every time we took it to the track.
Somewhere I have one pic of my dad on it from a distance. The shot was from behind, and far away. I need to dig it out and try to ID it.
I remember it being very hard to start cold, and with my dad's bad temper was a scary thing everytime we took it out. It would be just about the time he would start cussing and threatening to smash the engine that it would finally start...same story every time we took it to the track.
Got one right here for you. I even have a set of five inck tri stars with tires and tubes. Its a 1969 22 Wide frame.
I never had a mini as a kid. I've only gotten into them because I wanted my son to have one so in 2003 I talked my cousin out of what he told me was a taco only to find out after uploading my pics here that it was actually a zebra. First pic my boy riding second pic the zebra as it looks now with its new owner a co-worker of mine.
The first mini I ever drove as a kid was the Lil Indian that my Grandpa fixed up to use at the Antique Steam Engine Tractor shows... He used the Briggs W model iron motor with a steel handle you pull to start it about like the kick start motors used.. That was 20 years ago.. My little cousin inherited the bike about 10 years ago when my grandpa died. It still sits in the lean 2 of the big barn. Sitting rotting :shrug:
.. My first recently was about 4 years ago.. The ole Mini Mate. I don't have a pic of new paint and gallon gas can gas tank or 60's Briggs 3 horse model.. But heres what it looked like as of a month ago..
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.. My first recently was about 4 years ago.. The ole Mini Mate. I don't have a pic of new paint and gallon gas can gas tank or 60's Briggs 3 horse model.. But heres what it looked like as of a month ago..
Well, my love for 2 wheels started in the early-mid 70's with a honda QA50. From there I went on to bigger Hondas(& a Yamaha once), always dirt bikes, never got in to road bikes. In the late 90's I got in to 60's Mustangs. That was a hobby that the whole family was in to. We usually had a minibike or 2 around, but they were just a novelty to have around, not a primary interest. My father-in-law is always tinkering with stuff. So when we all had the cars and a couple minis, a friend of his gave him an old "minibike" frame, no wheels or engine. He gathered up odds and ends and made a rider out of it. This one was always my favorite. He knew I loved the bike....so a couple years ago he gave it to me. Though it's not "correct", it will stay just the way he built it for sentimental reasons. Here it is.
I was in Jr High School I think 1969 on my way home from school I would walk by a Schwinn bicycle shop and in one of its display windows sat 2 Purple Taco's a 22 and a large tired 100. I would dream of what it would be like to ride on one and would arrive home and try to convince my Mom and Dad to buy me one. On Xmas of 69 under the tree sat an HPE Muskin Cat 400X I was sad at first because it as not a Purple Taco but quickly came to love my Cat and would spend hours on it each day after school. I don't know what ever happened to that cat as my father passed away Feb. of 1970:sadcrying4: I joined the military a short time later but boy do I remember Xmas of 69 :smile:
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Looking back, I think my first was either a Hiawatha DB, or the co. that was building them after Beam...no side panels or rear tank, tho...I clearly remember the front wheel had a skirt, big ass bars, and the foot platform...just a 2 hp Briggs...no recoil, had to use a lark's head with the pull rope on the handle bars. Dad liked to weld, so every so often he'd weld up another 'death-machine' as mom would call 'em...lol! They never had brakes...thats what ditches were for, I guess. My last one was a chopper that he painted purple...had a 4 hp Briggs if I recall....around 1970...I was 9. Man, wish I had those old scoots today...or pictures, for that matter!
Great to hear everyone's stories-
Best thread in a long while, thanks GTO!
Great to hear everyone's stories-
Best thread in a long while, thanks GTO!
Preacher's Son...
We always lived next to the church in the parsonage and the neighbor kid had a brand new mini...My parents said I couldn't have one...I guess they were worried about what people in the church would say...Heaven forbid have any extra money for some fun stuff, anyway.....as my boys reached 7 and 9 yrs old we bought a junk 3 wheeler and a go kart. Had so much fun I bought myself an old junk Bonanza 1300 and wow !!! What an obsesssion it has become!!! Have built close to 30 since Nov. of 2008 and currently have 10 minis and 6 assorted 3 wheelers....Thanks guys for all the help nad great advice!!!!
unk:
We always lived next to the church in the parsonage and the neighbor kid had a brand new mini...My parents said I couldn't have one...I guess they were worried about what people in the church would say...Heaven forbid have any extra money for some fun stuff, anyway.....as my boys reached 7 and 9 yrs old we bought a junk 3 wheeler and a go kart. Had so much fun I bought myself an old junk Bonanza 1300 and wow !!! What an obsesssion it has become!!! Have built close to 30 since Nov. of 2008 and currently have 10 minis and 6 assorted 3 wheelers....Thanks guys for all the help nad great advice!!!!
unk:
Great pics, great thread. I don't remember ever not being interested in bikes and cars and pretty much anything that moves. I've still got a book from 1st grade where everyone in the class wrote down what they wanted in life. The teacher (Mrs. Cramer, mmmmm....) gathered up the papers and made mimeographed copies for everyone. My page in the book says I want a fleet of motorcycles. Don't know where I got the bug - my folks were certainly not motorsports enthusiasts, nor are my brother and sister. I am the baby and my parents sort of spoiled me. Built lots of plastic model kits. Got a cool trike when I was about 5, and a well-used Lil Indian in '68 or so when I was about 11 and it just kept going from there. I haven't let off since. Riding, racing - everything else is just waiting.