What model is this ?

Smallbore

Smallbore

Active Member
#1
#1
OK we know this is a Sears bike, but what is the name of the model ? This was the only street legal mini Sears ever sold. It has battery, headlight, tail light, brake light , horn, and mirror.... All the stuff DMV wants to see with the exception of turn signals, but they were not mandatory in California till 1973 forward, and this bikes was made in 1971. This bike has 10" wheels so its about the size of a Honda CT70.
In the 1969 Sears catalog there were bikes with silly model names like RUNABOUT, SPYDER, DROVER, PUNCHER, and the SUPER-2. So what the heck did they call this bike ? :confused: I have a feeling Markus will know... :smile:


 
SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#2
#2
Large wheeled Roper is what it has been referred to as. But the official name has never been mentioned here. Nice bike!

p.s. the front fender is on backwards.
 
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capguncowboy

capguncowboy

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
This is the best looking bike that Sears ever sold. I would love to find one here locally, but I know that if I did, it would be missing all of the trim pieces
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#7
#7
Only time I have ever seen them give that bike an actual name in print was them calling one an SR-5 which was 5hp and listed as TC driven 6" wheeled. Does your VIN tag say Roper corporation? Looks like its all there :thumbsup:
 
Smallbore

Smallbore

Active Member
#8
#8
SimpleTom said:
Large wheeled Roper is what it has been referred to as. But the official name has never been mentioned here. Nice bike!

p.s. the front fender is on backwards.
Click to expand...
Looks like I`ll have to spend the money for a 1971 Sears catalogue... the Christmas edition "wish book". If its not in there I may never know. OldMiniBikes member MAC and I both think these were built by Bird engineering and badged Sears like everything else they sold, but the odd part of it is the I.D. tag on it says "Manufactured by the Roper Corporation" Tag also says it complies to all federal vehicles regulations as of date of manufacture so it can be registered for street use. I just bought this bike and it was delivered yesterday, so sometime in the next week or so I`ll take a trip down to DMV and get it registered and a street plate for it.
Tom you`re correct... The front fender is on backwards. After I get the fenders re-chromed I`ll make sure it goes on the right way.

For what ever its worth.... (for you guys too young to remember or know about) Sears use to send out to their customers a huge catalogue 5 times a year... There was the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter catalogue which were the size of old phone books, some almost 3" thick. Then there was the Wishbook.... Ohh yes ! the book every kid spent hours hours looking through for all the cool things they wanted Santa to bring them. Sears sent them right around Thanksgiving and just in time for Christmas.
Just a bit of trivia for the young'uns on the site. WOW ! now I really feel old ! :anon.sml:
 
SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#10
#10
I would have to disagree on them being made by Bird. Just by looking at the crude engine plate on the Drover, Puncher, Wren, Sprite, etc. I find it hard to believe that they made the full suspension bikes sold by Sears. The tag on your bike seems to confirm that they weren't. I believe that is why those bikes are always referred to as "Ropers".

I do have to say that I remember going through the catalogs myself and always circling the stuff I wanted. In the Christmas catalogs my brother and sister and I would circle and put our name next to the items so that our mom knew who liked what. I always circled the go karts but never got one. :laugh:
 
OND

OND

#11
#11
SimpleTom said:
I remember going through the catalogs myself and always circling the stuff I wanted. In the Christmas catalogs my brother and sister and I would circle and put our name next to the items so that our mom knew who liked what. I always circled the go karts but never got one. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Me to Tom....thats why I have 11 mini bikes now . :laugh:

I always wanted to two seater kart.
 
capguncowboy

capguncowboy

Well-Known Member
#12
#12
Wow, listening to Tom and OND talk about the Wishbooks takes me back. By the time December rolled around, the Sears catalog looked like it had been through the ringer. We had turned those pages so many times that the book was about an inch thicker than when we started.

I think that's part of the reason I'm into these bikes. I always wanted one as a kid, but never got one :shrug:
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#14
#14
Not sure if its in the wishbook, maybe the spring summer catalog, this is all I have on the tankless one (pulled it off an ebay listing so the quality sucks) and I have it marked as 1971 catalog

 
Smallbore

Smallbore

Active Member
#15
#15
markus, thanks for posting..... WOW ! $319.00 & $349.00 for the top end mini`s ? That was a lot of money in 1971..... No wonder they didn't sell as many as the lower end models that started at $99.00. I just found the entire 1971 wishbook posted on line and all it has is the SR-5 and no other minibikes. Summer issue would make more sense I suppose as half the country is under snow at Christmas so minibike sales would probably be down from Summer. Looks like I`ll try the summer issue instead.
 
george3

george3

Active Member
#18
#18
Maybe the spring issue. I seem to remember all kinds of crap that I was never going to get. Should be at least 2 pages of mini bikes and go karts
 
creia

creia

#19
#19
Cool bike Smallbore!
Please post your experience and results getting it registered/tagged with the DMV. We have a 1970 Rupp Roadster we are hoping to do the same.
Michael
 
Smallbore

Smallbore

Active Member
#20
#20
creia said:
Cool bike Smallbore!
Please post your experience and results getting it registered/tagged with the DMV. We have a 1970 Rupp Roadster we are hoping to do the same.
Michael
Click to expand...
Sure no problem..... I`m waiting for my battery to come in this week. No sense for me to go to DMV till I get it hooked up. They want to see the headlight, tail & break lights plus horn working without the engine running or it will fail inspection. I have had lots of dealings with DMV over the years dealing with rare motorcycles.... I cant even recall how many I own but its somewhere around 16 to 18 motorcycles plus 20 something minibikes. I just recently bought a bike that was brought into the USA from Cuba. The whole process was a nightmear but I got it done and I can now say I am the proud owner of the 28th Cezeta registered in the States.
Only advice I can really give you is get your ducks in a row..... Be prepared before you walk in the door. They like to see receipts for everything.... For the purchase of the bike or parts if it was built from parts. All lights, switches, horn, etc.... MUST BE THERE AND WORKING. Don't show up with it 1/2 or 3/4 complete. That never works. Also a lot of patience on your part is required... Besides the DMV you will have to make a trip to some form of Law Enforcement to get numbers verified. California uses California Highway Patrol (CHP) but it could be Local Police or Sheriff in other parts of the country. For my Cezeta I had bought a California 1956 Yellow license plate in advance of my trip to DMV and had to show a receipt for the plate as well.... Some states may give you a 30-60 day temporary registration till they get back proof of insurance. Then again, every state operates to their guide lines or rules.
For what ever its worth, here is what a Cezeta looks like... Mine is the unrestored one that's blue on blue. It will get restored red on white with the matching one wheel trailer (PAV40) red on white. Some of you may have seen one a few years ago on the History channel`s "Ricks Restoration" The bike on that program sold 2 years later for over $10,000.00 without the trailer.
Last trailer I saw for sale went for just under $2,000.00





 
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