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Chainsaw said:
Minibikes are always welcome! The minis are what started many of us onto the whole motor head/gearhead scene! I've got to give Gigs the computer real soon, but I'll try to post up some of my old bikes tomorrow! I got the day off and the computer to mysaelf! :p :p :p
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You're right about that one, Chainsaw! When I have the chance, I'll dig up a pic of my first minibike from the early '60s. Rough as guts, but with a modded B&S (by Yours Truly - it was my first engine build).

Look forward to seeing your pix.
 
When I retired from the military in 2005 and moved to Grand Forks, ND, I wanted to find an old Honda like the one I had back in the 70's. A 350 would have been perfect, but there were none in any kind of decent condition. I found this 81 CM400 that only had 4000 miles on it. It just needed the carbs rebuilt even had the original tires.
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I didn't like the paint job or stripes and hated the sewing machine sound, so I made it a true dual exhaust by taking off the collector and adding straight pipes and painted it red. Everyone thought it was an older 350 when they saw it or heard it run. I sold it when I was moving to Florida, too many people on their cell phones to ride safely in the big city.
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vanilla_gorilla said:
mel gibson was dubbed in the first mad max for the american release.
road warrior rules, i quote it daily
thunderdome had midgets and tina turner
and the original director is moving forward with mad max: fury road
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yeah hopefully its better than thunder dome the guy that played bob in rocknrolla is playing max. they showed two cars so far and one of em looks like maxs interceptor and another one looks like a low mean rat rod truck i gotta go to school soon but ill post pics of it later. oh i believe most of them were dubbed in mad max including Fifi haha.
 
I'm still trying to find my old pics, get them off our old computer and post them on her. The old computer is giving me fits and I can't find the pics of a few.
I'll tell you about my bikes that I can't the pictures of and I'll try to get the other bike loaded and posted later tonight.

First bike was an 80 cc Chaparral minicycle from 1972. I learned a lot from this bike and it was definitely one of my favorites. it was the lighted version. bought new in 1973.

Second bike was a 1974 Yamaha DT 250 Enduro, bought new in 1975.I set it up for hare scrambles and enduros. Full knobs, 3.25 x 21 in front and 4.60 x 18 in the rear. Bassani expansion chamber, Preston Petty fenders front and rear, laid down Boge/Mulholland rear shocks. It was basically a street legal version of the first year of the YZs but with a wide ratio tranny. Never raced in a sanctioned race but at the local play arounds it was as fast as most of the MX stuff out there. Because of the low end gearing, I use to go out to a friends dads junkyard and ride all over the old cars. My friend ran trials and had a TY80 and TY 250.

Also had used Rickname 125. It had the Zundapp engine. Fast for it's time but shifted like crap. Sachs and Zundapp were both notorious for bad shifts!

Used 1976 RM 125. Fast while it lasted!

Got a 1969 Riverside from a friend. was a basket case. Never got it together. it was in the back of my old 73 GMC when I got hit by a drunk driver. Bike parts everywhere! It took forever to get the emergency guys to understand it was a parts bike and that there wasn't a motorcyclist involved in the accident.


Also had a Billy Goat threewheeler! 5 horse briggs and a blast to ride!

Also had a minbike in the 9th grade that we strapped an elctric motor to and rode up and down the halls of the Middle School. It was good for about 50 feet and then the cord would unplug from the wall! Got an 'A" in my Ecology Science class though!
 
These aren't my actual pictures of the bikes I mentioned earlier but they'll give you an idea of what mine were like. I know that I have some pictures somewhere but the bulk of them got destroyed a few years ago. I'll keep looking.

Chaparral ST80
ChaparralAd.jpg


chaparral.jpg


125 Rickman
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Yamaha DT250
74dt250.jpg


Suzuki 125
76suzuki125.jpg


What The basket case shoulda looked like. The Red bike.
mward_250.jpg
 
Here's a couple of pics of my last bike. I bought it from a friend who bought it from his best friend's dad. The bike had just a little over 1700 miles on it. Everything was there and in good shape externally. I never had a chance to ride it and sold it right around the time of my heart surgery. The new owner ended up getting it started but the center cylinder siezed and he parted it out. I wish I would have been able to keep it.
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I never get tired of looking at that old slider! I wonder if the Rickman Brothers sold parts to Bultaco, your seat/fender combo looks a little familiar.. I know Rickman used all sorts of engines in their bikes .... I wonder? They used Montesa engines in a few, BAD! Have you done any more to it since the pic? Definitely keep me posted on it.
 
Chainsaw thanks for this thread. I spent a few days trying to find these things that I feared lost. Back in the day (1972) of black and white photos this guy use to roam the Moto Cross tracks of New England shooting 8X11 photos of everyone. You could find him at the next race with boxes of these organized in size, class, and in order. Good or bad you would buy it for something like 5 bucks, more for color. I had a real nice one in color leaping off the jump with the checkered flag out but I gave it to New London County Cycles along with the trophy.

I was twenty in this picture at a race track in Lisbon Falls Maine. The track owner made more money running a few races a year than he did growing potatoes on that slope.
72-SuzukiTM250sm.jpg


The shirt is the one that the Wilcox's gave to me along with the bennies from the shop. I don't have any pictures of the bike after I did all the mod's that everyone was doing to these bikes at the time.
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86a.jpg


I would have modeled this shirt for you guys but the sythetic fibers must have shrunk...............wait.................my wife says those fibers didn't shrink, I got fat.
I didn't know this about myself :?

GL
 
Graylock, Extrememly cool pic! 125 or 250 TM? That picture is a true classic. You're very lucky to still have it!
I rode a TM 400 a couple times back in 74. I was 14 and found out what a beating was all about! Also use to ride my friends TM 125. The TM vs.the RM was an eye opener!
Your jersey is equally cool! Probably worth a small fortune too!
Somewhere's in one of my old chests I've got my old "Yamaha/Freeway Sports Center" jersey. It's the old Yamaha international colors (red, black and white). I'd forgotten all about it, THANKS!
 
Hey Graylock. The next ride or swap meet bring the jersey. I'll wear it for 5 minutes (stretch that bad boy out). It should fit you PERFECT after that.

Here's a pic of one of my aunts (closest to the camera). How do ya think I feel? My aunt in 1931 was cooler then I EVER was.

2Hea002.jpg
 
Chainy, It was a 1972 TM 250. I had 2 of them after this picture was taken. I increased the power by porting and polishing along with a bigger carb. Frame mods, tires, and shaving the weight down was as far as I took it. it made a big differance over the stock bikes. Then kids on their newer RM 125 and 250's came out and changed everything. I could not keep up with these kids that had new bikes and racing more than one class, their fathers having deep pockets. I do have the fond memory of racing twice at a world class track in Peperrell MA. Now my 86 year old father still uses my old cycle trailer, converted to a flat trailer to haul his logs and snowblowers and things.

KOTA, your welcome to try the shirt on if I can take a video of you dancing around with it stuck half way on you :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: trying to get it off.

GL :lol:
 
that flag tracker is wicked! i love it! ya sure ya don't wanna sell it for a million trillion dollars? :)

this old motorcycle thread was just the kick in the pants i needed, i've spent the last couple days working on the 71 cd cafe racer.
chopped the fenders,removed useless bracketry/weight, and mounted my woodcraft clip on's
its starting to shape up nice.
IMG_2786.jpg

IMG_2787.jpg


oh, and i managed to get the big bear home.
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Graylock said:
Chainy, It was a 1972 TM 250. I had 2 of them after this picture was taken. I increased the power by porting and polishing along with a bigger carb. Frame mods, tires, and shaving the weight down was as far as I took it. it made a big differance over the stock bikes. Then kids on their newer RM 125 and 250's came out and changed everything. I could not keep up with these kids that had new bikes and racing more than one class, their fathers having deep pockets. I do have the fond memory of racing twice at a world class track in Peperrell MA. Now my 86 year old father still uses my old cycle trailer, converted to a flat trailer to haul his logs and snowblowers and things.

KOTA, your welcome to try the shirt on if I can take a video of you dancing around with it stuck half way on you :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: trying to get it off.GL :lol:
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Yeah, porting and polishing was almost mandatory back in the day and a new carb was always in order. You know those RMs, YZs, and CRs may have been better and faster but I still like the old "hold on for dear life" approach of them old mxers! The old bikes may have been unpowered compared to the bikes nowadays but back then you knew you were the better rider when you won your heat. Today's bike are fast and handle great but the only thing missing is an auto pilot. The riders don't have to work now wheres near as hard as us old guys did!
 

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