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1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 16:29
by bertvorgon
In 1968 my brother cut a deal with our Dad to buy him a mini bike and he would work to pay it off. Brand new it cost 149.00 CDN. My brother worked his ass off haying and harvesting chickens at a poultry farm, gathering them and throwing them into the cages in the trucks. He was 13 at the time.

The Mini bike got used all around Fort Langley, with was pretty sleepy town Canada in 1968. They then moved to Northern Vancouver Island and the bike finally got parked and languished in my brothers shed till I saw it in late 80's. I dragged it home and over a few winters rebuilt it at Specialty, with Tracey painting the frame for me at the same time they sprayed Brian Bergs's GT-3 Mazda RX3.

My kids then rode it up and down the back alleys of WhiteRock and it came camping with us a few times and as they got older it got parked again in the back of my basement.

Jump to last year as I am trying to downsize from all the stuff I have amassed over 39 year in this place, I drag the bike out and try to fire it. No go. Take the motor out and drop it off at Brigg's & Stratton guy, he gets it running and puts this cool electronic ignition on it. I put the motor back in and it dies. Long story short...too much rust in the tank...carb and pickup plugged. Bike sits till last month, time to get it running.

Thanks to John who brings in the rust killer and James who does some cleaning on the tank and carb, we get it running again. I put it some Avgas so that puppy just fired right up. We did a nice test ride out in the parking lot, first time it has run since Knox Mountain Hillclimb in the 90's, where the kids rode it last.

This thing has now been our our family for 49 years now...I think I will keep it a bit longer......DAMN......

Re: 1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 16:30
by bertvorgon
That EVAPO-RUST is amazing stuff!

Re: 1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 17 Feb 2017 19:35
by RONSLYCHUK
Cool little bike Keith. I like it a lot!

Re: 1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 18 Feb 2017 08:12
by 510wizard
Love those mini bikes, remember the ad's in back pages of Popular Mechanics growing up!

Re: 1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 23 Feb 2017 18:42
by bertvorgon
My Brother found two old photos my Dad took when they first went out with the bike, 1968, up on the Silver Skagit river south of Hope, B.C. We had an uncle who lived in L.A. who would come up for a summer holiday to fish and camp. He always brought my brother and I one of those serapes and really nice leather moccasins.

That is my sister who inherited my brothers banana bike. See if you can see what is WRONG with the bike ( James cannot enter this contest).

Family dog was named Rebel, had a funny encounter with a cougar one day in Telegraph Cove, then got into a huge fight with another crazy dog in Telegraph and got a very long ride down to Vancouver with me in a Datsun 521. His belly was ripped open and I had to get him to a vet. That was a nightmare journey over 100 miles of Vancouver Island logging road, ferry and then to White Rock.

Re: 1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 23 Feb 2017 19:10
by WxMan
Looks like the top section of that bike frame is missing! I like the cool smile on the kid with the motorized bike and the sour mug of the sucker who has to pedal to get anywhere. Ha!

Re: 1968 Vintage Mini-Bike

Posted: 23 Feb 2017 19:46
by bertvorgon
Good for you, that is exactly right. My sister wanted a "girls" bike, so my dad hack sawed off the top tube.

Only saving grace is likely that those bikes weighed a ton as the steel was so thick, so it never failed.