Heath Hilltopper - Kansas City Craigslist

Sixpac440

Sixpac440

#3
#3
I love Hilltoppers, I have 2 and would likely pay too much for another.
Here's my 2 cents ...

A darn nice condition original bike to me would be worth $1000 ... but thats me ... and this one is not ...

There are some goofy things but it looks like the rear sprocket is too small and the secondary chain guard is gone ... has the swing arm been welded?

I would pay max $600 for this bike ...
 
J

JKautoFab

Active Member
#4
#4
its a lot more original than mine. then again i paid a lot less

it has a lot of the important parts. the light kit. the original exhaust, seat tank bars

secondary chain cover would be easy to replicate (not easy to find) and a bigger sprocket wouldnt be hard to change
 
Sixpac440

Sixpac440

#5
#5
Agreed JKautoFab you can replicate parts but like Cheezy says ... it isnt rare.
The value in that bike (for the $1000 price tag) would be all original and in great shape.

Goofy nit pic stuff is sprocket, cover, grips, brake in wrong side, bolts in the tail light, back tire, patina .... how sloppy is the jackshaft, swingarm ect ..
HOWEVER it is a very nice bike to me and worth $600 ... so If you want to buy it for me!!!
 
J

JKautoFab

Active Member
#6
#6
isnt rare? compared to the rest of the minibikes around here that ive seen 100s of examples of ive seen a total of less than 10 hilltoppers...

granted you yankees seem to have all the minibikes up there, and they are more common up there.. but i still think its rare


a poorly restored one went on ebay in NJ for 800 so i really dont think its only worth 600 i think the 1k price tag is probably right on for full retail
 
chrisr

chrisr

Active Member
#7
#7
I have to agree with JKautoFab, the hilltoppers are not real common at least down south. The 1k may be a bit high but its a nice example of a hilltoper that hasn't been molested.

JKautoFab said:
isnt rare? compared to the rest of the minibikes around here that ive seen 100s of examples of ive seen a total of less than 10 hilltoppers...

granted you yankees seem to have all the minibikes up there, and they are more common up there.. but i still think its rare


a poorly restored one went on ebay in NJ for 800 so i really dont think its only worth 600 i think the 1k price tag is probably right on for full retail
Click to expand...
 
E

ebbsspeed

New Member
#8
#8
Sixpac440 said:
I love Hilltoppers, I have 2 and would likely pay too much for another.
Here's my 2 cents ...

A darn nice condition original bike to me would be worth $1000 ... but thats me ... and this one is not ...

There are some goofy things but it looks like the rear sprocket is too small and the secondary chain guard is gone ... has the swing arm been welded?

I would pay max $600 for this bike ...
Click to expand...
Please educate me on the Hilltopper, as I'm not familiar with the intricacies.
1. How many teeth should there be on the rear sprocket? It does appear small compared to other images I've seen. It does have a secondary chain guard, just not painted gold.

2. Internet images I've seen have had the front brake on either side, is the left side where it should be? Easy change to make.

3. The swingarm has a chain bumper hose-clamped to it, I assume to keep the chain from hitting the swingarm, all due to the small sprocket on the rear. Jackshaft bearings are new.

4. The pattern on the back tire matches the pattern on the front tire, which appears to be original. Should it be different?

Thanks!
 
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J

JKautoFab

Active Member
#9
#9
id have to go count my sprocket teeth but the size is bigger than the wheel its attached to
the secondary guard is supposed to be a thin stamped shield, like the TAV cover. what you have is a homemade job. original covers the jackshaft bearing.

like you said, brake could easily be swapped side to side. i dont remember where mine is, but my bearings are shot along with the brake

you are probably correct about the chain bumper and its necessity with the smaller sprocket. If the engine and TAV have the power to push the smaller sprocket, then you will be gaining top speed, which you may want. if you want it to climb better, then you need a bigger rear sprocket

ill have to check my tires again, but i am sure your front is original. its a very uncommon size tire so be careful with it. I may end up changing my whole front end so its more rideable and bigger wheel/tire up front. the handling is rather odd with that tire combo... even though it does look original. i think your rear is but ill have to check mine again like i said. get a pic of the sidewall with name and size too, some patterns are copied across brands
 
Sixpac440

Sixpac440

#10
#10
Hi ebbsspeed!

looks like JK answered you questions but from the tone of your post you sound like the seller (I may be wrong) and were questioning my call of it not being "original".

First yours is not far from original and make no mistake I like it!

But as you can tell from Jk, Cheezy and myself not everyone agrees on whats rare and whats original.
Some guys on here wont buy a bike that dosent have the original paint.
I live in Michigan, the rust belt ... we are blessed with lots of minis in the region I think due to the auto industry, lots of middle income families with kids in the 60's and 70's ... So whats rare in JK's neck of the woods may not be so rare in mine.

As anyone will tell you what your bike is worth is what ever you can sell it for.

In my neck of the woods ... to me .. a guy who loves Hilltoppers and will pay too much that is a $600 bike ...
in JK's area maybe it is a $1000 bike ...
In Kansas ... I have no idea!

But please keep me in mind as a potential buyer ... I have been know to travel too far to buy stuff!!

Kevin
 
chrisr

chrisr

Active Member
#11
#11
Not a lot of mini bikes in Wichita or surrounding areas and over the last few years I have never seen a hilltopper in Kansas. I guess the north is where they are all hiding.
 
J

JKautoFab

Active Member
#13
#13
yes sixpac is right about the northern minis and auto industry money. for a long time in the south textiles were #1, but the south's textile industry never truly recovered from yankee fire and carpetbagging and whatnot
 
Sixpac440

Sixpac440

#14
#14
Hilltopper and Bonnie Info ...

Here is something I found about Hilltoppers that I had not seen before ... its not exactly production numbers but hints that there were a few made anyway ...

Quote:

"It probably came
out in late 1970 and was heavily advertised in
Popular Science, Boy’s Life and Popular Mechanics
in their April 1971 editions.

The “Hilltopper” remained in production into
1974 as best I can determine. It appears in the
Christmas 1973 catalog selling for $249.95 with
the front ski included at no additional cost. My
catalog collection is missing 1974 and 1975 so I
can’t give more accurate details. The older “Boonie
Bike” stopped production around mid 1972"

That was from the following PDF file .. scroll down a few pages to see the Hilltopper info ... the Boonie Bike info precedes it ...
http://www.w6ze.org/Heathkit/Heathkit_065_GT18.pdf

Here is another page I have seen .. its a magazine article about the Hilltoppers ...
Heathkit

My first Hilltopper came with a Michigan Title saying the bike is a 1970

Kevin
 
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