Need help with two seater vintage minibike

#1
I recently bought this two seater minibike frame with plans to complete the project.

Where I'm stuck is tires. I don't know what type of minibike this is to order tires online, I fear the bearings being different sizes and other issues with width/height. The rear tire seems to have been fitted with some sort of harbor freight tire that the previous owner was messing around with. But I'm sure this wouldn't work.

Anybody have any ideas on where to start? Thank you!
 

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1971_MB1A

Well-Known Member
#3
I recently bought this two seater minibike frame with plans to complete the project.

Where I'm stuck is tires. I don't know what type of minibike this is to order tires online, I fear the bearings being different sizes and other issues with width/height. The rear tire seems to have been fitted with some sort of harbor freight tire that the previous owner was messing around with. But I'm sure this wouldn't work.

Anybody have any ideas on where to start? Thank you!
It looks to me like it may of been a K&S which were manufactured in Texas. An all original one just sold on fbmp within the past week. You could search for pics of it online posted by the new owner or if I see it again I will message you with who now has it so you could see what yours is to actually look like.
 

nightgrider

Well-Known Member
#4
In my experience older bikes are 5/8 axels. There are lots of wheels and tires available aftermarket. It is mostly a matter of what you want to run/will fit the frame. My bike originally had 6" wheels with 4.10/3.50-6 tires, but now I'm running 3.50-10 tires and 10" wheels with no issue.
 
#12
Any idea how to get in contact with them? Are they still operating ?
This is the story about K&S that I found which originally was manufactured in Waco Texas ... It started off as a Hornet produced by Mercury Tool
This was posted back in 2017

My name is Richard Peck and I would like to clear up the story of the Hornet Mini-Bikes; I am Richard Peck of Waco and I had P&R Enterprises in Waco and my dad (now deceased), Jack N Peck co-owned Mercury Tool and Machine.

The original Hornet Mini bike was produced in Mercury Tool in 1960-61 and there were very few made.
Mercury phased out the mini-bike and go kart division in the fall of 1961 and I moved out of Mercury Tool into a company called P & R Enterprises to focus on Hornet kart manufacturing and marketing.

In the late 60's I added mini-bikes to our line again and the first model was as the gentleman from Waco described, without a rear fender. In fact we called that economy version the MB-49. In the early 70's I was contacted by George King from K&S Enterprises, manufacturer of Lawn Edgers. George wanted to go into mini-bike production within three weeks and wanted me to put together a prototype and order the parts for his first run of mini-bikes. He was a large customer of Mercury Tool, as they already manufactured all of the steel components for K&S Lawn Edgers. The advantage to me would be that Mercury Tool would make all of the parts and Mercury Tool and P & R would share in the welding of the mini-bikes. In turn, unless they were privately labeled for companies, the would be called the Hornet Mini Bikes.

SUMMARY:
1. So all Hornet mini-bikes components parts from the early 1960 until the last bike produced were built at Mercury Tool and Machine in Waco.
2. Mercury Tool manufactured and marketed a very small quantity in 1960-61. As I recall, we used West Bend 510 and 580 2 cycle
engines.
3. P & R Enterprises Inc of Waco manufactured and marketed small quantities in the late 60's until K & S Manufacturing (Fort Worth)
started assembling and marketing mini-bikes. As P & R, we exclusively Tecumseh 4 cycle engines.
4. Mercury Tool manufactured all of the tubular and metal stampings and Mercury Tool and P & R Shared in the welding of the mini-bikes
once K & S started marketing and assembling. The first production run, K&S used Briggs 4 cycle engines due to lead time from engine
manufacturer.
 
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