67-68 Lil Indian?

[Addicted 2 Minis]

This was my first mini bike, it was in terrible shape when I got it around 26-27 years ago and it didn't get any better until today. I didn't know what it was when I got it, just that it was small, old and the price was right, FREE!. The previous owner welded on an ugly scrub brake, some angle iron near the foot rest bar and a trailer hitch ( Yep, a trailer hitch! ). the seat bracket was broken and the footrest bar was bent nearly 90 degrees on both ends. I later welded on a piece of 1" tubing for a foot rest bar and a piece of angle iron for a seat bracket but with the seat I used ( Chrysler Sno-Runner seat ), my knees hit the handlebars. I remedied that by cutting the handlebars off and using some old high-rise bicycle handlebars and clamps from an old Rupp snowmobile I had. I believe it is a '67 or '68 but there are a few things that make me question that. First is the combination of the small diameter steer tube with the small bolt pattern caliper. To the best of my knowledge the small diameter steer tube wasn't used on '68 bikes but the small bolt pattern calipers weren't used on '67 bikes. Another strange thing is the fender brackets are high up for 6" wheels and I didn't think they did that until '69. The original color is the metallic blue like the '68 bikes I have seen. I scratched off the paint on the right side axle truss to expose the serial number and even that is hard to decipher, it appears the serial number is 15168 or 19168 which seems low for a '68 bike I think. The frame is 13" tall from the engine plate to the bottom of the top frame rail which I thought was started in '68 but I'm not sure. Notice how the steer tube isn't centered either, the left side of the frame is actually longer than the right causing the steer tube to be off center!. My plan for this one is to make a runner out of it using the old parts from my nicer bikes that I am making even nicer. The axle bolts and fork bolt will come from my newly found to be '69 model 500. I am going to use the forks from my old Ruttman on this bike ( They are exactly like the originals ) and the chopped ones on the Ruttman since some Ruttman bikes had short forks with bolt on handlebars. I'll post progress pictures as I go but it won't be done anytime soon as it's last in a long line of other projects.

 

[markus]

Its a 1968

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

Thanks again, Markus, You are truly a wealth of knowledge. I got all the crap removed from the frame, now I have to tidy it up a bit. I managed to save the rear fender bracket only to find it was cracked in 2 locations. I did however mock up the bike with the Ruttman forks which are a little different than the originals, the triple tree plates are thinner and the fender bracket is lower but it looks good. I also put my 6" mag wheel with 13x5.00-6 street tire on it to see how that'll work, it looks good but it's a tight fit if I plan on using a drum brake. I tossed on a newer 3hp briggs to see how that will look and set the red seat on it that it came with, I can't believe I kept it around let alone knew where it was!.

 

[markus]

Ha! that red seat and flat black makes me think of this bike I put together on the cheap sometime back, the cheapest new seat I could find on ebay at that time was a red one that was only like 30-35 bucks so I went with it! It was a Powerdyne originally that I did a couple of slight changes to.

IMG_7495

• markus
• Oct 17, 2013

IMG_7493

• markus
• Oct 17, 2013

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

Ha! that red seat and flat black makes me think of this bike I put together on the cheap sometime back, the cheapest new seat I could find on ebay at that time was a red one that was only like 30-35 bucks so I went with it! It was a Powerdyne originally that I did a couple of slight changes to.

IMG_7495

• markus
• Oct 17, 2013

IMG_7493

• markus
• Oct 17, 2013

That's one thick seat!, Like the bike, clean and simple just the way I like them.

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

Made a Lil progress yesterday while the weather was good ( not so good today ), all the old welds cleaned up and paint removed. I still need to weld on a seat strap and fender bracket. While removing the paint, I cleaned the area where the serial number is, it's really hard to tell but it looks like the second digit is a 5 making it 15168, the picture has to be out of focus to see the number at all, when in focus, there's to much glare.

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

I took some pictures of the rear fender bracket before cutting it off so I could make a new one and put it back where it was. The bracket sits 8" up from the bottom of the frame, is 6" wide, made from 3/4"x1/8" steel and is parallel with the upper and lower frame rails.

 

[markus]

Made a Lil progress yesterday while the weather was good ( not so good today ), all the old welds cleaned up and paint removed. I still need to weld on a seat strap and fender bracket. While removing the paint, I cleaned the area where the serial number is, it's really hard to tell but it looks like the second digit is a 5 making it 15168, the picture has to be out of focus to see the number at all, when in focus, there's to much glare.

View attachment 236674 View attachment 236675

that number meshes with 1968, end of '67 they said they were at about 12.5K and end of '68 just over 20k The '68 600 I owned had that same messed up 2nd digit stamping to it...I think it was an 8 or a 6...cant remember offhand.

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

Seems like they hand stamped them after the truss was welded and the second digit didn't get hit as hard. The frame rail probably made it hard to hold the second number stamp while striking it with the hammer, those sure are some cool bikes you have there.

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

Well, I got my seat the other day, I'm going with the metallic blue paint and white scheme with polished aluminum parts (that's the plan for now). Still busy at work and life right now to get anything done on the mini's. I don't really like thick seats so I had this one made with 1-1/2" of foam and 1/2" plywood base for a total of 2" thick. I think the diamond stitching with blue thread and piping will make it all come together, matching the white Biltwell Thruster grips.

 

[Oldyellow]

This was my first mini bike, it was in terrible shape when I got it around 26-27 years ago and it didn't get any better until today. I didn't know what it was when I got it, just that it was small, old and the price was right, FREE!. The previous owner welded on an ugly scrub brake, some angle iron near the foot rest bar and a trailer hitch ( Yep, a trailer hitch! ). the seat bracket was broken and the footrest bar was bent nearly 90 degrees on both ends. I later welded on a piece of 1" tubing for a foot rest bar and a piece of angle iron for a seat bracket but with the seat I used ( Chrysler Sno-Runner seat ), my knees hit the handlebars. I remedied that by cutting the handlebars off and using some old high-rise bicycle handlebars and clamps from an old Rupp snowmobile I had. I believe it is a '67 or '68 but there are a few things that make me question that. First is the combination of the small diameter steer tube with the small bolt pattern caliper. To the best of my knowledge the small diameter steer tube wasn't used on '68 bikes but the small bolt pattern calipers weren't used on '67 bikes. Another strange thing is the fender brackets are high up for 6" wheels and I didn't think they did that until '69. The original color is the metallic blue like the '68 bikes I have seen. I scratched off the paint on the right side axle truss to expose the serial number and even that is hard to decipher, it appears the serial number is 15168 or 19168 which seems low for a '68 bike I think. The frame is 13" tall from the engine plate to the bottom of the top frame rail which I thought was started in '68 but I'm not sure. Notice how the steer tube isn't centered either, the left side of the frame is actually longer than the right causing the steer tube to be off center!. My plan for this one is to make a runner out of it using the old parts from my nicer bikes that I am making even nicer. The axle bolts and fork bolt will come from my newly found to be '69 model 500. I am going to use the forks from my old Ruttman on this bike ( They are exactly like the originals ) and the chopped ones on the Ruttman since some Ruttman bikes had short forks with bolt on handlebars. I'll post progress pictures as I go but it won't be done anytime soon as it's last in a long line of other projects.

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I have to agree with Marcus. The serial number on my 67 is 13596.

 

[Jjtwospeed]

Hello
I have a very early 1968 survivor serial number 11070 that has never been apart (factory assembled 600 model) so your bikes serial number according to how many 1968’s were made should be 1968.

 

[Oldyellow]

Hi Jj. I sent a photo of my bike and another showing the serial number to Ray Michrina. He though the bike could have been a 67 or 68. The more I read from you guys the more I think its a 68. How do you know for sure your bike is a 68. I sure would like closure on this one.

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

It really gets confusing trying to pinpoint an exact year. Going from one model year to another they used up what was left of stock on certain items before changing to the next model years parts. Say you have a 68, it could have a 67 engine or as in my case, small steering tube, Machrina's say that the small steering tube stopped in 67 but my serial number puts it in the 68 range. Also going by pictures in ads helps, key points to look for are the brake caliper, steering tube, engine mounting plate, serial number and location and fender brackets. Post some pictures of these points and we'll probably be able to narrow it down a little closer.

 

[Oldyellow]

First chance I get I’ll post some pictures. Thanks