Anybody hear of converting a carnival ride mini bike to road use

#2
Sure, why not? It would take some work but shouldn't be more difficult than reviving a typical long-neglected roller.

I'm guessing it may have been converted from a once functional bike to a carnival ride. It has too many details to be originally made as a carnival ride, IMO. Does the engine have internal parts, or at least a cylinder bore, or is it a one-piece cast dummy?
 

Ding Ding

Well-Known Member
#3
Interesting thread.

Old school carnival mini bike rides are one of the things that has influenced this mid-life mini bike obsession for me. I recall seeing the carnival mini bike rides as a kid (late 80s early 90s) and thinking....if only these weren't attached to this carousel...! I don't remember any details of the bikes other than thinking they looked like legit mini-small motorcycles (to a kid) and were possibly self propelled at one time in their lives.

I have looked around at fairs and carnivals for years for these rides and bikes, but assume they were a thing of the past and were decommissioned for use a long time ago.
 
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#4
Title has been changed, original title was as seen below (screenshot taken as I still had that tab open). Posting the original title because my post made more sense with that title.

Screenshot 2023-10-30 150930.png
 
#5
Interesting thread.

Old school carnival mini bike rides are one of the things that has influenced this mid-life mini bike obsession for me. I recall seeing the carnival mini bike rides as a kid and thinking....if only these weren't attached to this carousel...! I don't remember any details of the bikes other than thinking they looked like legit mini-small motorcycles (to a kid) and were possibly self propelled at one time in their lives.

I have looked around at fairs and carnivals for years for these rides and bikes, but assume they were a thing of the past and were decommissioned for use a long time ago.
The Honda Z series evolved from a carnival ride.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Z_series
 
#8
That thing is begging for a Honda 110 clone engine.
I'm not hearing it. If that 2-stroke is a real engine, it might be worth rebuilding. An 11.4 HP high performance Lifan 125 is the same external size as a 110 and can be bought new for around $400, complete with carburetor and electronics. A Zongshen 212 5-speed is the same basic design but a bit larger, and a lot more expensive. Just looking at the picture, I'm not sure that type of engine would clear the front tire...
 
#9
I agree with the 125.
Looking at that frame, I do not think it ever had a real engine on it.
Plus, no shifter, foot pegs, no kick start, no oil drain plug...I think that is a carnival fake engine.
 

bruces

Active Member
#11
I have seen many carnival ride bikes and I always believed they were real bikes welded to a pole .A lot of the ones I see are all the same model bike ,usually an Italjet for some odd reason .I have looked at them pretty well when my kids were young and was convinced they were real bikes ,possibly recalled or warranty ,some of the sprockets were worn down pretty badly ,cupped out teeth so I don’t think a grinder did that .
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#12
The bike is just an Italjet, they used a Morini S5, and what is there you should be able to take the dummy off and put a working one on, but what else is missing or fixed to be unusable??? That one almost looks like its just the engine, you see some of them where things are welded together etc.. on the bikes since they are usually bolted to one of those $25 rides in front of grogery stores and places like that back in the day.

Fair warning that is a tiny tiny bike here's one I had years ago (real running bike)..........Elvis owned it :D You can put Indian stickers on it too, Tell everyone only about 50 were ever made and do a poor restoration with incorrect parts like they did on Pawn stars/Ricks Restorations and say its worth $7500 ;)

https://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/photopost/data/500/IMG_0991.JPG
 
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