Well, I've learned a few things the last week or so. First, for those that are interested, Robin from bad dog talked to me over the phone and filled me in on the bad dog frame shinola. The frames for the kit that has the five inch wheels is the same size as the frame with the 6 inch wheels. I ordered a kit from them, but they are 10 days out before shipping, so it's gonna be a bit before I get it.
Second, the post listing advice on how to find good deals has a lot of great advice that I should have followed from the start. Specifically, the whole "ask around, post a wanted ad, etc." part. After stalking craigslist for a couple of weeks with no luck, I finally broke down and posted an ad asking for mini bikes, any condition. I got impatient and ended up buying a roller that is going to take way more work than I wanted, but since then, I've gotten 4 or 5 texts from guys saying they've got tons of frames, complete bikes, parts, etc. that they want to get rid of. Between buying the bad dog kit and buying the junky roller, I've spent all I can afford right now, so I missed out on some great deals I'm sure, but at least now I know.
So if any other guys are having a hard time finding mini bikes in your area, definitely try asking around and posting ads. Don't give up just because no one has anything on craigslist or here. There are bikes to be had out there.
One good thing I did gain from this is a guy that contacted me after I posted the ad had two nearly new 30 series torque convertor he had no use for. Sold them both to me for 40 bucks each. One of them is a knock off like you find a lot of on ebay, (I've used these on go karts and they are fine) but the other one is a real deal Comet. Hard to beat a deal like that.
