Bird "Behind" the barn find

ccarruth

ccarruth

New Member
#1
#1
Here are a few pics of the Bird Nighthawk that I picked up today. She has custom paint, see through tires and is in bad need of a tetanus shot! But hey, half of the fun is building them.

It's missing a few parts and needs a little TLC but it's old and it was cheep! Two things that you don't find a lot of in my area. This is my first vintage bike and I'm already looking for the next one. Are mini bikes really addictive or do I lack even an ounce of willpower? Oh well I'm off to craigslist and ebay to look for more bikes and parts.





 
71dodge

71dodge

New Member
#2
#2
awsome dude!! and yeah its just addictive and being on this site dosent help it i started with 1 bike found this site and now im going to get #6 in a few minutes there just fun and cheap (somtimes) lol have fun!
 
The Restore Kid

The Restore Kid

New Member
#5
#5
Ohhhhhh yeah, they are simple and fun.. They grow on ya fast.. Aren't you the same guy who had the little chopper? This one is quite an upgrade. Those are cool bikes..
 
Bonanza Bryan

Bonanza Bryan

#7
#7
71dodge said:
awsome dude!! and yeah its just addictive and being on this site dosent help it i started with 1 bike found this site and now im going to get #6 in a few minutes there just fun and cheap (somtimes) lol have fun!
Click to expand...
Man your really falling behind been into them for mabey 7 months and already have 27!!!!!!:thefinger::thefinger::eek:hmy::eek:hmy:
 
ccarruth

ccarruth

New Member
#8
#8
No chopper yet. I started with 1 Murray and the next day I bought another Murray mostly for parts. The week after that I bought 2 Baja Heat bikes, they were too cheep to pass up! I took a week off and then bought my 3rd Baja (a parts bike with with a good 5hp Briggs) I'm going to use the front shocks on one of my Murray's and the read of the frame to build a swing arm pattern for one of the Baja's. I don't know where the engine is going yet maybe one one of the Murray's? Then I traded for 3 pocket bikes and a 110cc auto Lifan engine. Why, I have no idea, but I wanted the 110 to put on the Baja with rear suspension and I figured I could keep one of the pocket bikes and sell the other two and still come out ahead. I'm going to build my own version of a Big Wheel/Fat Cat! Always wanted one.

So after all of that I still wanted a vintage bike! With all of the Chinese junk that drug home I kinda felt a little dirty, like a junk dealer. So when I found the Bird bike cheep I had to have it. Now I'm no longer just a junk dealer I'm a collector! LOL :pimp: I wanted a few projects to keep me busy this summer. My shop has been calling my name and the tools are lonely. "NEW BUILD THREADS" coming soon to a PC near you! Wish me luck... I'm holding on to my sanity by a very thin thread (pun intended). So if you guys have any ideas, suggestions, or mods you just like to see let me know. I'm not shy about taking the plasma cutter to any of the china bikes.

On a side note: I'm kicking around the idea of building a couple of extra swing arms for the Baja Heat/Warrior's. It's a simple set-up. Would any of you Baja guys have any interest in rear suspension kit? I could make a weld on kit easy. All that would be needed to be welded to your frame is 2 shock tabs and 2 swing arm mounts. I know a bolt on set-up would be preferred but I don't trust the quality of steel in these frames enough to just drill a couple of holes and bolt on the rear. I don't think it take too much to tear out. I've seen pics of the foot pegs and kick stands ripped off of these bikes. If any interest, what would the price range of said a kit need to fall in to have a chance of selling? I'm not looking to get rich but I don't want go in the hole on these either.

Gotta get back to looking for my next mini now!:smile:
 
71dodge

71dodge

New Member
#11
#11
Bonanza Bryan said:
Man your really falling behind been into them for mabey 7 months and already have 27!!!!!!:thefinger::thefinger::eek:hmy::eek:hmy:
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yea cause i dont buy bare frames and i have more important things to do then dump money into mini bikes i have a truck. i only get bikes when there really cheap or i dont buy them and i DO NOT BUY FRAMES :thefinger: :lol:

and how many of them 27 run or roll???? HAHA :lol:
 
ccarruth

ccarruth

New Member
#13
#13
That's a very nice bike you got there GTO! That thing is super clean. I was looking at some of you pics and noticed the forks are a little different. I don't know if the front suspension on my bike is functional of just froze up. I also noticed that the bar clamps are different. Any Idea what year they made the changes? Did these come stock with a 3hp Tecumseh? I've got a 5hp Briggs and a 3.5hp Tecumseh and I don't know which I want to use on it. I'm going to get it blasted in the next week or two and try to get it in rolling chassis. That way I can bolt on the engines to see which one to use. I've started looking for a stock tank but no luck so far. Are the stock tanks plastic on these bikes?
 
Toycartony

Toycartony

New Member
#16
#16
Addictive???

I think so!! I Bought a Hound-dog from Edwin a few months back to restore. I was looking for something different and then found another one and bought it. Three mini Trail 50's I picked up a Kawasaki Coyote and a Murray and some other one not sure what it is yesterday. Thats 8 and counting. My friends ask What are you going to do with them. I tell them dont worry about it.
 
Robsbird

Robsbird

New Member
#17
#17
ccarruth said:
That's a very nice bike you got there GTO! That thing is super clean. I was looking at some of you pics and noticed the forks are a little different. I don't know if the front suspension on my bike is functional of just froze up. I also noticed that the bar clamps are different. Any Idea what year they made the changes? Did these come stock with a 3hp Tecumseh? I've got a 5hp Briggs and a 3.5hp Tecumseh and I don't know which I want to use on it. I'm going to get it blasted in the next week or two and try to get it in rolling chassis. That way I can bolt on the engines to see which one to use. I've started looking for a stock tank but no luck so far. Are the stock tanks plastic on these bikes?
Click to expand...
I had one I restored a while back, nice little bike! Easy to pull wheelies on.
Some forks had springs, others did not. If you got springs they are probably rusted up inside. Mine took a lot of lube and whacking with a mallet to get them apart and working again. There were 2 types of bar clamps, a regular pipe clamp type and a nice cast piece. Mine had a 4hp tecumseh with the bent intake to allow for a level carb with that motor mount not being flat.
Stock tanks were plastic, look for something similar on Ebay.
Here is mine, all parts went to these folks here on the forum.
Rob
 
G

GTO

#18
#18
As far as I know they all had 4 HP Tec's.

You will need a slanted intake for the 3.5 but can get away with a briggs with the pulse carb (on tank). They won't care so much if the carb as at an angle unless you get low on gas. You can also use a diaphragm carb on either. It will look better with a Tec. or diaphragm on briggs.

I might have a tank, chain gaurd and 4 HP slanted intake. Found mine at a garage sale the way it was in the pic with an extra engine(the original with broken thread at the intake)
 
ccarruth

ccarruth

New Member
#20
#20
Thanks for the info guys. I hope to get started on it soon.

GTO, If you find that you still have some parts for one of these bikes and want to get rid of them let me know. I need all the help I can get finding the parts.
 
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