General Appliance/Trail Horse/Trail Blazer guys, check this out

SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#1
#1
I bought this owners manual off ebay because it looked different than the copies of the other manual that Glenn Baine was selling. So when I got it in the mail I didn't expect to find these cool differences and options available.

First is the luggage carrier which I have seen a few real examples in photos but never in person.
Second is the license plate holder, never seen one on a General Appliance bike.
Third is a handle bar mounted compass. I've seen it pictured on a Trail Blazer brochure.
Fourth is the odd rear swing arm. I've seen one example of this for sale on ebay a couple years ago. I've included the photos from ebay. I believe the reason for the odd design was for a jack shaft mounted brake.
Fifth is the Hex Star wheel. The Trail Horse brochure shows them but you know how sometimes things change after brochures are printed. One picture shows a Hex Star wheel on the rear.

Which leads me to the sixth. The three types of brakes offered. A. Clutch Band, B. Jack Shaft Mounted, and C. a Disc Brake mounted on the swing arm. I have seen both the clutch and jack shaft brakes but never seen a disc brake set up.

Here are some scans of some of the pages for you to enjoy.







 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Thats cool you got that, and thanks for sharing! I threw the first bid on it in hopes it would stay an auction and not get sold early, and then with the holidays forgot to follow it and bid at the end :doah:

The racks are cool, I posted a pic from an article about camping trips on a mini bike a month or so ago showing one in the "accessories thread"



you can see the inverted plate bracket pretty good in one pic of the GTO1400 test report MBG did too. No good pics of the swingarm to see which one was used at that time though. But it is an interesting report, GA was the first ones to use the Comet 2 speed on a production bike and I guess comet redesigned the unit right at the time they did the test, so they got to test 2 GTO1400's at the same time.

Dig the bitchin' Azusa Jacket, (also note its rolling on Tabloc wheels) :thumbsup:

 
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minibikin'

minibikin'

Sho-nuff
#4
#4
Very nice. I have been too busy to follow eBay lately. Good thing because I'd probably be broke...


Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell...[emoji2]
 
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oldbird

Banned
#5
#5
I have a general appliance minibike. It has a band brake on the rear tire. I have a few pics of the bike. I just put an 11hp tecumseh on it. Never rode it yet but hopefully in the next few days I will. I might put a 7hp tecumseh on it if the 11hp is too much. I just need a seat.
 

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oldbird

Banned
#9
#9
looks just like the general appliance sticker you can get off ebay. I had to strip off some old yellow faded paint to find that sticker on the fork plate.
 

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SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#11
#11
oldbird said:
looks just like the general appliance sticker you can get off ebay. I had to strip off some old yellow faded paint to find that sticker on the fork plate.
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Cool! Yours has the Trail Blazer style handle bars. I have one with the Trail Horse style bars and I also have a set of forks like yours.
 
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oldbird

Banned
#12
#12
SimpleTom said:
Cool! Yours has the Trail Blazer style handle bars. I have one with the Trail Horse style bars and I also have a set of forks like yours.
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Nice. Thanks to everybody who posted pics in this thread and to SimpleTom for starting this thread.
Mine has a headlight but the glass was broken out.. not sure where I can find a replacement??? It had a taillight but it was broken and banged up too much. I would like to replace those lights with the exact same size/style it originally came with. Anybody know where to find the lights??
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#13
#13
While I'm not sure the exact maker of the taillight the PMCO 428 is a great match (and what was being used on most of the other mini bikes of the same era), the good thing about general appliance is they didn't use a chrome tail light so its easier and cheaper to find. Peterson does still make a 428 but it is now plastic housing, If you would have asked about a week or so ago I had just listed my last 2 NOS metal housing ones on ebay...but they sold FAST!

They are just trailer taillights, so if your out junking you may find a decent one to simply sand and paint and if its old enough (before the DOT standard stampings) you may end up witha period correct one :thumbsup:


Heres what to look for (you are better off with a non license plate version one on these bikes in reality:




I kinda dig the Gamble Aldens version decal like yours, I'm not a big fan of the trail blazer one like what came on mine.
 
M

minibike C

New Member
#14
#14

[/QUOTE]


I happen to own that G-T Trail Horse bike in the pictures and also happen to have the photos .
This bike has belonged to me since last summer. . I bought it from the guy who bought it off EBay and restored it to new condition , I also bought five other restored General Appliance bikes in the deal and they are all very nice .
 
SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#16
#16
rrcookus said:
Do you still have this manual. I have either a Trailblazer or Trailhorse and I'd like to know which it is. It has a Trailblazer fork decal but that doesn't mean anything. Is a copy available for sale.
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Nice bike! Yours is a Trail Blazer. Someone heated up the bars at the triple tree and bent them straight.
 
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