Hello all,
I just found this site and am glad to join. I'm a semi retired mechanical & elec engineer working in the IT industry here in Seattle, WA. I began a long love affair with all things powered (muscle cars, motorcycles, boats, etc) starting with a very simple Taco mini bike back in 1968. I purchased it with lawn mowing money and a small loan from my Dad when I was in the 7th grade. It was yellow w/ black seat and powered direct (clutch-to-wheel) by a horribly underpowered Tecumseh 3.5hp. Slow as could be and weak as a puppy with a power-to-weight ratio of about minus 10! After being teased to no end my 1st weekend out with friends (most of which owned Bonanza bikes with beasty Hodaka engines), I went home with my tail between my legs. That night I was met by my Dad and his sharp wisdom. He said I couldn't ride the thing again until I had torn it down to the very last nut, bolt and cotter pin (including the engine), then reassemble it to better-than-working order. The bike was literally only a week old, but I did what I was told. Some of my greatest memories are those working with my dad out in the garage on this project - and of course many others over the years. We went to the library for small engine repair books, met with some of his mechanic buddies, and of course spent hours combing through the local junk yard for useable scrap metal and parts. With his guidance, I tweaked and fast-tuned the engine, re-designed the carb, changed out the clutch with better performance shoes and springs, added a jack shaft kit, and turned the thing into a climbing monkey. I even built a motorcycle-style foot kick starter in my Jr high metal shop class to replace the rope pull. Man it had so much umph it would climb walls. That following winter, I won a mini-bike-class dirt bike climbing contest put on by the local cart and mini bike dealer in my small So Cal town. My Dad cobbled up a set of snow & mud chains for it to add traction, and I beat a Tote-Goat up the hill in the final round, walking away with a trophy and a brand new set of rear springs for the prize. My secret was the governor override cable my dad and I designed that I could kick in with a secondary throttle lever for extra power (turbo-charger style) at just the right second. In those contests, you weren’t allowed to take off any safety gear, or disengage the governor. After a thorough judge look-see though, our design was deemed not only acceptable, but pretty cool to boot. A number of my cronies ended up copying the thing, and the dealer ended up selling plans on how to make your own. Of course the trick was to know when to let it off in time so as not to over rev the engine and blow the blasted thing up. The frame of my Taco was set up with jack shaft mounts and rear spring mounts, but it came with neither - sort of a build and expand as you go low-cost entry model. A few years later, I sold it (fully tricked out of course) to help swing a Honda trail 90 and then a soon-to-follow Yamaha Enduro 100 with a friend. No self respecting high school kid would ever be caught riding a mini-bike. Boy I loved that little Taco machine though, and sure wish I still had it today for my own son's kids. Years later, I started him off at 12 with a little Kawasaki 100, and you bet I had him tear it down completely when I first gave it to him. Since that time, I've owned and worked on several choice cars, motorcycles, boats, and a couple of small airplanes, but quite frankly, nothing (other than perhaps working with my own son) has quite compared to the thrill of tricking out my first mini-bike. Oh, and by the way... my Dad is 86 now and living with my wife and I. We still get out to the garage most weekends together and tweak on some project or other. Every now and again, he'll remind me that I still haven't paid him back for that mini-bike loan. Call me sentimental, but these are choice memories.
I just found this site and am glad to join. I'm a semi retired mechanical & elec engineer working in the IT industry here in Seattle, WA. I began a long love affair with all things powered (muscle cars, motorcycles, boats, etc) starting with a very simple Taco mini bike back in 1968. I purchased it with lawn mowing money and a small loan from my Dad when I was in the 7th grade. It was yellow w/ black seat and powered direct (clutch-to-wheel) by a horribly underpowered Tecumseh 3.5hp. Slow as could be and weak as a puppy with a power-to-weight ratio of about minus 10! After being teased to no end my 1st weekend out with friends (most of which owned Bonanza bikes with beasty Hodaka engines), I went home with my tail between my legs. That night I was met by my Dad and his sharp wisdom. He said I couldn't ride the thing again until I had torn it down to the very last nut, bolt and cotter pin (including the engine), then reassemble it to better-than-working order. The bike was literally only a week old, but I did what I was told. Some of my greatest memories are those working with my dad out in the garage on this project - and of course many others over the years. We went to the library for small engine repair books, met with some of his mechanic buddies, and of course spent hours combing through the local junk yard for useable scrap metal and parts. With his guidance, I tweaked and fast-tuned the engine, re-designed the carb, changed out the clutch with better performance shoes and springs, added a jack shaft kit, and turned the thing into a climbing monkey. I even built a motorcycle-style foot kick starter in my Jr high metal shop class to replace the rope pull. Man it had so much umph it would climb walls. That following winter, I won a mini-bike-class dirt bike climbing contest put on by the local cart and mini bike dealer in my small So Cal town. My Dad cobbled up a set of snow & mud chains for it to add traction, and I beat a Tote-Goat up the hill in the final round, walking away with a trophy and a brand new set of rear springs for the prize. My secret was the governor override cable my dad and I designed that I could kick in with a secondary throttle lever for extra power (turbo-charger style) at just the right second. In those contests, you weren’t allowed to take off any safety gear, or disengage the governor. After a thorough judge look-see though, our design was deemed not only acceptable, but pretty cool to boot. A number of my cronies ended up copying the thing, and the dealer ended up selling plans on how to make your own. Of course the trick was to know when to let it off in time so as not to over rev the engine and blow the blasted thing up. The frame of my Taco was set up with jack shaft mounts and rear spring mounts, but it came with neither - sort of a build and expand as you go low-cost entry model. A few years later, I sold it (fully tricked out of course) to help swing a Honda trail 90 and then a soon-to-follow Yamaha Enduro 100 with a friend. No self respecting high school kid would ever be caught riding a mini-bike. Boy I loved that little Taco machine though, and sure wish I still had it today for my own son's kids. Years later, I started him off at 12 with a little Kawasaki 100, and you bet I had him tear it down completely when I first gave it to him. Since that time, I've owned and worked on several choice cars, motorcycles, boats, and a couple of small airplanes, but quite frankly, nothing (other than perhaps working with my own son) has quite compared to the thrill of tricking out my first mini-bike. Oh, and by the way... my Dad is 86 now and living with my wife and I. We still get out to the garage most weekends together and tweak on some project or other. Every now and again, he'll remind me that I still haven't paid him back for that mini-bike loan. Call me sentimental, but these are choice memories.
