New guy with a Ruttman Grasshopper

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Beezee

New Member
#1
#1
Hi Folks;

New guy here. I just joined this forum.

I have been collecting and restoring Hodakas for a few years now. Being involved with Hodakas got me looking at the Bonanza Chopper with the Hodaka engine. I thought the Bonanza Chopper would be a cool addition to my collection so I have been on the lookout for one to restore. Anyway, I found this in the local classified ads:

Ruttmann 001C.jpg

It's a Ruttmann Grasshopper (I think), and although not what I was looking for, I think its a cool little bike. It's 100% complete accept for the engine, wheels, controls, seat, and a few other misc parts. :doah:

I haven't decided what to do with it yet as it's just basically a frame and a fork. I've thought about putting a Hodaka motor in it, but that would be a lot of work. I think the best bet would be to look for another basket case mini to donate the wheels and engine and go from there. Anyway, anyone here have any ideas?
 
capguncowboy

capguncowboy

Well-Known Member
#2
#2
That's a lot further from complete than you might think. The wheels, brakes, engine, clutch cover, gas tank, fork legs (they went out front), shocks, sissy bar, seat, kickstand, brakes and throttle...

It would take a lot of $$$ to get it back out there as a grasshopper. If it was me, I'd throw a clone (or a good running older tec) on it and mod it to whatever you want it to be.

Then I'd find something else to work on that had a little more of the parts with it.

That's just my .02 though
 
B

Beezee

New Member
#5
#5
Thanks for the advice capguncowboy. What I have is basically a frame and fork with handlebars. I figure I can replace the missing tubing on the forks with ornamental stainless tubing pinched and drilled at the ends. I am still debating on what motor to install. I have a 100cc Hodaka motor that I could use, or I could look for a old Tecumseh, B&S or similar. The trouble with the Hodaka engine would be gearing. I would likely have to install a jack shaft setup to gear it up. The biggest problem for the bike right now is wheels. The wheel on the back is 5" diameter and it seems too small.

Can someone tell me what the correct wheel size is for a Ruttman Grasshopper?

The next problem would be brakes. With a Hodaka engine I would have to use wheel brakes. With a Tecumseh or B&S I could use a torque converter brake of some sort.

And thanks for the welcome folks!
 
cxbra

cxbra

New Member
#6
#6
Welcome, looks like youre starting out with a really nice bike! Thats going to look great when built up, I really like how choppers look.
 
B

Beezee

New Member
#7
#7
I did a bit of scrounging and came up with a fuel tank from an old engine:

Ruttmann 003C.jpg

As you can see the tank has a fuel shut off with a glass bowl. I'm not sure whether I should keep the fuel bowl or not, but it does look kind of cool. The tank will need to have the dents pulled out and/or filled, and then a coat of paint.

I also found a Hodaka throttle in my parts stash:

Ruttmann 004C.jpg

I can make throttle cable once I get an engine to attach it to. Speaking of which, I am pretty sure these bikes came with a Tecumseh 4HP engine and unless I learn otherwise, that is what I am looking for. Any advice on how to recognize the correct motor? Are there particular models that will match the mounting holes in the frame motor mounting plate?

Beezee
 
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Beezee

New Member
#10
#10
I have a few questions about this bike.

1 - What is the diameter of the chrome tubes that bolt on to the forks?

2 - What is the diameter of the sissy bar tubing?

3 - How many teeth are there on the clutch sprocket and wheel sprocket?

I found a guy that has a couple of Tecumseh motors that may fit my bike so I am going to see him this weekend.

Beezee
 
OND

OND

#11
#11
Sorry BZ I don't know the answers to your questions...this is just a pic that I pulled out of the gallery. But It is really nice Hopper !
 
B

Beezee

New Member
#12
#12
I picked up a Tecumseh 5hp short block yesterday. The shortblock has zero hours on it. The guy that sold me the engine had a small repair business that he ran out of his house, but he is now retiring. He included another blown up engine that had all the remaining parts I need to get it running.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Ruttmann 005C.jpg

Ruttmann 006C.jpg

The engine has one snag that you can see in the pictures. It has a camshaft drive that is used to drive the wheels on the snowblower. The blown up engine doesn't have the camshaft drive, so I will need to swap the camshaft and crankshaft side cover to delete it.

Beezee
 
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Beezee

New Member
#15
#15
Thanks for the link bikebudy. It's always informative to look at someone else's restoration and see the techniques they use.

Nice job on the grasshopper graphic! And created by a fellow Ontarian too, eh!

Beezee
 
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Beezee

New Member
#16
#16
As can be seen in the pictures, both footpegs are broken off the frame. I am at the point now where I want to start getting some welding done, so I need to know the length of the footpeg stubs. Since the pull start protrudes a fair bit outside of the frame, I am guessing the footpeg stubs need to be at least 2-3 inches long to allow the rider to get their left foot around the pull start and onto the peg.

Can anyone tell me the length of the footpeg stubs?

Beezee
 
bikebudy

bikebudy

Banned - Must pay $500
#17
#17
Not Official length but, I found with my DMP the Peg itself was 4" and the mount was another 1"

I found them to be too short, so I made them about 7 inch with 4" grips

Just enough on the recoil side and lots on the clutch side
 
Iron Honky

Iron Honky

New Member
#18
#18
If you need some info on specs let me know. Just seen this thread. Bike buddy is too kind. Too bad I never finished the bike in time on the build off. Still sitting in the clubhouse with no clutch or chain haha.
 
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Beezee

New Member
#19
#19
I have been doing a little work on the 5HP Tecumseh engine I picked up. The intake manifold was a rough looking casting, so I ground off some of the rough edges and polished it up. I also sprayed the engine white. Here are a couple of pictures:

Ruttmann 008C.jpg

Ruttmann 009C.jpg

I have a lead on an older 4HP Tecumseh. Hopefully it has an air filter I can use. I also like the earlier 4HP pull start assembly but I don't know if it will fit the 5HP block.

Eventually I am going to have to pull the trigger on buying some wheels and other parts, but with the Canadian dollar worth $0.75 USD the exchange rate is killing me!

Beezee
 
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