New Ride

[SpyGuy]

The Bible says, "Good things come to those who wait." Well, after waiting for quite a while, a good thing happened across the local craigslist. A college student was packing up and leaving town, and couldn't take his minibike with him. $150 later, the bike was in the back of my truck and headed home.

Now admittedly, I'm not quite sure what I've managed to get my hands on here. It's definitely an old-school minibike, pushing a 5.5hp Briggs&Stratton engine, and a scrub brake. I'm thinking maybe a Taco or Bonanza?

The kid offered to let me take a test ride, so I fired up the bike, grabbed a handful of throttle, and promptly burned the rear tire in his mom's driveway - oops! A little more power than I was used to ..... Seemed to run okay, maybe stuttered a little at top end, idles a little rough (too low). That big dishplate sprocket gave me all kinds of low-end takeoff and acceleration, although I'm not crazy about the scrub brake. Any way to convert to a rear disc or drum?

Any help would be appreciated for ID ... thanks!

 

[Ayers Garage]

If you really want to improve your brake, you might do some research on clutch brakes. There's a good number of threads on this board concerning them with good pictures. After reading all the options that's what I chose for my project to replace the scrub brake.

 

[The Restore Kid]

Sure looks like a Taco.. Nice find.. :thumbsup:

 

[1stlegendtx]

Not a Taco. Mac knows what that is. He told me before and I cant remember now.:doah:

 

[jimh]

It's a K&S Hornet.:thumbsup:

 

[1stlegendtx]

:clap:

It's a K&S Hornet.:thumbsup:

Thats right now I remember.:mad2:

 

[supernova]

A geat deal on a great minibike!:thumbsup:

 

[SpyGuy]

It's a K&S Hornet.:thumbsup:

Woohoo! Thanks! I was wondering what this thing was :shrug:..... now I know.:thumbsup:

Ayers, thanks, forgot about the clutch brakes. Gona start digging into the archives, see what I can find out about them. I'm not too big a fan of the scrub brakes - they work, but they also wear the tire down faster, so ...

A couple of things need tweaking here and there, but she fires up second pull and runs like a scalded rabbit. A clutch guard and chainguard are on the "To Do" list. Looks like the bike got dumped onto its left side at one time or another - the handlebar is slightly bent inwards, but the bike still tracks straight. Eventually, when I get tired of riding it (not for a while, though), the bike will get stripped down and repainted.