On the road again....

Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#1
#1
I left the house at 0700 this morning and headed north to purchase the Homelite Trail King mini bike. I was able to make Casper,Wy after a 12hour drive up I-25.
The weather was cooperative with a cloudy,windy day.
I plan to meet up with MTwarrior17 tomorrow afternoon to pick up the bike. I still have about 400 miles to go as it is 1,085 miles from my house in New Mexico.
I'm on the Platte River enjoying some ribs and a couple cold ones.
I'll keep you posted.
 
KustomKartKid

KustomKartKid

Administrator
#6
#6
I fished the Platt in Monatana once about 20 yrs ago.....I remember standing in this clearing with an odd tree that grew paralell to the ground....

My father in law waded into the stream about waist high with his fly rod and was moving up river when he felt something heavy bump his leg...he looked own and there was a face with a big eyeball staring up at him....it was a dead horse..:scared:

....he jumped straight out of the river onto land, I was laughing so hard I was crying.....:lol:
 
Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#7
#7
I meet up with Richie and his lovely wife and baby. You could not ask to meet a nicer couple. After shooting the bull for awhile I loaded up the Trail King on my hauler and it fit like a glove!
I drove down to Yellowstone and spent the night at a very quaint little motel where when you walked out, you were face to face with wild Elk. I made friends with a few folks who will allow me to tag along with them to day at the Park. I'll keep you informed.










 
Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#11
#11
I played Joe Tourist with Stan and Lorraine who I met the night before. We caravan'edthrough the park for eight hours looking at the sights
I party my ways with my new found friends at Old Faithful and headed south out of Yellowstone. I drove for another six hours and stopped in Rock Springs,WY to pick up I-80.
The trip though the Grand Tetons National Park is impressive. I'd recommend it it to anyone.
With the fires burning in Idaho, photo's did not come out due too the thick smoke.

















 
Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#12
#12
I made it home after being delayed by weather, a national bicycle race, and deciding to take the 'Scenic route" home. 14 hour drive for today. The trip was 2,420 miles round trip to pick up the mini bike. I must be nits, but hey, you only live once.And I ended up with a very interesting mini bike,met some great folks, saw new things, and survived to tell about it.
 
Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#13
#13
I got the bike off the rack ( no mean feet ) and fired it up. The two speed gear box works well. The bike runs as it should. In low range you had better have a good grip on the handle bars if you gun the engine. It can't "pop a wheelie" as the frame is longer than a "normal" mini length. The centrifugal clutch has a unique feature where it brakes the engine if the throttle is backed off. The bike cannot be pushed if it is in gear either gear.
I put the Buddie seat on the bike and took Elaine for a ride down my dirt road. This road is 1/4 mile long and is on the side of Thunder Mountain. It has boulders and ruts. The Trail King proved its mettle and took both of us up and down the mountain with no problems.
I can clearly see a hunter taking his 1/4'rd Elk back to his truck many miles away.
Since this mini has a leaf spring articulated hinge suspension just in front of the engine, the ride is very smooth but at the same time, very different feeling. You sit up-right, much higher than the common mini. If you lean to either side of the center of gravity, you are going that way real quick. The road to my house, in the front, is very steep. It is 48 degrees. The back road where I took my wife, was made by me to allow a fire truck to gain access to my house. The front drive is straight up the mountain. It too is dirt/gravel.
The Trail King had no problem in either gear climbing the incline. The rear tire did not slip or spin. I'm impressed with this bike. It was worth the trip.
 
bullhead

bullhead

New Member
#14
#14
Kool Trip. You going to bring it to FunDay?
I think we are going to have to plan a trip. Maybe out to Grants. Then do one of the trails up the mountains south of Grants.
Or down to TorC to Elephant Butte Lake area and do some gemstone hunting.
Bullhead
 
70sVintageTrikes

70sVintageTrikes

New Member
#15
#15
My longest trip

My longest trip for a trike was from Beatrice Ne (Home) to Sleepy Hollow Ny round trip 2,709 mi, 46 hours. I did it in 2 1/2 days!:doah::laugh:

I bought my Snowco Power-Kart Fs-Pk-2 TRK that was made here in Omaha Ne. I left with 920 bucks and when I got home I had just enuf to buy a pack of smokes!:doah: The gf was not happy.....:laugh:
 
Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#16
#16
Nice trike. Pretty cool.
Yes I'm bringing the bike to CA.
A trip to Mt. Taylor would be a hoot! We need to do it before it gets too cold or next year.
 
Rapidrob

Rapidrob

#17
#17
About a mile from my house is a power-line road that goes to the summit of Thunder mountain. This road, as I found out goes, for miles and miles. The climb up one side is very steep and has large boulders. I had to use the low range gear to climb over the boulders and loose rocks. The original tire has been replaced-with a knobby tread instead of the agriculture tread and it does slip in loose soil.
The bike had no problem climbing over the rocks to the summit at 9,450 feet. The engine ran strong.
One the road to and from the climb, the bike would go a good 30 mph in high gear.
The brakes need work. find a rear brake band is going to be a real challenge as it is a v-belt looking band,not flat like all others. The front drum brake is worn out.
The engine brake works well IF the engine RPM is kept about 500. Below that the clutch free wheels. I learned that on the trip down the steep incline. I had to goose the engine every few seconds to keep the clutch-brake engaged. It works very well,much better than the brakes!
I took two photo's from my phone. They suck but you get an idea of where I took the mini.

On the top of Thunder Mountain looking East, you can see the trail going out of sight.


A look down the "smooth" side of the mountain. The camera does not catch how steep it is. The soil is a mixture of Caleachie and rotten granite. It is hard to walk up the slope as its like flour if the surface is broken.
 
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