Options for Manco Big Cat Front End?

B

BlacknBlue2002

New Member
#1
#1
I may have just inherited a pretty nice Manco Big Cat from a fellow family member who no longer rides it. I've been pining over it for a few months and they finally told me to come pick it up if I'm willing to get it running again. Problem is the same old bent in front end that has plagued other Big Cat riders (from what I've read)

Question is...what options do I have for replacing the front fork assembly all together? I have a good friend who rides a Baja Heat and I was thinking of taking his front end off and seeing how close it would be to bolting up on the Big Cat. It seems the Big Cat has the same size front tire as some of the Super Bronc's so I was also curious if anyone had tried bolting a Super Bronc front end up to a Big Cat. Or has anyone done any custom work to beef up the front?
 
B

BlacknBlue2002

New Member
#3
#3
Bonanza Bryan said:
Tire size has nothing to do with it. What you want to look of is the legenth between the trees on the forks.
Click to expand...
You mean the 'neck height' on the frame? I assumed it was somewhat standard like on most motorcycles but I know what they say about assumptions :doah:

...but yeah, I know that there are a few things that will come into play...the first I was looking at would be a set of trees that would hold the front end wide enough to clear the 11" wide tires. But I also don't want it to be extremely long and give the bike a raked front end look.

I've also considered doing a little fab work with an old set of Harley wideglide triple trees that I have...but it would be my first shot at welding
 
Big Jim

Big Jim

Active Member
#4
#4
Last edited:
B

Bill Ellerby

New Member
#5
#5
Like Big Jim stated, just turn the forks around and as for the bearings all I did was go to a bike shop and showed them what I had and needed and they had the whole setup for $8.
 
S

supernova

Banned
#6
#6
It would take a little work but a triple tree fork can be made for the thing and cure it for good. I never understood why they skimped on such an important detail, that's too big a machine to have bicycle parts. :eek:ut:
 
heavygs

heavygs

Member
#7
#7
Yep, I know it's an old thread, but I just came across it while googling some other stuff. I have a Big Cat with a 6.5 clone and a front end off a Honda ATC 250. I found the front end on Craigs for $20, so I figured I would take a gamble on it. Pulled the front forks off the Cat and compared them, the stem on the Honda had a smaller diameter and was about an inch longer. Dug around the shop and found some washers that would fit down over the Honda stem and started doing some mock-ups. Figured out where I needed the washers to be, got out micrometer and took some measurements. Gave those to the guys at the metal shop and they made me sleeve that would slide down over the Honda stem and would fit inside the neck of the Cat, cost me another 20. Bought some new bearings, put it all back together, took it back apart, a little grinding, put it back, took it apart, etc. Now I have front suspension and much better brakes. I'll take some pics this weekend and post them if anybody is interested.
 
heavygs

heavygs

Member
#10
#10
Pom- Thx, the best part is having better brakes, our camp has a big hill right in the middle, going down the back side got interesting a few times.
 
P

Pythagoras

New Member
#11
#11
Do you guys mind if I ask where to get new tires for the Big Cat? Mine are a little UV damaged and I probably need to find a source. Is there a spec or model number for that size and kind of knobs? Thanks.
 
T

Taygrib76

New Member
#12
#12
Heavy, your project turned out great. Front suspension and front brakes is exactly what the big cat needs. I just bought a pair of 85 ATC 250es forks on ebay and will be doing the same mod to mine. You mentioned you had to get a custom stem shim fab'd for the mod. Did you look at trying to use a standard motorcycle stem shim or will this have to be custom? Is there anything you would have done differently? Any advice would be great.
 
heavygs

heavygs

Member
#15
#15
Tay- Sorry, haven't been on this site in awhile, On the stem the honda stem is a smaller diameter and a little longer than the manco stem, so I used some large washers to make up the length and had basically a spacer made to make up the diameter, the inside of the spacer fits the honda stem and the outside fits the manco bearings, the manco rim wouldn't fit the honda hub the center hole was too small, hope that helps

Tx- Thx, its a blast, I get asked about it everytime I bring it out
 
T

Taygrib76

New Member
#16
#16
I got the forks mounted, and unlike yours heavy, I didn't need to use any washers. The 85 ATC stem was the same length as my big cat sleeve. The inner dia of the sleeve and the od of the ATC stem were roughly 2mm different, so I bought a stem shim that was .8mm thick on eBay which has it fitting up like the original forks and was able to use the manco bearings. I'll post pics soon. I'm waiting for an ATC hub and front brake to be delivered.
 
countstevula

countstevula

Active Member
#17
#17
Taygrib76 said:
I got the forks mounted, and unlike yours heavy, I didn't need to use any washers. The 85 ATC stem was the same length as my big cat sleeve. The inner dia of the sleeve and the od of the ATC stem were roughly 2mm different, so I bought a stem shim that was .8mm thick on eBay which has it fitting up like the original forks and was able to use the manco bearings. I'll post pics soon. I'm waiting for an ATC hub and front brake to be delivered.
Click to expand...
have the ebay link to the part?
 
T

Taygrib76

New Member
#18
#18
Heavyg,
I didn't realize the manco rim has a smaller diameter than the ATC rim. My manco tire is a Carlisle AT22x11-8 and the ATC tire size is a 25x12-9. I see from your pics that you have the Carlisle tire on the front. How did you fit that tire on the ATC rim? Or did you have to buy a new tire?
 
T

Taygrib76

New Member
#20
#20
Here's the finished product. Its got a Honda ATC 250es front end w/ a Kenda bearclaw 22" tire. Also I put a predator 212cc engine in it with a knockoff TAV2 comet torque converter. Its a blast to ride and climbs great. Its top end is about 40mph and the front drum brake from the ATC makes it stop 10x better than the rear disc brake. As you can see from the pics, I had some fun in the mud this weekend.

I'm in Greenville SC and if the price is right I may part with it. I also need to sell the original front forks and tire which are in great shape. PM me if interested.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top