Strange vintage .... Goodyear frame, home built??

C

Cope

New Member
#1
#1
Hi, New to the board. I have a few mini bikes.... 2 are just your avg mid 70s mini with a 3 horse on them. Have had the one since a kid. I came across this bike today, had to bring it home..... hadnt been run or moved in decades.

Just wondering if anyone sold kits to turn bicycles into mini bikes back in im guessing the early 60's or if it was common for the home builder to do so? The reason i ask is because i cant find anything about goodyear minibikes, and this thing seems to be a bike frame..... but some things dont add up. The frame is a " goodyear " which has been chopped to fit the engine. The strange part is the springer front end looks all original and has no welds or chops, however obviously isnt for any bicycle or bicycle tire. The rear end is the same. however the engine and rear end mount to a crude home built style motor cage that is braised(sp?) to the frame. In the pics the strange thing to me is the front down tube, a bicycle wouldnt have that. Also it wouldnt have the front end this has...... this makes me question if the frame was actually a mini bike frame from goodyear? and someone just re-fabricated the bottom of the frame at some point for some unkown reason? Engine looks like a clinton to me... but i dunno ive never seen that style carb on anything other than a briggs? Has "C" on head bolts. Has the old pull rope, no recoil.

Also the drive system is confusing me, is that some sort of clutch for the belt???? seems too small

Any help as to what i have here would be appriciated. looking fwd to cleaning this thing up, not sure if it was ever rideable with this set up. but its def interesting. One thing to note is the tires are bald... not sure if all the miles were travled on this or another! haha


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old biker

old biker

New Member
#2
#2
Check it out. 1951 goodyear bike made by columbia for goodyear tires. You can see where the tank mount on yours was cut off. Also the lower rear frame section matches with your bike. whats left of the paint scheme on yours looks the same too.
 
buckeye

buckeye

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
Sure as hell is!!

I was thinking homemade all the way, but, with that being a kit bike, so cool. Nice id Tom:thumbsup:
 
Fat Boy

Fat Boy

New Member
#6
#6
I picked up a copy of that PM a few weeks ago with that article in it at a garage sale free pile and a few other magazines with mini bike articles also some old owners manuals for cars and trucks .
 
C

Cope

New Member
#7
#7
Very cool! Thanks for the info, Now everything adds up.... Did popular mechanics have a vendor selling some of theses parts in the magazine? Most of the parts used to build it seem like the would be hard to find at a hardware store.

Any ideas on the belt drive,is that a clutch?

How about the engine manufacturer?
 
SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#8
#8
Cope said:
Very cool! Thanks for the info, Now everything adds up.... Did popular mechanics have a vendor selling some of theses parts in the magazine? Most of the parts used to build it seem like the would be hard to find at a hardware store.
Click to expand...
Read the article from the Popular Mechanics magazine I posted the link to. Should have all the answers there. Back then there were alot of backyard mechanics that used to be machinists or factory workers. I would asume that those parts are all hand made.

Cope said:
Any ideas on the belt drive,is that a clutch?
Click to expand...
Yes, That is a belt clutch on the engine.

Cope said:
How about the engine manufacturer?
Click to expand...
Lokks like your engine is an old Briggs and Stratton.
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#9
#9
Cope said:
Very cool! Thanks for the info, Now everything adds up.... Did popular mechanics have a vendor selling some of theses parts in the magazine? Most of the parts used to build it seem like the would be hard to find at a hardware store.

Any ideas on the belt drive,is that a clutch?

How about the engine manufacturer?
Click to expand...
Hey Cope, clink on the link above in Simple Tom's post. It'll show a Clinton 500 running a TAV system. Then it goes to a jack shaft with a 22t drive and 60t rear sprocket. There is a Clinton 500 on ebay right now. They're rare.
 
C

Cope

New Member
#10
#10
Don't worry I clicked on the Link and read through all if it. Your efforts are appreciated. I just didn't see where it said the exact engine to use or clutch for the belt portion of the jack shaft.(maybe it did, I'm reading from an iPhone and the PM article wasnt expandable, had a hard time reading some of it) The one owned by oldsleds thst you posted the pic of is just chain drive, whoever built his was smart!

This bike possibly used a rupp for a doner bike judging by the seat, maybe that's the origin of the bars/throttle/wheels/engine
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#11
#11
Cope said:
Don't worry I clicked on the Link and read through all if it. Your efforts are appreciated. I just didn't see where it said the exact engine to use or clutch for the belt portion of the jack shaft.(maybe it did, I'm reading from an iPhone and the PM article wasnt expandable, had a hard time reading some of it) The one owned by oldsleds thst you posted the pic of is just chain drive, whoever built his was smart!

This bike possibly used a rupp for a doner bike judging by the seat, maybe that's the origin of the bars/throttle/wheels/engine
Click to expand...
Cope, I'd be ALL OVER slapping a vintage two stroke on their per the plans, even getting an old copy of the magazine. (Clinton 500 engine)

Max Torque can supply the clutch for that setup, and from what I see, every part in the original plans is still available...except that engine is rare.

But that's just me. lol. I can spend everyone else's money pretty good. :laugh:
 
SimpleTom

SimpleTom

#12
#12
Cope said:
This bike possibly used a rupp for a doner bike judging by the seat, maybe that's the origin of the bars/throttle/wheels/engine
Click to expand...
Looks like the seat is the only thing from a Rupp. Probably added many years later when the original one they had wore out. You could probably sell that set here and have enough money to get another plain seat and fix the bike up as well. The bars are bicycle bars, the throttle and wheels were available at local shops, the engine probably came off an edger or mower.
 
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