The "Burgandy Bandit" Atlas 5500TL Custom Build

#1
Hey everyone. Im new to the forum. Just recently got into minibikes but have always been into restorations, welding, engines, etc. So here's the most of my build so far.

It started off with a 5500TL atlas frame I got for free from my neighbor who had it sitting in his barn for years. It has the rear tire flipped for left hand drive, original jack shaft was missing, told me his kids used to ride it with a little 3.5 horse briggs.


I first dismantled everything, cut off the rusted seat mounting plate, cut off the tail light mounting plate, and cut off the foot pegs because they would be in the way of the new converter. SandBlasted the frame, fork, wheels, handle bars and sprocket/rear wheel.


Next I got my motor at harbor freight. 6.5 predator (on sale for $99.99!), also got a cheapy ebay knockoff comet clutch ($60.00 shipped). Did some mockup and realized the motor had to be raised up to clear the clutch plate/housing. Milled some slots in some 1 1/4" square tubing and matched it up to the factor slots and welded em in for the riser.


after getting the motor and wheels mocked up I went back to ebay to order some 5.30/4.50R6 tires and tubes to fit my wheels. First one took a while, popped one tube with the screwdriver otherwise went great. Got the seat plate mocked up and sent out toa good buddy of mine to get covered. Covering is gonna be alligator skin with silver piping to match the wheels! Plus a little dumb and dummer humor


Once I had the motor mounts mocked up with the correct height and the sprockets in line I went to working on the exhaust, front footpegs and the sissy bar. Exhaust a 1"x2" slash cut rectangle tube wrapped in header wrap! the front suspension was froze up so I cut the springs off and welded it all solid. Also, I milled a slot in some angle iron, welded a tab to the exhaust pipe for a little extra support, also needed the slot to tension the chain. Turned out great!


After finally mock up of everything I took it to my other shop to lay some paint and assemble it. Primed it up with some Omni Primer, moved onto the base coat which was 2 coats of a 2008 Pontiac vibe "Salsa Metallic" mixed with another GM red metallic red/burgandy color. After laying the base coat on the frame and fork we followed up with some PPG DX78 prismatique flake. Topped it off with a few coats of clear and called the frame good. Next was the handle bars, wheels, and foot pegs. They got a dose of a silver metallic from a 2007 Buick Lucerne I just sprayed. Had just enough for two coats. Followed that up with the same PPG DX78 and cleared it out. Not as much flake in the silver but it really POPS in the sun.


Now, onto the final assembly. Threw some new wheel bearings in with new center bushings I had machined to fit, greased em all up and threw the front and rear wheels on. Had some issues with the new bearing being to wide to fit into the frame so I stretched the frame a little with my portapower and the rear slid right in, threw the axle bolt through it, cotter pinned the nut and the rear was done. Front slid in without any major issues, did have to stretch the forks out about a 1/8-1/4 inch though. Got a quick and dirty gas (oil bottle) tank rigged up to take it for a test rip.
ran about 17-20mph according to my phone. Turned around and ripped the governor linkage off the 6.5 and bent up my own from some clothes hanger and locked the governor flapper in place.
my buddy clocked me next to his atv last night at 41-43Mph.
Still looking at a 22mm mikuni carb and a couple small performance parts.
Tank is currently getting welded up, seat should be done middle of next week,
also need to figure out a sturdy set of wheelie bars. More to come!!!
 
#2
Nice work BB...welcome to the fun.

Thanks for all the detail and pic's...:thumbsup:

We love that kind of stuff around here...:hack:...:hammer:....:weld:....:shrug:....:hack:...:hammer:....:weld:....:laugh:
 
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#4
Thanks guys!! Made up a little ass pad and a ratchet strapped gas tank for my 14 mile ride last night! Buddy and I drove backroads from our houses to a campground bar! The bandit keeps up fairly well with his Kx65 kawi 2 stroke! Had a couple beers and dinner and headed back home! Working out some flaws and issues before I take it any farther. My square tubing exhaust rattled so much the weld cracked from the up-pipe and started my makeshift towel/seat on fire which wasn't very cool. Ended up riding home 3 more miles sitting on the tank (Super Sketchy) Welded up a new shorter and lighter exhaust with a gusset, just need to exhaust wrap it again! Snapped some sweet shots and had a good time! Cant wait for the seat, and tank to be done!
 
#6
When I rebuilt the engine I did some mods and the carburetor is too high to use the stock tank. I made up the round one but I should have welded on mounts. Now it is held on with screw clamps. I need to fix that someday but the dam thing is so reliable it has never failed even when it was original it was one tough ride. By the way I had a now have an exact reproduction of the original seat on it. I will post a pic when I get a chance.
 
#7
Well, Ive got around 40 or so miles on the bandit now! No major issues other than the exhaust bracket giving me some issues, cracked the cheap HF airbox (probably due to me cutting a "ram air" hole in the front of it), and my brass bushing in my torque converter busted! Just wondering if anyone else has had that issue with the cheap china 30 series converters! The brass bushing on the primary cracked and kept grabbing my belt at an idle, took it off, had my buddy machine me a new one just a hair thicker out of aluminum this time and it seems to wear less and work a lot better! Brass one ended up shredding most of my belt as well so I bought a 5 pack off ebay! Any input on good belts, brands, best bang for the buck, etc is appreciated! Just got the seat and tank back from my buddy, $30 bucks to cover the seat with croc print leather with a grey top welt! Trade him some 22 shells for the tank, still need to polish her up and get some stickers on it!!
 

noseoil

Active Member
#9
Nice job on the build, looks really good!

I found my bushing for the Chinese TAV30 yesterday while installing the heat shroud on the motor. I have about 4 hours on the engine swap now & the bushing was MIA when I took off the TAV, clutch & side plate to do the shroud (Hmmm, where did I put that thing?). I found it inside the cover. It was in a fine dust & smeared inside the cover with bits of dirt & stuck in the chain oil crud. Had to grind the heat shroud in 2 places to get it to fit, but figured in Tucson the cooling is important now that it's over 100 for the next couple of months.

I was wiping the inside of the cover after removing it & wondering where all those shiny metallic flecks were coming from, then I realized that the bushing was gone. It ran fine without it, so I just put everything back in place without a bushing & called it good. Not sure how Comet did this stuff on the real ones, but the bushing goes away pretty quick on the knock-off version. I think it could eat the belt if I left it idling for too long in one spot, but so far so good. Ran it yesterday & can't tell any difference in how it drives. Go figure.
 
#10
Nice job on the build, looks really good!

I found my bushing for the Chinese TAV30 yesterday while installing the heat shroud on the motor. I have about 4 hours on the engine swap now & the bushing was MIA when I took off the TAV, clutch & side plate to do the shroud (Hmmm, where did I put that thing?). I found it inside the cover. It was in a fine dust & smeared inside the cover with bits of dirt & stuck in the chain oil crud. Had to grind the heat shroud in 2 places to get it to fit, but figured in Tucson the cooling is important now that it's over 100 for the next couple of months.

I was wiping the inside of the cover after removing it & wondering where all those shiny metallic flecks were coming from, then I realized that the bushing was gone. It ran fine without it, so I just put everything back in place without a bushing & called it good. Not sure how Comet did this stuff on the real ones, but the bushing goes away pretty quick on the knock-off version. I think it could eat the belt if I left it idling for too long in one spot, but so far so good. Ran it yesterday & can't tell any difference in how it drives. Go figure.
Its good to hear Im not the only one, I was a bit worried I had something goofed up! Well, my aluminum one is holding up but ill try it without a bushing and see how I like it because even right now the clutch still kinda wants to grab at an idle and the power comes on pretty quick! Thanks, Nose!
 
#11
Well, Got the tank on last night! Plumbed in my barb fitting and filled it up, works awesome! Also was sick of looking at the big ugly square airbox so I trimmed and smoothed it down to look a bit nicer! Thinking about buying a mikuni 22mm soon so I didnt wanna waste any money on a cone filter adapter for the stock 212cc! Lemme know what you guys think!
 

noseoil

Active Member
#12
Not to be too picky, but is that tank installed bass-ackwards? Seems to me you might want to put the small end to the front, cuts wind resistance & you should get better top speed!
 
#13
You asked what we think so I feel the need to answer...
It looks like your foot pegs are very low to the ground. You won't be able to lean into a tight turn with them that low. They will hit and spin you around, probably flipping you off the bike... Raise them a couple inches so the bike can lean more, you will be safer.
Your exhaust and air cleaner broke from vibration. Predators vibrate a lot. If you build it up to go faster, it vibrates more.

You mentioned you unhooked the governor but left the rod and gear in the engine, then you went for a wide open test drive.
Both are not a good idea. Leaving the governor parts in the engine then spinning it up more than 3600 rpm can easily cause the internal governor parts to come apart getting caught in the crank and blowing up the engine. A stock flywheel was not designed for high rpm and it can explode also. Many have... If you remove the governor as spin the engine higher, you need a billet flywheel and a much better connecting rod. You are flirting with disaster and injury. Adding a 22 Mikuni, jets, air filter etc is going to produce more power which will further stress the stock China parts. Something will fail.
My advice would be to get a billet flywheel first if not immediately. Others may disagree, but you asked what we think and I had to speak up for your safety.
I hope you understand.
Danford1
 
#14
You asked what we think so I feel the need to answer...
It looks like your foot pegs are very low to the ground. You won't be able to lean into a tight turn with them that low. They will hit and spin you around, probably flipping you off the bike... Raise them a couple inches so the bike can lean more, you will be safer.
Your exhaust and air cleaner broke from vibration. Predators vibrate a lot. If you build it up to go faster, it vibrates more.

You mentioned you unhooked the governor but left the rod and gear in the engine, then you went for a wide open test drive.
Both are not a good idea. Leaving the governor parts in the engine then spinning it up more than 3600 rpm can easily cause the internal governor parts to come apart getting caught in the crank and blowing up the engine. A stock flywheel was not designed for high rpm and it can explode also. Many have... If you remove the governor as spin the engine higher, you need a billet flywheel and a much better connecting rod. You are flirting with disaster and injury. Adding a 22 Mikuni, jets, air filter etc is going to produce more power which will further stress the stock China parts. Something will fail.
My advice would be to get a billet flywheel first if not immediately. Others may disagree, but you asked what we think and I had to speak up for your safety.
I hope you understand.
Danford1
Thanks , Danford I appreciate the forewarning! In pictures the pegs do look VERY low, but they're actually just about perfect for me and it leans MORE than enough believe it or not! As well, 99% of the time all I do is rip around my yard and go up and down the road to my shop! And yes, Ive been looking at other engine builds yesterday after I posted as well and a lot of guys suggest the ARC billet flywheel when going with a mikuni and other mods, just gotta get a little extra pocket change built up before I get some more parts! (just bought another project minibike too) I just wanted to work a few bugs out with the running gear, chain, converter, throttle etc before I threw some performance parts into it and its just to much fun right now so I haven't got into ripping the side cover off and pulling the gov guts out yet! As far as the gear goes, its coming out when I decide to do the flywheel, although do you know anyone first hand that has had a predator 212 gov gear blow up or cause any major carnage? Just wondering, Id like to see some pics! But after some research yesterday, Im thinking next mods are going to be billet flywheel with a 8* timing key, rip the gov guts out, and get the mikuni kit! As far as the rod goes, Ive seen a lot of guys just rocking a factory one with a 22 Mikuni and minor work, you know what roughly the RPM limit is on a factory rod, and do the aftermarket billet rods and flywheels help with vibration much at all?

I really do appreciate the input though! Most people these days would rather laugh at someone getting hurt when they could have prevented the problem by helping them in the first place!
 
#15
Not to be too picky, but is that tank installed bass-ackwards? Seems to me you might want to put the small end to the front, cuts wind resistance & you should get better top speed!
I wanted more of a chopper/big bike sloped back, sleek tank look to it! And, Im 265 pounds, I could gain more MPH on a diet than I would flipping my tank around! hahaha
 
#16
I personally don't know of anybody that had a governor assy fly apart. I've only been around Predators for a few months though, I don't have a lot of friends using them. I'm a bit isolated.
I read on the internet (we all know how true everything on the internet is, right?) about them coming apart.

In my limited experience with a Hemi, when I put on an ARC flywheel and ARC rod, the vibrations were worse. It could be due to the added rpm, I don't know but it vibrated worse with the good parts in it. Maybe I got a bad batch of parts? Maybe the parts I bought weren't balanced right from the factory? Who knows?.?.

No I don't know the factory rpm limits of the stock rod. Perhaps someone else can help answer that.

Thanks
Danford1
 
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