What bikes ride sweet and ride horrid your experience. which do you hate?

#21
Well I'am with H Dave , my Powell is the best rider I have . It's big enough for adults handles great on the dirt and on pavement and rides smooth . My second is my rupp with 2" 1/2 extended swingarm rides great and the added length makes it comfy .
 
#22
I too agree with Dave. My Taco 100 with trail tamer forks rides very smooth and handles well. Although I've never owned a rigid frame bike and my speedway scorpion is far from done so I don't have much to compare it to.
 

Rupp 72

Active Member
#23
My rupp TT500 is a great ride. Very comfortable with the tall handle bars, the seat and full suspension is perfect, not to rigid or too soft. I am 6'2" and i like the foot-peg placement. Not to mention it is overall a light bike with a big block five horse, two speed jackshaft, and the bigger tires. I drove that minibike to the farm and back for a year and never had a problem, going down the road wide open at 50mph (I changed the gearing) and the steering feels responsive and not squirley. _DSC0655.jpg
 
#25
I grew up with a Honda Trail 70 after my Lil Indian was stolen, I have a few Trail 70's that I and a couple friends of mine hit the 2 tracks in sandy Michigan. Between the seat, suspension along with the smoothness and power of the engine, I really enjoy riding it.
I have a couple Super Broncs and a Pennys ElTigre still in the building stage...I can't wait to critique.
 
#26
My Super Bronc is the best riding mini I have (if we consider them a mini)...it's a utility bike, that'll plow through anything, haul a trailer, climb a dang wall....and once you get it out on the road, it feels like it wants to be a street bike...rides great and very smooth.

Of my more traditional sized mini bike's, my Sensation Mike Bike rides very nice, and my daughters Pepto Bismol Pink ARCO (believe it or not) is one of the smoothest riding small mini's I have.

Now my Bird War Eagle...I love it, but it's a different story....could be the OG tires, or the geometry, or just the raw power of it's tecumseh 4 hp motor, but it will start flyin' before you know it, then will get this scary speed wobble thing going on that makes your brain sweat..:hammer: ....and causes one to let of the throttle real fast :laugh:

And my boonie....don't get me talkin' ....I almost named her Christine.....predator and a one speed jackshaft don't mix with that backward slant of the rear frame rails....she will dump one on their a$$ real quick. (don't ask me how I know.....:shrug:....:doah:.....:laugh:)

But good, or bad ride, I love 'em all !!!
 
Last edited:

joshua. c.

Well-Known Member
#27
My 2 best riding bikes are my green chris cycle and my blue bike which is made out of an arunthetic charger. I just rode a rupp roadster 2 I have for the first time and found the suspension a bit stiff for my liking but until yesterday the shocks were frozen so that may play a role. between my green and blue bike, my green chris cycle is better for smoothness, it takes quite a bump to feel it but it lacks in ground clearance and the steering is a bit squirrely. my blue bike has ground clearance and solid steering and is ok on suspension but it can be a bit bouncy at high speed. for road riding id give it to my green chris cycle and for trail ridding id give it to my blue arunthetic charger. now that I think about it, for going to as many mini bike events as I have and how into mini bike I am I actually haven't tried a lot of other bikes. I'll have to make a point of fixing that.

these picks are a bit out of date I need to take some new ones of what the bikes look like now.



 
Last edited:
#28
I'm resurrecting this old thread. I feel others can benifit from it and expand on it.

I currently have 5 minibikes :) (Maybe not for long, they are for sale).
I think the best riding one, and probably my favorite one, is a Sears Puddle Jumper. I installed hydraulic shocks from a 125 Benelli motorcycle and used the new seat foam from a Rupp Roadster2 for my custom Karen seat. It has a lot of ground clearance, a good working front suspension and it comfortable to sit on. It also has a 10hp Briggs OHV Animal engine for great power :)
In 2nd and 3rd position I would say my Rupp Roadster2 and Rupp Hustler. They weren't beat out by much, I think if the Puddle Jumper had it's normal bouncy rear spring "shocks", it wouldn't get the top slot, the Rupps would. Those hydraulic shocks really work well.
Hmmm put the hydraulic shocks on a Rupp and ????
In 4th would be my Sears Green Streak. It isn't as refined as the Rupp's and has bouncy rear spring "shocks". It is probably the fastest mini I own at the moment. It has a built Predator, over 10hp and has a torque converter. It really hauls ass!
My Manco Thunderbird would get 5th spot. It has front and rear suspension, but a suspended seat instead of a trailing arm. The handle bars are low also. LOL it still rides WAY better than a solid frame bike with No suspension though.

I'm happy to ride all of them at the moment. To bad the weather sucks right now ...

Danford1
 
Last edited:
#29
My worst riding bike is my DriveX Pack Mule. No suspension. Small tires. Bumps almost loosen your teeth. Band brake sucks, but it'll climb trees. Endless torque.
Next is my Trail Jet. Steers and stops good, but it's a small mini and the suspension bottoms easily.
Then my Honda Trail 70. Suspension is a little soft for me, but the biggest problem is that the front end washes out easily. Probably not much weight on the front tire. If you touch the front brake on a turn, you're going to low side it.
The best is my Rupp Roadster 2. Suspension is stiff enough for my 210 lbs. Maybe even a little stiff, but it works. brakes are not nearly as good as the Honda, but the front tire is totally predictable. It's the best handling mini I've ever ridden.

Joe
 
#30
Thanks for bringing this thread back. Since the replies died out in 2015 OldMiniBikes has gained a lot of new members (like yourself), who can share their experiences and benefit from reading the previous replies.
One of the most comfortable (street) bikes I have ever ridden is the Sears Roper. My son and I have had two of them, and even for a big guy (I'm 6'1"/290 lbs) it is very comfortable. Apparently, they are not built for much speed, however, as they get kind of squirrley (drifting side to side) in the handling department with speeds over about 30 mph. Our best off road bike BY FAR has been the Super Bronc Vt-8. Combining the (beefy) full suspension with the large wide low pressure "flotation" tires produces an extremely comfortable ride even on very rough terrain. The Super bronc is really at home on the trail, not so much on the street. It is kind of like driving a bus on asphalt or concrete. It likes to track in a straight line, and turns are kind of a chore. We also have a 1970 Rupp Roadster. Cool bikes, bit definitely way too small and a no - go for a "big man" like me , or really and truly even an "average" sized adult rider. The suspension is way too soft and nearly bottoms out even with my 180 lb son on it.
Michael
 
Last edited:
#31
Further discussion having been championed above, I note that most of the mini bikes described in the last few posts are equipped with "toy" shock absorbers, relying on a spring. The exception to that is the vintage Benelli shock I sent Danford the ebay link to a few months ago. It is an oleo shock. I would have disassembled it, replaced the seals, and replaced the oil. After 40 plus years of life, the oil is gone and it's a pure spring shock now.

Like I did for the Tote Gote Nova with the same shocks in 2014.

Shocks1.jpg Shocks2.jpg Shocks3.jpg

I could ride this anywhere. Done4.jpg

Of course the Powells were already mentioned. The rear shock was just a spring, but the front end contained an internal spring riding on bronze bushings, and with decent DOT rated tires, handled like a Harley. P45.JPG Speaking of riding smooth, and yes, I too am tired of seeing these bikes in a transparent attempt at "show and tell" this Mini Gote rides extremely well, despite being equipped with the toy shocks. Originally, it also had the Italian oleo shocks, but I thought I'd see how these worked. Another internal spring, bronze bushing front end, and DOT tires, just make all the difference in the world, as well as having some "weight" to it. I had to bump the power up on this one, but it's a great rider. OMB25.JPG

There is absolutely no comparison between a Rupp "anything" and an oleo equipped machine. The Cat Endura line has the same shock absorber system, but since they aren't "popular" like the over priced Rupps are, no one mentioned them. LOL!! (They appeared to be a Rupp copy) This is the Endura I restored a few years ago. Endura2.JPG The bottom end of the Endura line was this Wildcat that wanted to be a swing arm bike, but extending the forks with a couple of springs made it cheaper than the other Enduras. 18 Finished.JPG

Speaking of which, the first time I used those Ebay vintage Italian shock absorbers was on this Taco 99. With the Trail Tamer front end, it was probably the best handing "small bike" I ever had. It was also very quick for a grocery getter with the tweaked out flattie. Done2.JPG

One of my worst handling front-suspension bikes was the Cat Hustler. I always felt that I was falling off of it, the front end vibrated, and of course all of my weight was on the rear tire. Hustler4.JPG SS102914.JPG

As far as lame attempts at suspension though, the Cat 400-series bikes offered almost nothing. 400X Right.JPG SS102887.JPG SS102910.JPG

So I figure these are mini bikes, and never designed to be motorcycles. When this Flexo came out, Flexo 32.JPG or this Stellar, S16.JPG no one was making suspended bikes we kids could ride, except in Japan and Europe, and those were 125cc street pigs.

There were always the lower end models of Cat to chose from, some even equipped with an almost non-functioning spring below the trees, SS102907.JPG and some even cheaper where they didn't even bother with suspension. BS side.JPG Purple Done2.JPG

So I too am hoping to benefit all and sundry from all of this bragging- er....information. And note, none of these bikes have OHV engines. Where I needed more horsepower, I built flatheads to provide it, except in two cases where I bought a long block and a complete engine. And yes, I am laughing my ass off right now. And shaking my head.
 
Last edited:
#33
Jeff, thanks, but "pride" isn't the feeling I get. Anyone can restore these bikes, if they're willing to learn new things, source parts, and ask questions. The joy for me is bringing something back from the dead. Joy. Not Pride. :scooter:

My entire post was a facetious posting flurry of obvious old man libido issues, couched in some actual rhetoric towards the theme of the original post. My last sentence in that post pretty much says it all. :laugh:

For those interested, a historical perspective of the Cerini company, and their relationship to early mini bikes, and motorcycles, and that relationship, ie Taco and Hodaka, and Steens, can lead to some alternative solutions for those looking for suspension significantly better than a chrome compression spring, wound around a bit of plastic and steel tube. Virtually every Italian shock absorber for a few years was a Ceriani copy.
 
#34
Thanks for posting all the pics Dave! A nice variety. When I started riding mini bikes in 68', I was 12. Comfort didn't matter. Now I only ride my Trojan with front and back suspension and a comfortable seat. I hear a lot of guys say those Powells ride nice.
 
#35
Thanks Dave for sending the Ebay link to the Benelli's. I took the springs off and was going to open up the tubes for O ring replacement but the friggin things worked fine. They didn't leak and the shock valving action worked great. I didn't see the need to do anything else but paint them and install them. The minibike will only get ridden occasionally. They made a huge difference in ride quality over the "toy" spring shocks.

I agree with you on the ride quality of the Cat 400 type bikes. I had a Duster MX and it was like riding on a non sprung mini.
It reminded me of my old Ruttman and a Cheetah I had 40 years ago. Zero suspension but huge fun factors :)

I'm enjoying this thread and learning a lot. Thank you for the info and posting those beautiful minibikes.

Danford1
 
Top