Mini bike then motorcycle

4getgto

4getgto

Bill from Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Senior Member
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Was looking for something to play with this summer. Bought a Coleman 6 hp mini bike that was almost brand new. Thought it would be fun. Fun it was but comfortable for a 64 y.o. guy it was not..
IMG_20220418_075055.jpg Worked great just not for my body. Bought it relatively cheap and resold it 2 weeks later.. These things are hot right now. Still being a little bored and came across this...
2022-05-11_18-06-39_389.jpg Its a Honda 250 Rebel. Bought this for about what I sold the mini bike for . Pretty small bike but seems nice to travel on the back roads and lot more comfortable to ride. Definitely not something you'd do highways with as its just to small to maintain highway speeds.. Just thought I'd share the things I pi$$ my money away on. Hopefully it can satisfy my boredom for the summer.
 
Lance Skene said:
Thats cool... have you had bikes before this? My daughter rides a 500 Rebel and I ride an 1100 Shadow.
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I was into bikes big time many years ago. Did a number a trips with them. This ones good for now. Not sure how much I'm going to get back into it. If at all.
That Shadow would get my attention though..
 
I like the Shadow and it has been a great ride but it is 25 yrs old now so its starting to annoy me with minor electrical issues... not a big deal but when I went to a Honda the idea was that I wouldnt have to work on it.... I had my fill of wrenching on bikes with several British bikes and a couple Harleys over the years.... Im not really looking to replace it just yet... but Im sure it wont be long till my daughter starts giving me a hard time about my relic. Lol
 
well two years ago I had to replace the stator and regulator, last year I had to hard wire the stator wires because the plug connector was getting dark in color... thats apparantly a common problem with several brands of bikes around this era... it just normal aging so if you google '3 wire stator plug fix' it comes up alot.

Now, altho it was running fine when I parked last fall, this spring it has erratic spark on the right front plug, two cylinders each with two plugs, I tried new plugs last week but that wasnt the answer so I might need an ignition box... right now there is too many tractors in the shop so I havent looked into it much yet... but riding weather is here so I am gettin' the itch... and I drool just a little when I pass by the Triumph store ;)
 
Time has a way for degrading things. Rubber and electrical parts tend to go down hill more than others.
Haven't look at the Triumph motorcycles for awhile but this one sure caught my eye. Oh to be young again. Just kidding.
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When I was 16 I rode a Triumph 500 Speed Twin. No lights, No mirrors, Straight pipe exhaust. Put the engine together out of an apple crate full of parts. Barely had money to buy gas and oil let alone parts. Assembled the engine without books. Just build it so it looks right. Surprising it ran at all. I only got a few hundred miles out of it. It was several more years before I was introduced to the concept of ring end gap. At that time a piston and rings would cost me $100 and take 6 months to arrive from England. So I sold it.
Don
 
I have the same minibike I got half price from TSC. Guy bought it, brought it back after a little over a week cause it quit running. It appeared to have the wrong spark plug and wasn't even tight. New plug and she fired on first pull.
You are correct, I'm only 5'6", but it is a little rough. I have a springer seat kit for it that hopefully helps.


I would love a street bike, but wife thinks I'm going to get killed on one so not a battle I'm going to fight. She has agreed to get a rail buggy we can both ride /drive so the hunt is on for one.....and some funds.
 
My first 3 bikes were a couple early 70s Triumphs and a '68 BSA... I hung on to the 72 Bonneville for years after I quit riding it thinking I might build something out of it but eventually sold it about 10 yrs ago...I got a pic from when I sold it.... probably 15 yrs after it was last running. Also had the Shadow and an 1100 Yamaha Maxim at that time... and I was starting to collect tractors... somethings had to go. Lolol

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My first was a 1966 Bonneville, wished a thousand times I'd kept it, sold it to a friend who moved to Arkansas, he chopped and sold it. I was looking for an old cushman or something to putz around on when a friend of mine said I have a motorcyle I'll give you. My wife and I went to look at it, she said go ahead and get it, you'll never get it running anyway as it had been sitting for over 8 years. Had it running the next morning, rough, but running. So made it road worthy and she hates for me to ride it, 1977 Honda CB750A. I'm only 72, what could go wrong.
 
Had a Honda trail 90. Turned the speedometer over twice. Traded it for a 1956 Studebaker Low Boy.
Had a Honda 305 Scrambler. Lost in a house fire. Went to the 1964 Northwest meet of the American Motorcycle Association on a borrowed two speed Cushman. Walking around looking at all the $2000 Harley Davidson cruisers, $2000 was a lot of money back then.
Don
 
TAHOE said:
I would love a street bike, but wife thinks I'm going to get killed on one so not a battle I'm going to fight. She has agreed to get a rail buggy we can both ride /drive so the hunt is on for one.....and some funds.
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my wife said the same thing. I went and bought my bike and rode it home. She didn’t say anything really. Just said my life insurance better be paid up
 
Lance Skene said:
My first 3 bikes were a couple early 70s Triumphs and a '68 BSA... I hung on to the 72 Bonneville for years after I quit riding it thinking I might build something out of it but eventually sold it about 10 yrs ago...I got a pic from when I sold it.... probably 15 yrs after it was last running. Also had the Shadow and an 1100 Yamaha Maxim at that time... and I was starting to collect tractors... somethings had to go. Lolol

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And I had an Yamaha 1100 special . Miss it dearly
 
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