Mini Motor Madness: 2

I know what you’re thinking: Yet another ExhaustNotes.us project to be half completed and then shunted aside to gather dust in Tinfiny’s ferrous expanses. I can’t blame you, that’s been the pattern throughout my life. It seems like I get a lot done but I don’t get anything Done with a capital “D.” My shed is littered with the semi-cool and the semi-finished.

But there’s reason for hope on this one. Really. Unlike the Zed project that has plateaued due to funding issues everything has been purchased for Mini Motor Madness. The final piece of the puzzle is on order and the only thing stopping me now is United Parcel Service and assembly.

In Mini Motor Madness Part One you were treated to an overview of the little bicycle engine but I still needed a host bike to set “The Jewel” into. I was looking for something vintage like this 1941 Monkey Ward. These bikes are sorta hard to come by though and they run from $250 on up to the sale price of Tinfiny Ranch. The more I thought about it the less I liked the idea of butchering a classic bicycle. No, better leave those oldies to collectors who can stow them away for their heirs to auction off post-funeral.

I started looking at new bikes, which led me to China’s little mom & pop store, Wal-Mart. Wally-World has a sweet 26” Huffy standard style bike for only $88 delivered to my door. Just think: new tires, shiny paint and no rust anywhere! At that low-low price why bother with garage sales and repairing trashed bicycles? So I took the plunge on a white-framed example that should look striking combined with The Jewel’s black fuel tank and chain guard. Assembly is not included with mail-order bikes but would you want some ham-fisted Wal-Mart garden center employee messing with your brand new ride?

I’ve also tapped into a knowledge base at the Facebook page, Motorized Bicycle Builders. These gnarly veterans of the tiny-engine wars have seen it all and done it all. They have given the $88 Huffy two thumbs up providing I scrap the stock wheels, buy heavy-duty replacements, strip off the fenders and add a front brake. Unfortunately, this is valuable information that I will have to learn the hard way.

As recommended by MBM I will replace the flimsy fender braces with something more substantial and repack the wheel bearing with quality grease. I really want to finish a project for once and The Jewel may be the start of a new me: A me that completes the task at hand before…