Goldie From the Farm
This is a mini bike I worked on for a friend. He named it Goldie.
The bike originally came from a farm in Wisconsin, and was painted green and yellow. The green and yellow could be for the “Green Bay Packers”, or for “John Deere” farm equipment. Probably doesn’t matter.
I assume it was a kit from the 1960s. Some mini bike kits were sold as individual preformed tubes that needed to be welded together by the purchaser. The frame has all stick welds. None of the tubes on this frame are aligned or symmetrical.
While none of the tubes on the frame are aligned, the frame itself is perfectly straight. It must have been welded together on a jig. It tracks perfectly, and the rear axle is perfectly aligned with the motor mounts.
The wheels are mismatched. The front wheel is wider than the rear, and has an odd locking needle bearing setup. The rear wheel is mounted on a live axle, and has 16 bolts (not kidding). The wheels were obviously not made for a mini bike. The farmer, I’m guessing, put the bike together with parts from other farm equipment.
The bike really is ingenious, and we tried to keep all of the “original” parts. It’s heavy, but it runs great. I added the forward foot pegs because the owner has really bad knees.
Anyway, it looks like a farmer’s old stock car, that he takes to the track on Saturday nights. Then he takes it back to the farm, welds it back together, and is ready for the next Saturday’s race. Just for fun...