Smithy's Bike Build

Starting Them Young.

Smithys Bike Build

Posted by Nicky Smith Fri, August 21, 2015 21:44:23

I like my toys and I always will but you can get too many kicking around so the Wife starts to moan about the costs of insurance and tax on things you don't use a great deal but to me these costs are acceptable because even if I don't drive them I get to look at them each day.

Now the key word in the paragraph was "Wife" from this you can take as fact on presumption that I am married and happily so (she reads this so I better tread carefully here) so it doesn't really matter how many toys I would like to have it's really about how many I am allowed and I hit saturation point marriage wise a toy or two ago therefore pushing my luck with any more would be tantamount to suicide...a new direction had to be thought of a way in which I could carry on with new projects and different toys that would not get me into trouble with my dear better half and I have to admit with me being a little slow on the uptake sometimes I had to give it some thought.

The idea when it came was brilliant though it was indeed a cracker. We are going to move to Derbyshire next summer so our youngest daughter was going to need transport to get to college and back this transport had already been agreed before hand as a 50cc moped. I am bike mad so it would follow that at least some of my kids would be as well and the youngest is certainly that.

So why buy a bike that already works nearer the time and for my daughters 16th birthday? Why not get a project now that I can do with my baby girl that will teach her how her bike works, how to fix it but best of all give us some quality time together over the next few months stripping an old bike back to it's bare bones and rebuilding it then spraying it into the colour she wants!

I came up with this idea a few weeks ago now but there was no rush to get going because 50cc mopeds really don't come up expensive so I was just having a look every now and then but last night I came across a newly advertised kymco yup 50 2002 plate for the princely sum of £50. A few emails and somehow magically shoe horning a moped into the back of a Land Rover Discovery later it was home in the back garden with my youngest grinning from ear to ear and asking if would could start on taking it apart in the dark. This is a bad idea of course so the start date will be later in the weekend when we are a bit more organised.

So another project brought into the homestead in a great way giving me time with my daughter and another project fuelled nut in the making.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f15/min200/11892179_10153518027066054_2160441991445919302_n_zpszbg5z9dg.jpg

moved to correct section

i look forward to how this is going to turn out!

are your plans a fixer upper and leave relatively alone, or are you going to customise it somehow?

It will be a straight up rebuild giving the young un an insight into how bikes work etc.

She wants to change the colour but apart from that it will stay standard for insurance etc.

Looking forward to it though it should be fun for us both!

Nice one mate......and quality time with your daughter too......win, win.....

Yep thats the idea Hopefully I can keep her interested eh!

I have had a long day at work some 14 hours in total so after a nice curry cooked by Wifey I sat looking at my laptop for all of 30 seconds before thinking "bugger this" and put the virtual prison down and headed outside into the garden determined to do something physical that didn't involve a computer or paperwork.

I stood perusing my kingdom when Smithys scooter caught my eye. I had tried to charge up the battery in it over the last couple of days but it is way past it's best holding a maximum of 6 volts at any given time so trying to start it was out of the question until I realised that there was a nicely charged car battery in the shed that if I connected some jump leads too...

I was sure I had some fresh petrol too so I dug that out of the mower shed put it into the scooter and turned the little engine over. I was quite surprised it turned over if I am honest but once it dragged some fresh fuel through the carb it coughed and spluttered into hesitant life. I got too eager too quickly and gave it some revs and it died a death quickly. Pressing the starter button again I wondered if I would be lucky enough to get life from the old girl again then sure enough it fired up again so this time I let it tick over for a while before getting over eager with the throttle once more.

At this point my daughter practically jumped out of her bedroom window with excitement then bombed it down the stairs pulling on boots as she went to come outside and jump on it running. The grin on that kids face was as big as mine and she started working over which electrically bits worked and which needed looking at. Turns out we are all good but for the indicators electrically which again was a turn up for the books!

She then set too pumping up the flat tyres and I took her for her first driving lesson along the 20 feet of concrete we had available in the back garden showing how to use the brakes "That's just like a normal bike Dad" and then how not to rev the throttle too much or you go flying away out of control. The funniest highlight of the night was when she hit the horn and the sound it makes is the "Beep Beep" you get from the cartoon character Road Runner which has now become the scooters name. She seems to be a natural (like her Dad of course) and I don't think it will be too long before she has this ready to learn to ride on.

We were laughing at that beep beep so hard whilst driving forward and backwards across the back yard that Wifey turned up asking what all the noise was about then looked at us and started snapping pictures really quickly...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f15/min200/11889588_10152982785641174_509572174793722106_n_zpsda3tcmaj.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f15/min200/11889443_10152982785611174_1030706690679737817_n_zpsnc9nwzwy.jpg

As for what needs doing next well that will be final electrics along with all body panels removed for repair and painting. The tyres will want replacing so the hunt will begin for those on a budget if possible (they wont be rubbish though they need to be good!) and it looks like it will not be long before this little project starts taking shape.

My one and only child, my little son is only 2 but im looking forward to doing projects with him. Already started asking my wife about getting him a mini moto. One day . . .

Enjoy the project and hope she becomes a die hard biker. Looking forward to reading your project.

Thanks Steve you just have to train them young

Yep she loves bikes already and by her reaction to learning how to use just the throttle yesterday she will be on teh big bikes before I know it!

Panels & Pieces

Smithys Bike Build

Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, November 08, 2015 16:38:57

Well it took her a while and some not so subtle hints from me like "get your ass outside and do some work on your bike project or I am selling it" but young Smithy decided that today was the day to actually get the panels off of her moped to see what we would be dealing with underneath it all.

Turns out once she gets some enthusiasm the kid likes to get stuck in and she soon found where I left all of my spare tools and apart from the odd stuck screw or bolt she stripped out the whole thing herself!

Unlike me who has to work on the driveway exposed to the elements Smithys little workshop is in the greenhouse as I have nothing growing now nor will I before our move next year so she may as well stay dry whilst working.

So she started with no idea where to go with it but she looked and chose a spot then began...

I wandered off working on the Land Rover and when I came back...

Not too shabby for a 15 year old in just over an hour eh! The indicators didn't work but I found the reason why pretty easily the relay was not even wired up! So when that was reconnected all lights work apart from the off side rear one that is fubar so will have to be replaced.

The framework is sound just needs a coat of hammerite then a full service and respray and all should be well.

This £50 moped is still surprising me!

£50 for a moped Bargain ... sounds like a easy project so far

any clue on colors yet ? looking forward to next update.

you have to start them young, this is my nephew he now is a bit motorcycle mad at the moment.. can't wait until he is old enough to have his first bike

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p562/classickid21/kawasaki%20er5%20a3%201999%20project/134A2EDE-E98F-40E4-91CB-6596ED98B3F7_zpsz5ecdmtp.jpg