The Bobster

BUILD DESCRIPTION

I was into small displacement bikes in the 70's and stumbled onto a really clean stock '79 Hobbit at a garage sale. I've got a '78 VW Bus and I figured they made a nice pair for camping. Well, my 15 year old son, Bobby lost his mind when he saw it. I've been talking about building a cafe racer moped for a few years and I thought doing a couple of these would make a nice father/son project. The Hobbit is too clean to mess with so I found a '76 Cimatti City Bike and a '77 Garelli Eureka Flex. I'm doing the City Bike V1 first and (if he helps!) going to make it Bobby's Bobster. Planning on new 16 x 2.75 tires (3" wide if I can find any...) and have a whole list of new parts. I salvaged some chinese shocks, handlebars and a few odds and ends to make a cafe-style seat. The hope is, I get back into the knack of making a 2 stroke run and Bobby gets to cut his teeth on some mechanical work. Going to keep this one mostly stock and slow. Should look cool though, found a great '66 Suzuki tank on ebay. Wish me luck. Update: Installed a CDI and new tires. Going to seal and mount the tank next. I also mocked up the side cover and seat design for the parts search (if I can find something) or sheet metal shop (if I can't). If you've got side covers or a seat, hit me up. Second Update: Built solid and cool tank mounts (did not add a top bar) and ordered a new cafe seat. Ground off the tabs and junk from the the frame, stripped it and the fenders and light bucket to bare metal and have begun painting. Got new clutch parts and a bunch of gaskets, will reassemble the engine this week while the paint cures. Ordered all new cables, pedals, cranks and drag bars. Third Update: Tank lined and mounted with fuel lines, still might need a clutch housing (I had to make a shim to mount the orig one) but engine installed, coil/CDI mounted (have spark) and drag bars on. Still need to upholster seat but will try to start it tomorrow. Starting to look like a bike.