Welcome to the Dark Side

[Scootmeister]

People thought I had gone to the dark side when I swapped my HT for a chainsaw engine. Well, now I've really gone over the cliff. I was messing around the other day and a guy offered me a Sachs Prima G3 goped for a "song". You might call it a "barn find" ( term is grossly overused to sell a rust covered piece of junk) since it had been sitting in a shed for several years. My wife nearly puked when she saw it in the back of the SUV leaking tranny fluid on the beige carpet. The good news is the bike is nearly all there, the bad news is it needs a lot of work. Anyway,,I've been restoring this baby for several days now and am darned impressed with the quality of the parts. Sachs is German so you would expect good stuff, but these things are built just like motorcycles. There is a problem, though. I can't seem to get the thing done because I keep finding myself gravitating back to my MBs to ride or to tweek this or tweek that. Is the grass really greener or is my eyesight just getting bad? I'll let you know when I get the ped up and runnng. I will tell you this though. I have joined the Ped forums for help and it's a totally different world over there (is it really the Dark Side or am I blinded by my attachment to MBs)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ludwig II]

They're different sides of the same coin. The Sachs is a real world workhorse, to get you to and from work etc with no fuss, MBs are a tinkering hobby from what I can see.

 

[Scootmeister]

Hi Ludwig: The ped is now a bare frame, two boxes of parts, and a motor. I tore her down to take inventory and to inspect all the parts. I'll need a few replacements, but overall I'm happy with the condition. Today I rebuilt the wheels, cleaned the 30 years of grime off, cleaned and repacked the bearings, and greased the drum brake pivots. My next step will be pickin tires so I have a rolling chassis to work with. I was going with Michilin Gazelles, but some guys say they are heavy and cost MPH. From there I'll use the old bb and marbel trick on the tank to clear the rust out. Then I'll tackle the engine which needs new rings and bearings. The cool thing about these engines is the tranny gears and bearings ride in gear lube. Also, it has a tiny weeny motorcycle type clutch. I've learned there are several upgrade kits as well to boost HP. I like your statement about it being a workhouse. We'll see when I get her up and running. In the meantime, it's 55 degrees out and I'm going for a ride on my MB!!!!!

 

[Ludwig II]

What size are the rims? 16"? If they're 17" you can get road legal soft grade tyres in Europe from people like Sava. On the other hand, if you're just going in a straight line in the dry, then there's no point to them.

 

[Scootmeister]

Both rims are 17". I'll probably just go a head and order the Gazelles today. Everyone seems to get great wear out of them and they seem to be very puncture resistant. I've looked at IRC and Kendas as well, but don't like the tread design as much. I won't be racing even though I'm thinking about a performance kit, so tires with a heavy grip aren't that important. Besides, I'm thinking the shipping on Savas from overseas might be too high. I have Bontragers on my everyday MB and they have been great.