I’m exploring exactly how many of Bultakenstein’s cast-off parts can be used on the SST frame. I don’t know what will come of this, but I am certainly having fun.
The shocks are intended for the front of a kid-sized Chinese four-wheeler; I slapped them on as a temporary stand-in for a somewhat nicer but equally stubby pair of 9.3″ alloy-body shocks I ordered, which are coming slow-boat from Guangzhou and should arrive in late January. Surprisingly, these steel-body specials ($20/ea) actually don’t feel too bad when giving it the highly scientific “sit on it and bounce” test. Given the limited length between the suspension mounting points and their distance from the swingarm pivot, about 2.5″–3″ of rear wheel travel is all I can realistically expect from this arrangement, no matter what damper units I use. (If you’ll recall, all the Yamaha DTs and YZs that used this “Monocross” style of swingarm had a shock that went clear up to almost the steering tube.) So, if the other shocks don’t work any better, I’ll just go with these and not be too disappointed. Unlike my other projects, I’m giving myself permission on this one to wing it, do whatever I feel like, and just have fun coming up with something goofy — even if it ends up having limited functionality and no practical application.
I really wanted to use my spare Bultaco motor, solely for economic reasons, but it’s not to be. I went ahead and chopped off the upper rear engine mounts, because the chances of finding them useful in any case are pretty slim. With them out of the way, I could physically get the Bultaco engine in the frame cradle, but situating it so it had a clear run for the drive chain and the exhaust header would mean mounting the engine so high in the frame that the spark plug cap would be touching the backbone and you’d have to pull the engine to remove the head.
I’m keeping an eye out for a cheap Blaster locally, while also watching Ebay for a rebuildable bottom end. Right now there are 5 or 6 complete, running Blaster motors on Ebay, but the going price is $1100–1500. I can buy an entire ATV for that price if I’m willing to watch and wait.
Perhaps something even smaller than a Blaster 200 might be ideal — wouldn’t an 80cc mini motocross engine be a hoot? Hmm…
