tote gote
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:31 amwhile we're waiting for the other shoe to drop on this arctic season...for your amusement...here's the machine that we kids heard about in the early 60s and mimicked in our garage with old lawn mower engines and black pipe...dad was a major AC/refrigeration guy (dabbled in cryogenics with roots in the ammonia days with knowledge bou cou to stare down the shiney shoes and suits before they were even aware of their mistake(s)...with a treasure truck of shafts, bearings, torches, and sockets I could only gaze upon and wimper.
http://pcrich.com/TOTEGOTE
http://www.mts.net/~ghygaard/totehistory.htm
http://users.infoconex.com/~ramrod/1963tgmanual.htm
I couldn't find any web picture of these climbing trees or the fun stuff, but if you could hang on, it would claw and insist like a date who refuses to take "no" for an answer.
basically a 2 wheeled tractor in the day of the first sears riding mowers and $.22 gasoline.
8yo older bro jim and 2yo older bro paul co-built the first...fuckers left me out.
10yo older bro bud and jim had built thinwalled mini-bikes with stolen wheelbarrow wheels previous and wailed away at 25-30 mph for 2-3 years before the police stopped being amused and population grew to curb that wild hair...so a 2 wheeled tractor meant woods...no heat that mattered...and a chance to stretch out a little wider in the self identity industry.
one that got squeezed out of our hands had a 4 sp AJS mc trans, one had a scooter front brake, some had AG tread, some had wide 20" turf wheels off a lawn tractor, the last builds had torque convertors and 5hp Briggs...down from 7hps both Briggs and Kohler...some were heavy...but brutal...we pushed the envelope and drew blood.
had we stuck with that, we likely would have come up with something like the Ruckus...we were right close...tho I'm sure we could have had a torque monster on a leash rather than a key fob.
I swear the next 5 years, scooters, not motorcycles are going to explode...and a Ruckus on steriods without the Big Ruckus gingerbread styling...more raw...naked, yet a ball buster...would catch on as we head towards Mad Max-ville.
...but I digress...the fuckers left me out...so I had to steal, beg, borrow, and wash damn trays in the school cafeteria for money...wasn't a soul stepping up to the plate to lift me up for a free ride. also went from hammering with a cresent wrench on a screwdriver to welding and machining...gotta go.
http://pcrich.com/TOTEGOTE
http://www.mts.net/~ghygaard/totehistory.htm
http://users.infoconex.com/~ramrod/1963tgmanual.htm
I couldn't find any web picture of these climbing trees or the fun stuff, but if you could hang on, it would claw and insist like a date who refuses to take "no" for an answer.
basically a 2 wheeled tractor in the day of the first sears riding mowers and $.22 gasoline.
8yo older bro jim and 2yo older bro paul co-built the first...fuckers left me out.
10yo older bro bud and jim had built thinwalled mini-bikes with stolen wheelbarrow wheels previous and wailed away at 25-30 mph for 2-3 years before the police stopped being amused and population grew to curb that wild hair...so a 2 wheeled tractor meant woods...no heat that mattered...and a chance to stretch out a little wider in the self identity industry.
one that got squeezed out of our hands had a 4 sp AJS mc trans, one had a scooter front brake, some had AG tread, some had wide 20" turf wheels off a lawn tractor, the last builds had torque convertors and 5hp Briggs...down from 7hps both Briggs and Kohler...some were heavy...but brutal...we pushed the envelope and drew blood.
had we stuck with that, we likely would have come up with something like the Ruckus...we were right close...tho I'm sure we could have had a torque monster on a leash rather than a key fob.
I swear the next 5 years, scooters, not motorcycles are going to explode...and a Ruckus on steriods without the Big Ruckus gingerbread styling...more raw...naked, yet a ball buster...would catch on as we head towards Mad Max-ville.
...but I digress...the fuckers left me out...so I had to steal, beg, borrow, and wash damn trays in the school cafeteria for money...wasn't a soul stepping up to the plate to lift me up for a free ride. also went from hammering with a cresent wrench on a screwdriver to welding and machining...gotta go.