'75 Mint 400

[dirtymartini]

Hello to All!
I just wrestled my brothers Mint 400 away from him after bugging him about it for the last 20 years! I was probably the last one to ride it and that was in 1978; it has been sitting ever since.
The bike was purchased from Drew Smith in late '75 or early '76; it still has ISDT qualifier paint marks on the engine cases!
I joined POG about a month ago and now I'm ready to get the old girl working. I need lots of advice!
Should I paint or powdercoat the frame?
As far as the engine goes I'm a fairly decent mechanic, but I want this to be done right! Does anyone in POG do this kind of work? It feels like the piston is stuck, but I didn't want to use to much force. All help and advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Paul

[firstturn]

Paul,
  Welcome to the Penton Owners Web Site.  You have tremendous find with the history of being a bike that Drew Smith rode in the qualifiers.  My questions are as follows:
1.  Are you going to race it or just ride it and show it?
2.  The marks on the bike from the qualifiers designate History and to some people would be worth keeping on the bike for the proof of past ownership.
3.  Powder coating a frame takes away from originality, but it is great for racing and preserving the bike.

  I hope you can tell that I am impressed with the bike from the past ownership, but I will try to help you in anyway to do with bike as you please.
  For the rebuilding of the engine I would HIGHLY recomend Kip Kern.  He is a member of the Penton Group and does GREAT work.
  Great find!

Ron Carbaugh

[ktm96duke]

if it were me-i'd have to think really hard about doing anything to that bike short of freshening it up-it's too valuable a piece of history to completely restore i think.

JP
1980-1981 all sizes

[tmc3c]

Hi Paul, Welcome to POG !! I just completed a frame up resto. on my 76 250GS and I powder coated my frame and had Kip Kern rebuild my motor.I am racing mine but in your case you have a lot of history and like the DUKE said a refresh of the engine might be all you need and with that being said Kip Kern is the best!! The motor will be new again and done like it came from the factory!!!

Thomas Carmichael

[Steve Minor]

Let me throw in my 2 cents......

Sure it'd look great with fresh paint, powdercoat, etc, but in the process you will have distroyed a piece of history. You can always do a total restoration later. I think I'd get it cleaned up and running but leave it as original as possible....atleast for now.

Great find and good luck

Steve

[dirtymartini]

Thanks for all the replies, I agree about the history of the bike and preserving it. More than likely, once I have it running again, I will show it off more than anything. An occasional trail ride, maybe even a Vintage race. The frame has some surface rust that I would like to touch up. Anybody have any recommendations for frame paint?
I have the front forks out now for a rebuild. The rear shocks I'm not sure about, maybe I'll try and clean them up and see how they act.
  I remember meeting Drew at an Enduro (1975?)  shortly after my brother bought the bike from him. A real gentleman.
  For years I wondered how I would get this bike running again If I managed to get it away from my brother. This Owners Group and Forum is a godsend!  Thanks !

[hrbay]

Paul, I happened into a Puch roller, that had all the ama stickies on the frame and wheels and decided, to keep them intact just for the novelty of it. It's rare to have the history attached as you do. I'd work on this one with care, rust can be real ugly tho'. Welcome...

GC

[Big Mac]

Paul- If you're busy with your non-garage life, have the money to spend and the time to get your KTM motor in line, by all means, send it out to one of the KTM engine experts here like Mr. Kern.

But if you are a tinkerer with a modest toolbox, of limited financial means and don't mind diving in, you'll find this motor to be about the easiest on planet earth to tear into and get back together with very little trouble. Having never gone deeper than a top end replacement prior to Penton/KTM projects, I've now gone completely through 3 motors with no special tools or equipment and have only had to send the cranks out to someone else to rebuild. The case and main bearing design allows the engine to come apart like butter.

Of the 3 I've tackled, one had a lot of hours and miles on it, but all were in amazingly good shape and I left the original crank bearings/races in all three--may be the ultimate sin, but the way-oversize bearings and races showed zero signs of wear and shiny clean, and no problems in the hours since then. Plus I can easily go back inside later to repair if needed, so I don't sweat it much. I last bought a '77 400 that was pretty clean, original owner, apparently parked for 20 some years... and am now riding it in vintage MX with only a new air filter, replaced carb boot, fresh tranny oil and new spark plug. I took the head off and saw that it's on original bore, has plenty of compression, no apparent air leaks at seals, and I'm amazed to say that since it runs like a champ, I'm leaving well enough alone.

You may find that your 400 is much more ready to run than you're expecting. They are amazingly resilient. If the clutch works (often plates are stuck together from sitting--pull in the lever and pry the plates apart to free them up, often good to go), the tranny shifts and if you pull off the top end and the rod has no up-down wiggle (side-side wiggle is fine and needed), I'd check the piston clearance and ring end gap, make sure there's spark, drain the old gas and clean the carb bowl, and otherwise ride it. My 2 cents.

Buy the manual from Al Buehner and go for it!  Mac

[Jeff D]

If you want to contact Drew for info on the bike, special things he did to it, etc., he and his brother Chris (also a Six Days vet) run WER...Works Enduro Rider...in New Jersey.  You can find them on the web or look for ads in Trail Rider or other off-road mags.  Drew only has 20 or so 6 Days under his belt!  Chris was on the first USA team to win the Junior Trophy (replacement of the Silver Vase) some years back.

Jeff DeBell

[dirtymartini]

Thanks Jeff, I just sent Drew an e-mail at WER. I wonder if he remembers the bike? Seems like a long time ago....Wait...that was a long time ago!

[Tennessee Vol]

Drew will be in Poland with the ISDE team for the next 2 weeks.He is the team manager.Best of luck with the bike.

Bobby Stults

[dirtymartini]

I'm a little confused;according to the prodution year guide and frame number, my Mint 400 was manufactured in October '75, but has Marzocchi front forks and what I believe to be sun rims. Did they make a 1/2 year model this year? [?][?][?]

[farmer58za]

It's possible that the forks and sun rims were owner mod's. The Marzocchis came out in '76, I think. If the bike was raced like that then leave them on as they are "period accessories"


Regards

David
'75 KTM GS175
'75 KTM GS250
'75 KTM GS400