I bought this about 5 yrs ago..Was looking for a Speedway Scarab and found this on ebay and since it was near me, got it instead...I Paid about $210.00 for it, brought it home and rode it around for while...It ran good but had a black frame...frozen forks and a orange gas tank...and it was very dirty...I sand blasted it..welded up a few spots and painted everything...At this point it needs its 4hp Tecumseh engine rebuilt, painted silver like the tank and the front number plate installed...

 

sweet bike! i like how the counter shaft runs threw the frame.

it looks show-room!

 

Thanks over rev! Besides the new paint its got a re-manufactured seat cover and replica tank stickers. Also got a new torque converter cover but it mounts to the engine...

 

This pic has 2 1970 Rupp's and a 71 Rupp minibike(3rd machine)..

 

I had a brand new one in the same blue and silver when I was around 12 but it was a scrambler - 3.5 horse. Then there was the 4 hp Enduro and 5hp Black Widow (if I remember right). I ran the hell out of that bike, seized the motor and put a second one on it before I out grew it. It sat in the shed for a long time and I eventually dumped it in the trash. If I remember right, the bearings for the jack shaft, as it went through the frame was the weak spot on these. That's when there were farms to ride on in central NJ.

 

That year they made a Roadster, Enduro, Scrambler, Sprint and Chopper. The Enduro was like the Roadster but no lights...the Scrambler had the 3.5 hp engine and only a rear brake. The Sprint used the same frame as the Scrambler but had 6" wheels and a single speed clutch. The Chopper wasnt really a chopper...just a normal minibike(no suspension type) The Black Widow came out in 1971...Id really like to have 1 of those today.

 

Then I must have had a '71 because I vividly remember the Black Widow and that would have made me 13, not 12.

 

In 71 there were a few more models than in 70..The Roadster, Enduro and Black Widow all used 12" spoke rims...the rest used stamped steel rims...Very cool to hear your Rupp story inthedirt...Id guess youve been in the dirt for most of your life?

 

Actually, I stopped riding in my late teens and picked-up dirt bikes again in 2002 and quads in 2005. I'm so sorry I stopped riding in the middle. My son and daughter ride and it has been a great family bonding exercise. We went to the Hatfield and McCoy trails 3 years in a row (550 miles away). Very few parents have the close relationship I have with our 18 year-old son.

I looked at your picture again. Mine had front coil springs and a number plate instead of a headlight. I don't remember if it only had rear brakes. Did I have a '70-?

 

Thats a long time not to ride..Good to hear your back at it..I started about the same time(summer of 1971) and never stopped...My boys are adults now and we had and still have great times when we go riding and camping. gotta camp some if you ride a lot.

The 1970(and earlier) models had the exposed springs used on the fork. In 71 they went to a different fork where the spring was inside the fork tube..Ive got a list of the 1971 models at home..Ill take a look at the models offered...The 70 stuff Ive got memorized from the brochure Ive got...