I wanted a "real" Tote Gote for years and finally found one, a 1967 model 680. It still has it's original 5HP Briggs engine. The 680 has a worm gear final drive, no chain. I plan a full frame up restoration on it. I have already bought the correct grips for the handle bars and ordered the correct square rubber pads for the foot pegs. The seat has had a rather crappy recovery job done on it sometime in the past and that will be redone soon. I got another rolling frame with the Gote that the seller thought was a smaller Gote but it isn't. I believe it is either a Heathkit Boonie Bike or a Heald VT-1. The Gote is missing the side panels but my local sheet metal guy can reproduce them for me, no problem. I got a spare, new rear tire and belt with it.

 

looks like a fun time ! I did didn't know they made them that old wow. i haven't been on this form long but if a 70's model car is considered vintage now i would say a 67 would be vintage.

 

Production began in '58 or '59, I believe, in Provo Utah USA, and ran until the early seventies. There were several model variations during the production run. I would like to collect at least one of each model!

 

I think I have decided to forget about my fourwheeler projects and concentrate on finishing the restoration of my Tote Gote. I have too many things going on.

 

yeah i know that's right i have tones of stuff i need to get done as well but that's really cool how they made them back in the 50's

 

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I rode my Gote today for the first time. What a thrill. I will offer a word of advice though, don't test ride without the seat! Turns out the spark-plug is right where your "private parts" will be if you are around 6' tall, like I am. It is a surprise to get zapped there!
I had a shirt made recently...

 

I tried my Gote on a hill on my property and was disappointed to find that it would not climb the hill. Unheard of for a Tote Gote! The problem was belt slippage though. After I clean the glazed belt, or put on the new one that came with the bike when I got it, and polish the rusty pulley halves to a mirror like shine I'm sure it will climb the hill with no problem. I weigh 212 lbs and the Gote should haul me anywhere I have the nerve to go judging from past experience.
I will be recreating the missing center stand for it over the next few days as it is pretty inconvenient not having a stand. It's not always easy to find something to lean it on. I've studied all the pics I can find and I think I can make one that will look, and work like the original.

 

Owning 5 Gotes,,, no two the same,,, I also had that 'other frame'.
I welded a 12tooth sprocket onto a junk-yard golf-cart motor, then welded the motor onto the frame.
Two old boat batteries make 24volts, a Ford solenoid (with push-button), a away-you-go ! Quietly.
Top speed ? The farther you go, the faster it goes.... maybe 20mph. Overnite slow-charge will last 4hrs.
Your weight ? Doesn't matter. Think Sherman Tank !
Cost ? Motor $15 Solenoid $15 Old battery cables, chain, wooden battery box, all from salvage.
Enjoy !

Oh - I forgot---------- is that shirt Shocking Pink

 

Is the Gote the "NOVA" model ? Is the original frame color U.S.Forest Green ?
I don't think the missing side-panels are a big deal. I lost the tip of a finger in an 'accident' on a gote without panels. Bitten off by one of the 'jack-shaft' pulleys.
Your gote does not have all that contraption, nor mud-slinging-tractor tires, so as long as you don't wear your pretty skirt, leave it as is.
The front wheel however,,,
Mine had a 'brush-buster' U-bolted to the frame behind the wheel. Cushman called them 'crash-bars', the ForestService called them brush-busters,
Actually, they not only protected your toes, they help keep the mud from your face.
Dad was a full-dress Ranger, on a horse. When they first tried scooters, he had problems with dirt on that fancy uniform !

I also remember the exhaust leaking where it screws into the engine. The fire-arrester-muffler was heavy and poorly mounted.
The vibration wore the threads thin. I adapted a brass-union and two welded brackets.
Yours looks more modern, like like a 'trap-silencer'.
The ForestService version also had a center-stand. Well,,, not exactly,,, more like a kick-stand on-both-sides. One big "H" steel bar. Damn, that thing was heavy !
The original gotes had a British-style ride-off stand. A big "U" hanging by a spring behind the wheel. That was a crowd-pleaser. Start the engine. Get on, throttle up, and throw your weight forward.
Plus, it would stand in mud. Something a kick stand can't do.
Enjoy -

B-T-W: Since you're too big for the scrub-brake mini, buy a yard-sale battery-scooter for parts, build your own "Battery-Boonie".