Gnat information

[wjt]

Would appreciate any information on the new zealand made 3 wheel gnat also any photos of a gnat. Thank you

[Hitcher]

They were basically a 1960s NZ-invented and manufactured three-wheeled sled, with a tiller-steered front wheel and powered by a 7.5 horse Briggs & Stratton. Useless they were. Tits-on-a-bull useless. While they had a low centre of gravity, they also had no ground clearance so were always getting cast on stuff and requiring a passenger to push or pull them clear. I don't recall them having brakes. Not that they ever went fast enough to need them.

They were rendered obsolete (not that they ever caught on) by the arrival of the "farm bike" in the early 1970s -- Honda CT90s with a high/low ratio box were amongst the first, followed shortly afterwards by an avalanche of two-stroke 125s from the major manufacturers.

[Edbear]

Yeah, pretty much wot Hitch said!

[nadroj]

Yeah, pretty much wot Hitch said!

The first mountain bikes were NZ made - http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/.../callender.asp

[Edbear]

Thanks for the link! I knew of the Mountain Goat, but just forgot how long ago it was made! Very interesting story!

[Hitcher]

New Plymouth just isn't the same without Callendars selling Suzukis and Ash King selling Hondas.

[Steam]

I know a guy in central otago who has one in a shed gathering dust and junk on top of it.

[Silage]

I had a school classmate who was almost killed under one when it rolled on their hill-country farm near Seddon (Marlborough). He had a cracked skull and was unwell for some time. Though they were quite low, they did roll due to the instability of three wheels.

[nudemetalz]

I rode a Gnat once while staying at a homestay, back in about 1988. It was a get together "on-the-piss" weekend. The Gnat was powered by a Honda CB350 twin would you believe !!. When I could get the thing going it went okay but carb issues were a real hassle. Not to mention the no suspension and ill-handling. However, was great fun with a couple of hot teenage chicks (hey I was a teenager back then too !!) just in shorts and bikini tops along for the ride......

[What?]

...powered by a 7.5 horse Briggs & Stratton...

There was also a 2-smoke Villiers bike engine, fitted with a dual ignition system. Reverse was by way of stopping the engine, then turning the key the other way to make the engine run backwards.

Smart Gnat owners (now, there's a contradiction in terms!!) fitted chains to stop the front wheel turning 90 degrees.

Hauraki Plains Motors in Ngatea were agents - they may be able to provide some info for you.

[Slingshot]

Useless they were. Tits-on-a-bull useless.

Depends on what the intended use was. My inlaws had one up at the beach house for years. We used to use it to hoon around the beach on and to tow the land yacht trailer between the bach and the beach.

This one had the back seat out of a mini so was more comfy than standard and yes...they would flip, doing donuts on the sand and if one of the wheels dug in you were over in no time.

It was funny, at it's top speed (probably 40-50Kph) the motor would start 4-stroking and firing chunks of carbon out the pipe.

[Bullitt]

I remember as a young kid going fishing at the waitaki river with my grandad. Its a 1-2km trek along gravel (depending where the river mouth was at the time) so youd get a few people taking gnats out there. Grandad always used a farmbike (trikes and later quads) and thats what everyone uses these days.

[nadroj]

Examples of display.