Guess The Bike From These Pics?

[jon v8]

David,is your message box full ?

[motomike]

Further to my previous post, Whitlock frames have been known to have porblems with cracking, i had a "mini" that had been repaird on the front down tubes where they meet the gusset, Whitlock also made the frame for the Suzuki Beamish this to suffers from cracking around the headstock

As for numbers made, Whitlock did not number his frames, so there is some debate how many he made,i think there are more than six, the mini was made as the next step up from the ty80 and designed for youth riders who found the full size bike to big.

Whitlock made 4 models of Whitehawk the 80 (white tank), mini 175 (blue tank).standard 175 (red tank), and a 200 (white tank) all the frames were brazed

Two models of 80cc small wheel (red tank), and the big wheel with the leading axle adaptor on the front forks,

as for the blue tank model ,( some where 125) pretty sure it is single figures.

Edited June 8, 2012 by motomike

[feetupfun]

David,is your message box full ?

yes it was - sorry about that- have just emptied it out

[feetupfun]

I've done some assembly and posted comparison photos and dimensions of the bike here. It's a long forum string. The post date is 9 June 2012

http://www.trials.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4785&start=420

[oxboy]

Hi I have just had a look at the forum, just a couple of points, Sammy Miller did not sell Whitehawks, Mick Whitlock produced and marketed his own bikes, the tanks on Whitehawks were fibreglass, with a "W" embosed on the left hand side that covered the air box, the tank shown on your bike looks like a later Miller type

If you need to see some pics search google images, there is a pic of a mini with a red tank leaning against a wooden wall, i know its a mini, it used to be my bike

[feetupfun]

Thanks oxboy. Sorry about the aluminium fuel tank thing. I don't know what made be think that.

Your old bike leaning against the wall looks exactly like mine except for the tank. Your google search suggestion has also helped me to see how to modify a TY175 brake pedal to fit that frame.

Also in the search results there were photos of a (full size) Whitehawk that shows that they have square top frame tubes, which someone was disputing. It also shows great detail about the frame design and in every shot the frame construction details are the same as on my frame.

[2stroke4stroke]

No dispute - read it again - I said the Miller frame had a round top tube thus confirming yours as Whitehawk.

[feetupfun]

Thankyou to the people who have been helping me behind the scenes with the identification of the frame kit I recently bought from a riding friend from Mackay, Queensland, Australia

The frame and swingarm has been identified as being mini-Whitehawk TY175 frame, and twelve are known to exist in the UK, no others known of yet in Australia. The bike was developed for riders too small for the full size Whitehawk TY175 and too big for the Whitehawk big-wheel TY80.

The fuel tank manufacture origin is yet to be positively identified, but is likely to be a mini-majesty one-piece tank seat, that has been trimmed at the rear end to suit the Whitlock frame, and fitted with a bright orange/red seat and Yamaha tank stickers.

The story of the purchase of it by my friend is as follows:

The buyer knew of Sammy Miller highboy frames from his local trials scene in Central Queensland where there were a couple of Bultaco highboys. In 1988, at age 18, he ordered a Sammy Miller Catalogue, from an advert in a bike magazine. The catalog came in the mail. He phoned Sammy Miller's shop and spoke to Sammy and asked about the possibility of buying a highboy frame for his TY175. He was told that while the Bultaco and Honda highboy frames were made exclusively for his shop, they didn't make their own SM frame for the TY175, but that he could sell a frame suitable for the TY175 made by Mick Whitlock. My friend then ordered the frame kit, including the tank seen in my photos, front and rear gold anodised AKRONT rims, Betor Shocks, Renthal bars and a pair of UK-made trials riding pants (all from Sammy Miller).

When the frame arrived, he noticed that there was no brake pedal (and no obvious way to fit one) and phoned the Sammy Miller shop to ask about it. A standard TY175 brake pedal arrived in the mail following that conversation.

My friend had bought a TLR250 by that stage and lost interest in the frame kit for his TY175. The frame and parts were stored in my friend's shed in 1988 along with his TY175JC and I bought them from him about a month ago.