BobbySox
New Member
I am starting the restoration of 2 Gemini SST 50s. I have had these bike for 15 years. My father had a NAPA auto parts store in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. He bought me a Doodle Bug Mini bike around 1967 when I was 11 year old. I rode that for hours for several a couple years. Back then minis were a craze. Sears, Penny's, and Western Auto sold them. They became so popular that Mini Bike Guide magazine came out. I bought this religiously every month ( getting the money from my parents ) and couldn't wait until the next issue. It had all the reviews of the newest bikes....Rupp, Doodle Bug, etc. One month they had a review of the Gemini SST 50. I came home one evening from playing outside and my dad was looking at that mag. He asked me what I thought about the Gemini. For a 13 year old this was adolescent porn. Whatever I said to him made him or reinforced his notions and he wrote the company Shin San Tong and asked them what it would take to become a dealer. They said, "Buy a bike". He did. It was a gold 50cc which we ran around for a couple weeks before he bought a red one. We became dealer and sold these in the family store.. I learned basic mechanics and working on bike with these. A year later we sold our 50s used and bought 80s. I spent a lifetime running through the National Forest on these. The company went out of business because of issues with Yamaha. We sold our 80s and moved onto bigger bikes...Yamaha 125s and then bigger. But these bikes have always had a soft spot in my heart. After my father died in 08 I became very nostalgic and bought a couple 50s and 80s and bought boxes of parts for each. Now that I am retired it is time to bring them to life. I have a grandson that is 3 and we still go to the National Forest. I am going to redo the 50s. I will try to make one as close to original without spending a ridiculous amount of money but still look close to OEM. The other bike I will make a rat rider. This will be the bike my grandson and others can learn to ride without me having a heart attack when they dump it. It's not my first rodeo there. I have let relatives and friends screw up my bike and had to fix it. So here we go. If you have questions about Geminis you can contact me here or my email is [email protected]. There is another forum that is only about Geminis you may wish to also visit at Home | Gemini SST Forum. I am not trying to steal members or create friction but to help all Gemini owners. Getting parts and information on these bikes isn't easy. Anyways, here is what I am starting with.
