Thanks for all of the great info! I found this one on Facebook. Is it the type of bike I should be looking for?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/707303603120853/
Yup - for $400 you've got yourself a ballgame.
As for the charging system - I would go with the stock rotor, stator and brush assembly (all the stuff that sits on the left-hand end of the crankshaft) and use a modern rectifier/regulator unit (all the stuff that lives up under the left-hand sidecover).
Don't bother with nonsense like capacitors to replace the battery and I would leave the front brake and the electric starter in-place, if I were you.
If that thing stalls in traffic at an intersection, you do not want to be faffing around with the kicker - as a concrete mixer is bearing down on you, or be struggling to get it stopped when some phone-yakking numbnuts hipster @sshole blasting rap in a BMW pulls out in front of you. You can still "look cool" by kicking it whenever you want and as for the front brake - I've tried safe and I've tried dangerous - safe is better.
Nobody looks cool in an ambulance - or a coffin.
If you are concerned about saving the weight of the brake and the starter - skip lunch for a couple of days and you'll have saved the same amount of weight.
Otherwise, get yourself a manual (downloadable for free) and start posting photos and asking questions.
Pete
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