Home-Built Deere Motorcycle

A home-built motorcycle painted Deere green and yellow gets a lot of looks when Pat Prom, Eden Prairie, takes it to shows.

Prom built the motorcycle from scratch, using square tubing to build a frame. The first thing you notice are the big implement-style wheels with spokes. The rear wheel measures 6.70 by 15, while the front wheel is smaller at 4.00 by 18.

Power is provided by a 2-cyl., water-cooled gas pony motor off an old Deere 49 R diesel-powered tractor. The engine chain-drives the rear wheel via a right angle gearbox and clutch off the same tractor. The steering yoke is off a Honda 350 motorcycle, the tin seat is off an old manure spreader, and the fuel tank in front of it is off an unstyled Deere 37A tractor. The radiator is from a relatively new Deere Gator.

The Deere A originally was equipped with a 15-gal. kerosene fuel tank with a small 1-gal. gas "bubble tank" on back of it that was used to start the engine. Prom cut 1 1/2 ft. off the front part of the 15-gal. tank so it would fit. The cut-down tank is just for looks - only the 1-gal. bubble tank contains any fuel. The rear fender is off a trailer and the front fender is off another motorcycle.

"The pony motor didn't have a water pump or a magneto on it so I used the water pump and distributor off a Subaru car. The carburetor is off a Deere 110 garden tractor," he notes.

Prom also built his own Deere "Gator" out of a pair of old golf carts. Power is provided by a Honda 11 hp engine that mounts under the seat. The frame is built from 1 by 2 tube steel. The front end is off a Yamaha golf cart and the rear end is off a Harley Davidson golf cart. The rear wheels measure 10 by 12 and the front wheels are off a golf cart. The fenders are off an old Deere 110 garden tractor. The rig has two seats, both of them off old Deere garden tractors. A 30 by 34-in. manual dump bed mounts behind the seats.

"I built it mainly for show," says Prom. "I call it my Croc."