Excitebike Experts!

fiddynick

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Hello,

I am brand new to the arcade scene. I have been looking for a working excitebike in the Chicagoland area for years, because I loved this game when I was younger. I purchased this unit like you see it for 175bucks. It is a 1984 Excitebike not VS. whats cool is 1984 is the year I was born. I think it is in a donkey kong cabinet, after doing research on this forum I understand that they never made a excitebike cabinet. That was my intentions, making this original. As of lately I may lean towards black cab with an excitebike guy on the side.

Here are my questions.

1. What is the difference between my 1984 excitebike and the VSexcitebike?
If I buy the VSexcitebike board will i be able to play head to head and use both controls?

2. Where can I get the plexiglass that keeps the player from the monitor, its all scratched!?

3. Did they ever make a excitebike marquee? I only see VS?

4. Where can I purchase a light for my marquee? Is it hard to install?

5. I see no on/off switch on the back of this unit, just a junky piece of plywood. I have to unplug when im done, and it erases my high scores, will a switch fix that?

6. How do I go about repainting cabinet? sand, fill and spray paint, roll paint, re-laminate??

7. What do you guys suggest, I have yet to find a nice looking excitebike cabinet full blown restore.
 

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Hello,

I am brand new to the arcade scene. I have been looking for a working excitebike in the Chicagoland area for years, because I loved this game when I was younger. I purchased this unit like you see it for 175bucks. It is a 1984 Excitebike not VS. whats cool is 1984 is the year I was born. I think it is in a donkey kong cabinet, after doing research on this forum I understand that they never made a excitebike cabinet. That was my intentions, making this original. As of lately I may lean towards black cab with an excitebike guy on the side.

Here are my questions.

1. What is the difference between my 1984 excitebike and the VSexcitebike?
If I buy the VSexcitebike board will i be able to play head to head and use both controls?

2. Where can I get the plexiglass that keeps the player from the monitor, its all scratched!?

3. Did they ever make a excitebike marquee? I only see VS?

4. Where can I purchase a light for my marquee? Is it hard to install?

5. I see no on/off switch on the back of this unit, just a junky piece of plywood. I have to unplug when im done, and it erases my high scores, will a switch fix that?

6. How do I go about repainting cabinet? sand, fill and spray paint, roll paint, re-laminate??

7. What do you guys suggest, I have yet to find a nice looking excitebike cabinet full blown restore.

(A) There is no such thing as an "Excitebike" (well, there is an Excitebike game for the PC10, but that is a NES clone and not what you have) ... what you have IS a VS Excitebike. It just doesn't say VS on the title screen... but that is what it is.

(1) There is no way to play against another opponent (unfortunately)

(2) You can buy tinted plexiglass at any glass shop... they'll cut it to size for you as well.

(3) Since there is no such thing as an Excitebike...only VS Excitebike, you are stuck with a VS Excitebike marquee.

(4) If you still have the stock Nintendo light fixture you're stuck picking up the lamp online... same with the starter... the starter is a screw in type. They are somewhat pricey. Another option is to get a sub-$10 under the counter fixture from Walmart or Home Depot and wire it in.

(5) There is no high score save for VS games unfortunately... every time you turn it off... you will lose your high scores/times. There SHOULD be a switch at the bottom back of the cabinet...if it's not there, one can easily be wired up... or you can just plug the cabinet in to a power strip and use the strips on/off switch.

(6) Your choice. I usually use a foam roller... but lots of people spray or re-laminate.

(7) I suggest you have fun restoring the machine! ...and welcome to your newest obsession!

BTW - If you want to keep it "stock"... you will want to keep the blue color and stick "Nintendo VS" side art on the cabinet... now that said, you are right about that being originally likely a Donkey Kong cabinet. VS games DID have a "dedicated" cabinet, but the conversions were just as if not more prevalent.
 
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Thank you very much FrizzleFried your right im already on the lookout for more!!

The problem is I see high scores in the scrolling preview, and when I win I can enter my name. There is no way to have those scores saved, unless I leave it on all the time?

Also, my speaker has tons of hum when I leave it plugged in? do you have any suggestion for a new speaker.

I kinda want to paint it black with new black T-molding VS excitebike header/topper and an excitebike guy printed on vinyl and applied :)
 
7. What do you guys suggest, I have yet to find a nice looking excitebike cabinet full blown restore.
Your machine appears to be in very good condition. Add the marquee, light fixture, and Vs. sideart and you're pretty much done. You could get new plexi if it's really scratched up, but that could be done at any time.

FrizzleFried said:
(5) There is no high score save for VS games unfortunately... every time you turn it off... you will lose your high scores/times. There SHOULD be a switch at the bottom back of the cabinet...if it's not there, one can easily be wired up... or you can just plug the cabinet in to a power strip and use the strips on/off switch.
The battery backup on the PCB saves the best times / high scores.

fiddynick - if you install batteries on the PCB, make sure to check and change them frequently to avoid acid damage to the PCB from leaking batteries.
 
Well great, now I need a local to help me get rid of the hum and install battery backup. unless I can find these parts and a tutorial!

80scoinops - I do agree in someway, this cabinet is not perfect but in great shape. I was going to refinish it all and repaint with my own custom art work, just to make it fresh! is that wrong in your guys eyes, ruining a good original cab?
 
I say do what makes you happy. It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

If it were me, I would keep it "original" in the sense that it has one of the original Nintendo cabinet colors (Orange, Blue, Red) and Vs. Unisystem side art. From what I've seen, custom artwork on a non-MAME cabinet never seems to turn out as good as the original. But who knows, you could prove everyone wrong.

There is no "original" cabinet since all Vs. games were conversion kits, but my Vs. The Goonies will be as "dedicated" as it can be. Orange color (converted from a DK Jr. cabinet), Goonies marquee and topper (if i can find one). I did manage to find a Vs. The Goonies serial number sticker from a fellow KLOVer that I'll be placing on the top corner of the bezel.

Also, I don't believe the batteries keep high scores. My understanding is that it was simply a way for operators to book keep machine usage. If there was a way to keep high scores on Vs. machines, that would be sweet, but unfortunately, you'll just have to take pictures. The humming is most likely caused by the audio board on your monitor. It needs to be recapped. But like many Nintendo cabinet owners, it tends to be part of the experience to have the hum in the background. My DK Jr. still does and I've gotten used to it.

Congratulations on getting Vs. Excitebike. Great game!
 
I say do what makes you happy. It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

If it were me, I would keep it "original" in the sense that it has one of the original Nintendo cabinet colors (Orange, Blue, Red) and Vs. Unisystem side art. From what I've seen, custom artwork on a non-MAME cabinet never seems to turn out as good as the original. But who knows, you could prove everyone wrong.

There is no "original" cabinet since all Vs. games were conversion kits, but my Vs. The Goonies will be as "dedicated" as it can be. Orange color (converted from a DK Jr. cabinet), Goonies marquee and topper (if i can find one). I did manage to find a Vs. The Goonies serial number sticker from a fellow KLOVer that I'll be placing on the top corner of the bezel.

Also, I don't believe the batteries keep high scores. My understanding is that it was simply a way for operators to book keep machine usage. If there was a way to keep high scores on Vs. machines, that would be sweet, but unfortunately, you'll just have to take pictures. The humming is most likely caused by the audio board on your monitor. It needs to be recapped. But like many Nintendo cabinet owners, it tends to be part of the experience to have the hum in the background. My DK Jr. still does and I've gotten used to it.

Congratulations on getting Vs. Excitebike. Great game!

Thanks for your opinion! is there anyway to know anything more about my machine, and how original this excitebike conversion is? i open the front and see it has 47,802 plays.
Also I do not understand how they have high scores already saved in the machine? are they fake? I wish the scores save for bragging rights! tons of buddies already played the unit....as for converting to black, i really want to sand and spray and take the guy off the cartridge have it printed on a vinyl and apply to side like real side art! gonna be a showcase in my living room, kinda wanted to make it fresh! but after seeing the converts i guess i should be happy with the condition of mine. is there a place to buy vs system side art? still undecided.
 
From what it looks like, all you need is side art, a marquee, and a topper. Then you're good to go.

The scores you see when you fire up the machine are most likely manufacturer default.

For info about the Vs. system, here are a couple of great sites by a couple of KLOVers:

PC10Builder's site:
http://playchoice.riemen.net/vs_list.html

Blkdog's site:
http://www.johnsarcade.com/nintendo_vs_ppu_info.php

If you want Vs. Unisystem side art, I would post in the wanted section. That's how I got my set. Most KLOVers are extremely helpful as you'll soon find out.

If you want to know what it looks like, here is an old listing from quarterarcade.com: http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/5077
 
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Thanks eseyo1! I assume there is no where for the instruction card on the upright? only the redtent i assume? i think i want it anyway! i appreciate your help, i still need to decide what i want to do with my restore! also i am currently upset that nintendo evenlets you put a name in, for no reason! also, why dose it even have two sets of controls!?
 
Thanks eseyo1! I assume there is no where for the instruction card on the upright? only the redtent i assume? i think i want it anyway! i appreciate your help, i still need to decide what i want to do with my restore! also i am currently upset that nintendo evenlets you put a name in, for no reason! also, why dose it even have two sets of controls!?

Yes, the instruction cards are meant for the ever elusive Red Tent, but some collectors like to tape them to the front next to the speaker for kicks or up on the side of the marquee. I'll just have mine in a ziplock bag attached to the inside of the back door.

Well, it's ironic that many of the Vs. games are only 1-player. The nice thing is that you can swap boards or chipsets on 1 board (not recommended as you can easily damage or break chips when swapping out). Games like Vs. Balloon Fight and Vs. RBI Baseball are great for multiplayer.
 
Your machine appears to be in very good condition. Add the marquee, light fixture, and Vs. sideart and you're pretty much done. You could get new plexi if it's really scratched up, but that could be done at any time.


The battery backup on the PCB saves the best times / high scores.

fiddynick - if you install batteries on the PCB, make sure to check and change them frequently to avoid acid damage to the PCB from leaking batteries.

The batteries on a VS board DOES NOT save high scores / best times. Trust me. I know. I've had more than one VS board. The batteries only work with some games and those games they only save accounting information... not high scores or best times. There is currently NO high score save kits for VS machines... I tried like hell to get Mark Spaeth to make a few and failed miserably. I ended up selling the machine because I couldn't stand the fact the high scores were lost. I play VS Excitebike on my MAME cab now as it DOES save high scores / best times.
 
The batteries on a VS board DOES NOT save high scores / best times. Trust me. I know. I've had more than one VS board. The batteries only work with some games and those games they only save accounting information... not high scores or best times. There is currently NO high score save kits for VS machines... I tried like hell to get Mark Spaeth to make a few and failed miserably. I ended up selling the machine because I couldn't stand the fact the high scores were lost. I play VS Excitebike on my MAME cab now as it DOES save high scores / best times.

I do not understand, is your MAME cab setup different than mine? what do I have to do to get mine to save like yours? sorry for the questions, I only had this arcade few days!
 
MAME is: Multi Arcade Machine Emulator. It's a PC running arcade ROMS... not the dedicated machine you have there. Currently there is NO way to save high scores or best times at power down with a dedicated VS arcade motherboard. It's not going to happen.

I use MAME (a PC running thousands of arcade ROMS) to play it... emulation.

You, my friend, are stuck with this to save high scores / best times:

Magnetic-Dry-Erase-Board-Porcelain-36-x-24-White-Aluminum-Frame_154326.jpg
 
The batteries on a VS board DOES NOT save high scores / best times. Trust me. I know. I've had more than one VS board. The batteries only work with some games and those games they only save accounting information... not high scores or best times. There is currently NO high score save kits for VS machines...
It's been a couple of years since I played Vs. Excitebike with the batteries installed, but I'd swear it saved the scores and times. Chalk one up to bad memory.
 
80scoinops - I do agree in someway, this cabinet is not perfect but in great shape. I was going to refinish it all and repaint with my own custom art work, just to make it fresh! is that wrong in your guys eyes, ruining a good original cab?
It's your machine, you can do whatever you want. :) I would keep it all original as that's my personal preference. More food for thought, in the event that you ever want to sell it you'd most likely have an easier time selling an original cabinet than the custom job you mentioned.
 
Well I think I might keep the cab original. I would even settle for gloss white! If I keep this cab original, there is no way to touch up blemishes?

Also is it ok to buy reproduced vs unisystem side art?

What do I do about the bolts on the side of unit? remove apply sticker then re-install?

Is there anyplace online that would sell me a mint condition original plexiglass piece? I called a local place and they do not have anyway to paint that black boarder my unit has stock.
 
Well I think I might keep the cab original. I would even settle for gloss white! If I keep this cab original, there is no way to touch up blemishes?

Also is it ok to buy reproduced vs unisystem side art?

What do I do about the bolts on the side of unit? remove apply sticker then re-install?

Is there anyplace online that would sell me a mint condition original plexiglass piece? I called a local place and they do not have anyway to paint that black boarder my unit has stock.


NOS (new old stock) unisystem art comes up from time to time... repro stuff is fine too (who does repro unisystem?)

Yes... remove bolts, apply sticker... stick bolts through sticker.

Buy the plexiglass... then tape up the center with masking tape and spray paint the borders black on the inside portion of the plexi... let dry...remove tape from the center and you now have a great looking border.
 
NOS (new old stock) unisystem art comes up from time to time... repro stuff is fine too (who does repro unisystem?)

Yes... remove bolts, apply sticker... stick bolts through sticker.

Buy the plexiglass... then tape up the center with masking tape and spray paint the borders black on the inside portion of the plexi... let dry...remove tape from the center and you now have a great looking border.

I guess that is my only option! what do those bolts hold?

As for the side art found this here and on ebay:
http://www.mamemarquees.com/product_reviews.php?products_id=579

Now that I am goiing to keep it original, I will need to touch this thing up! any tips on doing that!
 
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