Iron Horse Cruiser

GoldenMotor.com

Salty Gator

New Member
Aug 3, 2009
672
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Florida
Hey y'all,
I stumbled upon an old Iron Horse cruiser and decided to swap out the motor from the OP Roller I had built on my last thread.....This was one of the easiest builds I've done so far....it's the Grubee GT-5 and I was able to omit the chain tensioner altogether.......future plans are to spring the front and add a disc brake up front and other odds and ends such as a laid back seat and better seat also along with a different set of bars to make a more comfortable ride....but so far this bike simply screams....it's my first 66 and a world of difference.....I'm open to suggestions and take kindly to advice...let me know what y'all think....

Thanks,
Salty.shft.
 

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silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
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northeastern Minnesota
That bike's nice the way it is. I'm not familiar with "Iron Horse". Is that a newish bike? Don't worry about the number of views without comments. I don't let it discourage me when I'm doing a thread. If this had been a Husky from Walmart you'd have gotten more comments and views. That's just the way it is. Keep the pictures coming as you change things.
SB
 

Salty Gator

New Member
Aug 3, 2009
672
0
0
Florida
That bike's nice the way it is. I'm not familiar with "Iron Horse". Is that a newish bike? Don't worry about the number of views without comments. I don't let it discourage me when I'm doing a thread. If this had been a Husky from Walmart you'd have gotten more comments and views. That's just the way it is. Keep the pictures coming as you change things.
SB
Iron Horse bikes have been around a number of years but they no longer manufacture cruisers for some reason....I have no idea how old the bike is but I'm guessing at least 5 years....the paint has faded and it has a few nicks and such but is solid as a rock and lightweight ....one of the main reasons for wanting to spring the front is I have a titanium spine and anything that would cushion the ride I'm all for....Thanks for the comment Bear and I'll be sure and update the thread as I go along....

Salty.shft.
 

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silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
113
northeastern Minnesota
I'm with you on the springer. I experienced my first suspension fork this fall when I put together a 50 Schwinn with a suspension fork that was from a newer type Whizzer motorbike. Oil filled shocks. I couldn't believe how it smoothed out the road, plus I got a set of Fat Frank tires for it, wider than a normal balloon tire and it was like riding a Cadillac. Now I'm spoiled and think every build should have a suspension fork. The trouble is they're expensive and if your bike uses a threaded fork there aren't a lot of options... monark, schwinn and that's about it and of those the old ones are like gold and the new ones pretty poorly made. My solution, thanks to the Briggs builders, is to use a moped springer fork. I just got one on ebay from a 1970's Herculese, German made by Sachs. Nice fork, well made from heavy steel. Even the chrome has no pits and with shipping I got it for $38.00. It's going on the next build, a 53 Schwinn cantilever that looks a lot like your bike. So now I have moped radar and am always going to be on the lookout for a donor moped. I think that you can use a threaded fork on a newer bike with shims, but I don't know much about that. Anyway, it might be worth looking in to. Once I get to Maryland I'll be watching Craigslist for dead mopeds. I want the hubs, too, for lacing into full sized wheels. Some of the forks come with special ears for a headlight and some of the headlights have a build in speedometer in the top of it. Cool stuff if you can pick up a dead one cheap enough. My plan is to take what I want and sell the rest on ebay to see if I can get back what I paid for it. That's what i hope anyway. Parts are expensive and a build can add up in a hurry so any way I can save money and still have good quality stuff is of interest to me. Good luck and baby that spine.
SB
 

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
7,266
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Los Angeles, CA.
Sweet bike! I love the color of that frame!! (^)
If that chain ever gets any looser?, let me know & I'll mail you a couple of my chain tensioner shims for it. ;)