My New Barn Find!!!

Motorbikermark · Mar 5, 2012

Heres some pictures of my Barn Find sorta, I found this bike hanging in the chain link fence that is around the a local Motorcycle shop owned by some of the Outlaws. I'm thinking they probably got quite a kick out of me pulling in on my motorbike to ask them about a bicycle that they basically considered junk. The owner said he dragged this bike out of a local barn along with some motorcycle parts and thought it was junk and probably not worth $50 so he decided to use it as yard art. I offered him $100 and he said he felt like he was taking advantage of me, but that he would learn to deal with it. He also happened to own an original titled 1950 Whizzer kit that he said he would take $800 for. How cool would it be to leave this bike as is and install the Whizzer unrestored. Unfortunately I'm currently broke and though I've tried to think of anyway to make it happen I don't think its possible. Right now all the purist are begging me to keep this as is. I'm thinking however along the lines of prepping it for restoration (Sand Blasting, Priming with Diamont DP-20 urethane primer) Then replacing the front fork and fender and adding original striping and bolting on a Solex clone til I am able to do a proper restoration. http://s1120.photobucket.com/albums/l486/motorbikermark/Facebook/Barn Find/

culvercityclassic · Mar 5, 2012

Dam dude that's a great score... Leave it as is and ride it...

wayne z · Mar 5, 2012

That's what I would do. Clean it up, grease it, make it roadworthy and leave all that original patina.
If you do, that bike would be too valueable for me to consider adulterating with a motor, or even just re-painting. Old bikes with character like that are becoming very appealing to collectors lately.

Here's my old Rex that I wouldn't change a thing about.

bandito · Mar 5, 2012

Make sure of the whizzer numbers, then get excited but show your disappointement.

Motorbikermark · Mar 5, 2012

The Whizzer really isn't an option right now. $800 might as well be $8000. I know the Solex will cost $200 so whats an other $600. Right now I just don't see it happening.

Motorbikermark · Mar 5, 2012

Everyone keeps speaking about the value of this bike. Granted the personal value of owning a unmolested classic is a consideration but I'm not sure it translates to $. What would the value of this bike actually be I was thinking $300-500

wayne z · Mar 5, 2012

Well, it didn't cost you anything, so no matter what you did to it you're still coming out ahead.
But once you change it, all that old character will be gone forever. I personaly would keep it and find another bike to motorize. Or sell it to a person who loves that kind of bike, and use that money on your dream build.

harry76 · Mar 6, 2012

Like i said to you on Facebook...... a bike is only original once.

BarelyAWake · Mar 6, 2012

It's your call ofc, but for it's relative value as is I'd hafta vote - do what you will with it

It's a beautiful bike to be sure - but I wouldn't worry about what the "purists" say, they'll tell you it's an invaluable classic, that it's sacrilege to touch it... but odds are the ones that would say that won't buy it from you either lol, at least not for any or much more than what you paid.

When it comes down to it you saved it from it's inevitable destruction, it's previous owner obv didn't value it & the "patina" would only get worse through neglect, it's original paint isn't in good enough condition to add any real value and 40's era american bikes aren't that uncommon. Save for leaving it as is & hanging it on the wall indoors (preserving it for the novelty factor alone), I personally think it's be a shame to not clean it up and use it as it'll just go to waste.

You can motorize a bike and not harm or permanently alter it, there were some naysayers that were shocked & horrified when I got a "barn fresh" 40's Rollfast & repainted, then motorized it - interestingly those same naysayers ended up loving the results, as I do and most of all it was a really fun project & it's a blast to ride - which I kinda think is the point after all heh

Here's a before & after to illustrate the potential as yours isn't dissimilar... other than what few parts were completely beyond salvage (spokes, destroyed fender), all original parts I didn't use (skiptooth sprockets & hub, forks) were packed up & saved BTW;

The Rustoration Build Off & Rollfast Album

silverbear · Mar 6, 2012

I'm with Barely on this one. Do what you want with it and turn it into your dream bike. If it were me I'd do it in stages as my budget allowed. That seat can be brought back to life for very little money. I'd go with an in frame China girl motor instead of the underpowered Solex Clone. You can do the China girl for about the same investment, but then upgrade as you can. The bike pictured in Barely's build is a good example of what you could do, but in stages. Start with the China girl kit. Then upgrade with the shift kit or a different engine. Then better wheels and so on. Eventually you'll have your dream bike. in the mean time you've got a rider.
Nice lines on that bike for sure. I can't read the head badge. What make is it?
SB

Motorbikermark · Mar 6, 2012

Taking it today acid washing, oiling, grease some bearings, and recovering the seat. We'll see how that looks then take it from there.

Motorbikermark · Mar 10, 2012

Heres some pics from after cleaning the old girl up. Check out the little pad lock that was hidden in the coils of the seat. If anyone has any info on this bike it would be appreciated, I found a pic of an identical bike that described it as a 1949-53 Murray built Western Flyer, I'm not sure of the source so if someone could confirm this I'd appreciate it. I'm putting a China girl kit that I already have on her I'll post more pics after install.

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bairdco · Mar 10, 2012

it's a great bike, not worth a mint, BUT, i would save the tank, chaingaurd and rear rack off it. i mean, you can use the rack and the chaingaurd, but don't cut them up, or try to weld the tank into a functional gas tank.

the tank alone is probably worth (a lot) more than you paid for the bike.

oh, and if you can salvage the speedo, that's worth something, too.

can you post a clear picture of the stem (gooseneck, whatever you wanna call it...) looks like one i've been looking for for awhile...

Motorbikermark · Mar 11, 2012

I'll have to get a pic of the stem later but I can tell you that its a steel stem, with a cone nut that spreads the end of the shaft that has a slot cut in to it. I know this because I had to cut the end at an angle so that it could use a wedge type because one half of the slotted end had broke off. I plan on leaving the tank, chainguard, and rear rack on for the motorbike conversion. I fitted the fuel tank today and was able to mount it with the stock tank in place, I did however have to bend the lip that goes under the top bar to fit the brackets. I also had to shorten the petcock on the fuel tank to clear the stock tank. I may have to bend the lip of the rear fender to fit the chain by hopefully I will not have to cut it. I know some will worry about me compromising the originality of the bike. Like you said its probably not worth a fortune and I didn't pay alot for it. My goal is to build a truly vintage style motorbike, that can be returned to original if some day it is discovered it is the last known example left in existence. But til then I plan to ride and enjoy it.

Allen_Wrench · Mar 11, 2012

You're kinda lucky. Yours is in much better shape than when I found my old JC Higgins. I had a lot of serious work to get mine looking nice. And Bairdco is not exaggerating about the worth of the tank on old tank-bike cruisers. This place sells tanks for old bikes:
http://www.memorylane-classics.com/
And you can check with them about prices. Or you can put it on Ebay and watch the sniping begin. Dealers like Memory Lane are a good place to get an idea of monetary worth. Ebay and other auction sites are a good place to find out what people are willing to pay.

Motorbikermark · Mar 16, 2012

Heres the pics promised of the completed motorbike. Took it downtown yesterday and drew alot of attention. Rode great.

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Mr.B. · Mar 16, 2012

Thumbs up!

I'm liking the left side chain guard.

-Kirk

rustycase · Mar 16, 2012

That is really nice, MBM!

I think I might have carried fuel in a small cannister setting on the luggage rack, or something, rather than stacking the Pnut tank on top of the original body-work.

Good looking old bike.

...and I like BA's Rollfast, too!
rc

harry76 · Mar 16, 2012

I think it looks awesome, i agree with Rustycase about the tank, down the track a rear tank would be a big improvement.

I love your older looking controls and clutch lever, these make a big difference to the visual appearance.

OUTSTANDING JOB man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

killercanuck · Mar 16, 2012

I think the peanut looks good dual toned (nice work). A decent under the seat tank can cost upwards of $300... and good luck finding a rack tank(anyone that lists them is always sold out).

Work with what you have first, then worry about cosmetics later. I have to agree with Mr.B, your drive-chain-guard looks super sweet.

Great find for a great build! Many happy miles to you!

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