1930's Colson Motor-bike. my new project.

thanks SB. i can't sell the 24. that bike is so well tuned, problem free, fast, and fun. plus the sentimental value of my first "real" build.

the new bike is awesome, but i built it with the intention of selling it, so i forced myself not to get too attached to it. as far as advertising goes, i think anyone who buys it would get swamped with people asking about it, and word of mouth goes a long way.

my 24 is a beautiful bike in it's own right, and people still stop me everywhere i go on it, and with it's performance and looks it's advertisement enough. the backwards motor gets a lot of attention from people who are familiar with these bikes, and those people are amazed at what these bikes are actually capable of. i've run up on a few groups of people with stock, dept. store bikes, and when they see me take off and keep up with traffic, they're amazed that these can be more than just a novelty.

the new bike is functional art, a show bike almost, and although it looks great, it's not in the same league as my 24 when it comes to cross town trips or high speed runs (there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not as fast or torque-y.) it's a high maintenance bike, not in the sense of problems, but more like "if i ride this, it'll get dirty..."

my next bike i'm planning, i hope to combine the two. make a really fast, super functional bike that you wouldn't be worried about scratching, can run forever with just routine maintenance, and you don't have to baby it, and it still will set the rider apart from the store bought, slapped together kits.

i guess, my goal is to make a bike that not only competes with Ridleys and Derringers, but blows them away, without being some boutique item for rich people, and without the fluffed up price.

rode it till i ran outta gas today, then filled it up and ran it some more. probably 100 miles total. seems like the motor had to "re-break-in" after trying to use opti2 in it, but it works awesome on Valvoline, and when i ran out, it works great on Chevron's "Road-Tech Universal 2 cycle Multi Mix Engine Oil."

bobbed the rear fender, because the alumiwelded fender strut wouldn't stay on, so it's got good ol' reliable Wald struts now. stopped by Mcfadden-Dale hardware for some acorn nuts to round out the coolness factor, and just gotta touch up a few nicks and scratches, and it's up for sale.

i'm trying Craigslist at $1500. see if anyone bites...

i really hope to sell it, because i got another one planned, and i gotta move in april, but i'll hate to see it go. it runs awesome now, goes fast, super smooth, and super comfortable. but it's just gotta go...

1930's Colson Flyer Moto-rized Bicycle

wow, fair!, that's awesome! if you don't mind, i'm gonna use that as my avatar for awhile..!

seriously, that's really cool, thanks a lot.

and that movie would be 2 hours of me smoking cigarettes and drinking beer, with a few random acts of violent wrench throwing and swearing to keep it R rated.

just sold it!

not including the time i put into it, i made a nice profit on it.

i've got my hands full. there's this bike: http://motorbicycling.com/f38/another-colson-build-18289.html

and this bike: http://motorbicycling.com/f38/another-project-1930s-hawthorne-twinbar-19182.html

and i've got another Colson frame and fork coming any day now, plus, a guy down my street hit me up about building him a few bikes, and the kid i sold the bike to has some friends that want one.

sheez, i'm gonna have to get an apprentice to handle all of this.

but it beats a real job.

now i'm gonna go drink some beers in celebration of selling that bike. especially now that i can afford it.

the kid that bought this bike called me up yesterday, said it just quit running. he brought it over today, and it was just the kill switch. it was a plastic button i mounted next to the motor, and it looked like it heated up and melted, so i chopped it off and the bike fired right up. i'll get him a new one and it'll be good as gold.

i was pretty stoked to see it again. the wheels are still straight, the chain's still tight, the paint still looks great, and it still rides like a dream.

just wanted to brag a bit, that after three months, it's only had one tiny problem that took a few minutes to fix, and i'm happy the kid didn't go out and thrash it...