Davenport show...

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harry76

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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Im soooooooo jealous........ so much good stuff. And it came up on my link but ill say it again. Your bike in no way looks out of place when shown in amongst all those priceless vintage and boardtrack bikes. You have the best bike on this site IMO hands down.

What was the response to your bike? Betcha it had plenty scratching their head as to its origin.
 
Mr.B.

Mr.B.

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Oct 21, 2008
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The most enthusiastic response I got for my bike was from a Wisconsin engine collector, Ha!

To be honest I parked it at a friend of a friend spot and spend most of my time walking the grounds, so I’m not really sure what people thought?

In your thread you mentioned the American Pickers, Their original shop is just a few miles up river from Davenport and they have been long time venders at the show with a spot in the same location every year.

That was the year(2010) after their show first hit and their was a lot of animosity and jealously towards them from other venders.

Earlier in the day at their spot there where lines of people waiting for a photos and a autographs.

I saw them both again in 2011 and it seemed much more like normal. Mike was riding the '36 Harley seen in a episode.
 
Mr.B.

Mr.B.

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Oct 21, 2008
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Nope that’s the real deal...

Probably vintage 26” x 3” or 3.30":confused:

A lot of the guys (and gals) running in the Motorcycle Cannonball had switched to modern 21” wheels just for the run for the sake of safety

Modern wheels = Better brakes, and safer modern gripper tires.

Most of the Cannonball bikes can be identified in the photos by the new looking number plates.

But the plate in this photo is the price, in fact every bike in that row was priced either $30 or $35,000.

-Kirk
 
harry76

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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Mr.B. said:
Nope that’s the real deal...

Probably vintage 26” x 3” or 3.30":confused:

A lot of the guys (and gals) running in the Motorcycle Cannonball had switched to modern 21” wheels just for the run for the sake of safety

Modern wheels = Better brakes, and safer modern gripper tires.

Most of the Cannonball bikes can be identified in the photos by the new looking number plates.

But the plate in this photo is the price, in fact every bike in that row was priced either $30 or $35,000.

-Kirk
Click to expand...
Yeah i must say im getting a little confused, i really wish they were all measured the same way.

So the modern 21" rim is the rim diameter, depending on the tyre they can end up with around a 28" OD. Right?

Most early boardtrackers came out with 28" wheels right? But thats outside diameter isnt it? The actual rim size is what again? 23"/24"?

But you say this has 26" wheels? The overall wheel doesnt appear as big as early boardtrackers? So is the 26" the outside diameter? If so what does the final rim size end up being? And why are they different on this bike? And like John said it has unusual tyres, was this a flattracker or something? Maybe smaller rims for increased strength of wheel?

I watched a vintage bike on EBay recently, im no expert but it seemed like most stuff was there to build a complete bike, and the price didnt seem ridiculous to me, if i had the money i may have considered buying it, but i dont have the money so didnt think much of it..... anyway the auction ended with no bids, the bike project had multiple wheels that he said were 26", would they be the same as this Indian?.... I messaged him to see if he was interested in selling a set of wheels, its been a couple of days and he hasnt responded.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Im going to my first ever vintage motorcycle swap meet next month and im very excited (they arent anywhere as common here as i imagine they are in your corner of the world), i will be keeping an eye out for some large diameter wheels for my BSA project. Ive also never seen a real vintage/antique bike in person. I hope they have some there as its quite a drive away.
 
Mr.B.

Mr.B.

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Oct 21, 2008
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JohnThomas Sorrels said:
In that case, does someone make modern tires that fit the old motorcycle rims? The tires on that bike have a pretty modern looking tread.

Click to expand...
Good eye!

I think your right about that, I’m going to assume that bike (Indian in the foreground) is probably set up for antique class flat track racing...:confused:

I have to be honest with you I don’t really study the racing bikes all that close (Pause and waiting... For Forum lighting to strike me down now).

I’m really much more into the antique street bikes, I love all the extra fluffy details that get stripped from the racers.

But now, looking it closely I think it must be a throw together marriage anyway as the engine seems too new for the frame & gas tank...????

-Kirk
 
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Mr.B.

Mr.B.

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Oct 21, 2008
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harry76 said:
Yeah i must say im getting a little confused, i really wish they were all measured the same way.

So the modern 21" rim is the rim diameter, depending on the tyre they can end up with around a 28" OD. Right?

Most early boardtrackers came out with 28" wheels right? But thats outside diameter isnt it? The actual rim size is what again? 23"/24"?

But you say this has 26" wheels? The overall wheel doesnt appear as big as early boardtrackers? So is the 26" the outside diameter? If so what does the final rim size end up being? And why are they different on this bike? And like John said it has unusual tyres, was this a flattracker or something? Maybe smaller rims for increased strength of wheel?

I watched a vintage bike on EBay recently, im no expert but it seemed like most stuff was there to build a complete bike, and the price didnt seem ridiculous to me, if i had the money i may have considered buying it, but i dont have the money so didnt think much of it..... anyway the auction ended with no bids, the bike project had multiple wheels that he said were 26", would they be the same as this Indian?.... I messaged him to see if he was interested in selling a set of wheels, its been a couple of days and he hasnt responded.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Im going to my first ever vintage motorcycle swap meet next month and im very excited (they arent anywhere as common here as i imagine they are in your corner of the world), i will be keeping an eye out for some large diameter wheels for my BSA project. Ive also never seen a real vintage/antique bike in person. I hope they have some there as its quite a drive away.
Click to expand...
Yes indeed It is confusing!

28” x less than 3” were by far the most common wheels on the earliest motorcycles, a cross over from their Bicycle origins

Early 26”’s were a very rarely used option for “Gentlemen of modest stature” from some manufacturers.

By the late teens fatter tires became available and then too smaller wheels- 26” x 3”+

However it seems that most BT racers continued to prefer using 28” x 3"ish through out the entire board track era.

Why? I’d guess weight, but I really don’t for sure...

But I don’t think it’s hard to imagine Privateers or small time operators might use what ever they had on hand to get through a race.

I do hope you get a chance to see some authentic rims at the upcoming show, note they don’t have the same type of gripper edge as modern tires and aren’t nearly as safe.

BTW, take your camera we want photos! :):):)

-Kirk
 
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harry76

harry76

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Yeah i will definitely take my camera and most likely take my Villiers to show, not to sell though. Id like to see if there is any interest and hopefully might help me get talking to some guys as im not very good at just going up and talking to strangers, im a bit of a loner.

Mr.B ive noticed thet youve taken your bike to a swap meet to show, do people generally take bikes to swap meets to show but not sell? Im guessing i need to find and contact the organisers and ask them.

I will definitely keep in mind about the different edges on old rims, im leaning towards finding rims bigger then 21" modern rims, but if i do use modern 21" rims ill try and find a brakeless front hub as i believe it makes the completed wheel appear larger then a 21" rim with a drum brake.
 
Mr.B.

Mr.B.

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The Davenport show is pretty spread out at the fairgrounds, so lots of folks bring bicycles or minibikes, small cycles, etc...just to scoot around with. Lots of big bike traffic too.

I was fortunate as my friend’s friend had a vender spot were I could leave my then “non functioning” ride-

I did ask his permission first.

-Kirk
 
Mr.B.

Mr.B.

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Oct 21, 2008
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JohnThomas Sorrels said:
So do you think the tires in the picture are 26" as in 26" o.d. of the actual tire or 28"?
Click to expand...
Based on your earlier observation I do think they are modern 21” wheels & tires.

With so many tire options available it’s really hard to say what the exact actual od is from a photo, but it is likely to be in the 26” range.

Yes old size vs. new size is confusing.

If that same bike is there again this year I'll bring a tape!

-Kirk
 
harry76

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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I believe running a brakeless front hub makes a HUGE visual difference. Theres more spoke length in the rim and i think it makes them appear larger then they are. That may be the case here
 
J

JohnThomas Sorrels

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Dec 28, 2011
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Mr.B. said:
Based on your earlier observation I do think they are modern 21” wheels & tires.

With so many tire options available it’s really hard to say what the exact actual od is from a photo, but it is likely to be in the 26” range.

Yes old size vs. new size is confusing.

If that same bike is there again this year I'll bring a tape!

-Kirk
Click to expand...
That'd be great to find out, Whatever they are, it doesn't look out of proportion to me, I went ahead and bought some 21" rims off ebay for my project, we'll see how it turns out.
 
harry76

harry76

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Apr 16, 2011
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JohnThomas Sorrels said:
That'd be great to find out, Whatever they are, it doesn't look out of proportion to me, I went ahead and bought some 21" rims off ebay for my project, we'll see how it turns out.
Click to expand...
What motor are you using to want to run motorcycle rims? Im only considering using them because im using a 500cc.

Most engines will get away with worksman rims and they look a lot more realistic and strong enough for most purposes. Cobrafreak, Lurker and Sporscarpat all run them, and you can get DOT Simplex tyres to suit. I would most definitely run worksman rims if i thought i could get away with them.
 
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