Know the feeling. Just got my camper van back from the garage and that was a $1,700 hit. The previous owner was very proud of the garage that he took it to every 6 months to have it looked at.
I would like to call him up and warn him about them.
Now I have to find the battery and hub motor money all over again.
That bike sure is sweet though and not a lot of work to fix it.
Steve.
Ouch, that's a lot of money. Sorry about the setback in plans for the Monarch. These are hard times, aren't they?
Oh, I was just being a little greedy and wishful about that white Elgin. It isn't like I don't have any bikes. It's the nicest un-restored one of that model I've seen and was glad to have an idea of the paint scheme and graphics. If I want a white one I have a 34 in the same style but with a different original and heavier rear rack which is back in Minnesota and which I stripped down and painted some years ago before I really knew what I was doing. Maybe I'll give it a do over in white this time and try to make it look original with the same graphics. You become a little wiser as you play with these old bikes. I didn't pay much for the frame and basics on the rustoration Elgin, but man, is it a lot of work stripping one down to bare metal... the frame isn't so bad, but the fenders and guards can be very time consuming. To find a bike 72 years old that doesn't even need paint or much anything and looks as good as that white one... well that'd be nice, wouldn't it? I sound like a collector when what I have in mind is having a little business dealing in old classics turned into morotbicycles, targeting elders. As with old cars, sometimes you can get a basket case really cheap, but then you pay as you go in time, new parts and money money money. An old car or bike in nice shape costs more up front, but in the long run may be the cheaper way to go. It's OK when you're doing a bike for yourself to put as much time as you want in it, but if it is to resell then I think you have to look at it differently. I'm in the process of thinking my way through all this, so the other thing about that white bike is it looks really easy... plug a motor in, set up the rear sprocket, mount the tank and she's ready to ride (sell). By the way, I thought of you and your suggestion of a birch bark covered side car when I was looking at that bike. That'd be sweet, wouldn't it?
Anyway, hope the camper repair is the end of what it needs and that you can move ahead on the monarch in spite of the setback. Still cold here with spring a long ways off. Stay warm, Bud.
SB