1938 Schwinn Motorbike Restoration

I purchased this bicycle from a gentleman in WI who bought it from the original owners. The bicycle was purchased and never left the family.  I was told the boy later went on to WW2 and never returned.  He must have been a very young solider when he depart this world defending our country.   Above is a picture of him by the bicycle. What a nice piece of history to have with a bicycle.

The bicycle is a Motorbike De Luxe BA107.  The interesting thing about this bike is it has many 37 features.  The paint style on the fenders was used on 1937 and earlier bicycles. The badge is an oval badge which used on mid 1937 and earlier bicycles. It is equipped with a wing chain guard which was introduced in 1938.  The battery cage in the tank is the standard square style that housed the lantern style battery which was used on late 1937 bicycles and up.   The serial numbers are W60xxx which puts it smack dab in the middle of 37 and 38.  I plan on restoring the bicycle exactly how it is the picture above.  Maroon paint with black wall G3 Goodyear tires and standard coke bottle grips.

A deciding factor in choosing this bike as a restoration project was because it was so clean and straight.  Minor dents had to be pounded out in the tank and the fenders barely had to be rolled. The rack was so straight I had it chromed for an autocycle and used a different correct six hole rack that wasn't chromable for this project.  The biggest problem I had was the tank door fell off because the wire holding it one was rusted. It took some time getting the original out but once it was out I replaced it and the door worked great.  Quick tip: use a spoke to mount the door. That is most likely what they did from at the factory.

Pictures of the bicycle before having it stripped.

I will also need to repaint the badge.

I am currently waiting for my parts to come back from the blaster/primer. I farm out the priming because it is a messy stage and you can have it done relatively cheap. Of course I will have to prep the bike for the first stage of paint.

Here are the primed pieces. I didn't care for the glossy primer. Hard to sand. I will be using someone else next time.

Here are some pieces hanging after first stage of paint.

And for the final product!!!  I still need to put the conduit on from the tank to the fender.  The lights and horn work.  Only repop part on the bike is the horn button.  Near NOS blackwall G3's and I even added the mirror like the kid had back in the day (see pic above).  I also painted the badge.