SOUTHERN FLYER

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The Renaissance Man

__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
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The inspiration for 'Southern Flyer' came from those beautiful turn of the century motorcycles that were simple by todays standards yet built to be tuff and last indefinitely in the hands of a person that was expected to maintain it himself. Those machines where designed to perform in harsh environments, yet had graceful forms that followed their function. This is what I tried to emulate with all the components that I envisioned one might expect to find on a bike from that bygone era.
The final finish was something that I hadn't anticipated before I stripped the paint from the 60+ year old fenders and frame. After discovering a warm bronze tinted metal with decaying chrome accents on the fenders that was hiding under years of misguided paint, I knew that the rest of the bike would have to follow suit. In the end, there is no paint at all on this riding machine, just the seasoned metal that only age can provide.
Like a stately southern gent, this is the Southern Flyer.






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Three days before the third month of the build-off, I cleaned the slate and started Southern Flyer.

Here's the thread. (You will need to scroll half way down the page).


The major parts list:

1951 CWC Western Flyer frame
CWC three plate fork (modified)
Vintage alloy quill stem
Custom board track style handlebar
Vintage Raliegh grips
Vintage Dayton Huffman chain ring and crank arm
Vintage waffle block pedals
Fichtel & Sachs Torpedo Duomatic internal gear 2 speed hub
Vintage Persons saddle
Prewar Western Flyer peaked fenders
Custom LED headlight and taillight
KMC Z410 nickel chain
Schwalbe Fat Frank 26 x 2.35" creme tires

The starting point:

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The Custom parts:

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Thank you all for your support, Jim (aka The Renaissance Man)

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Last edited:
Nice bike, nice stance, looks like the real deal.
 
I LOVE your bike...the details on the front end and the Bars I've always wanted to build...5 Stars!!!
 
Jim,
This is truly a masterful build.

One thing (aside from the awesome finish) that jumps out at me is the fit of everything. Just look at how the fender gap is around the tires and how the seat looks like it's integrated into the frame and fender.

That doesn't happen by accident.

Cheers to ya buddy,
Rob
 
those bars look amazing on this's bike!
 
The craftmanship on this build is off the chain!!
Great photos as well. You knocked this out of the ball park buddy!
I predict high votes on this one!
 
Love this build- the skins are riding nice and tight under the fenders, well put together- built to cruise at zero to 100.
 
Wow! Just wow. Can I ride?

Laurie
 
Thanks everyone for the props!

Dr. Tankenstein said:
Jim,
This is truly a masterful build.

One thing (aside from the awesome finish) that jumps out at me is the fit of everything. Just look at how the fender gap is around the tires and how the seat looks like it's integrated into the frame and fender.

That doesn't happen by accident.

Cheers to ya buddy,
Rob

Thanks for noticing that Rob. I spent hours making the fenders fit the way I wanted. That was actually the reason for extending the fork drop outs by 1/2". The mount for the saddle took less time but still required some careful fitting and refitting to get the line right.
 

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