famous cyclist on unknown bike

[kentercanyon]

Extra points for those who can identify this young man from Butte, Montana who made a big name for himself, and whose motto was "color me lucky." He was born in 1938, so the bike is probably from later than that.

 

[CCR]

That's no HD ...

 

[user 135]

I watched an Documentatry on him the other night... He was no angel.

 

[kentercanyon]

That's no HD ...

No, but it;s built by union labor on american soil i bet. (And this guy rode english bikes too)

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

I watched an Documentatry on him the other night... He was no angel.

I saw that too. It was on the new Esquire channel. I liked it.

 

[CCR]

That's no HD ...

No, but it;s built by union labor on american soil i bet. (And this guy rode english bikes too)

He had his own bike from AMF/Roadmaster later on, that bike has curved fender stays though it looks ... Wards Hawthorne is my guess on the bike in the pic.(HD made bicycles too, that's what I was refering to earlier :mrgreen: )

 

[kentercanyon]

The curved fender stays are the most distinctive feature I can make out. Too bad the photo is so awful. I can see truss rods I think and that it's a straightbar frame with no tank. If the rider is more than 12 years old and the bike was new it's certainly postwar.

The rear rack seems distinctive somehow but it's just a blob on the photo....

One wonders what brands were in local department stored out in Montana.... Wards seems like a pretty good guess.

One thing that you can see is that he's smiling like a fox eating yellow jackets. Happy to have a bike.... one of many more to come.

 

[cashman]

Looks like a shockmaster springer on it? The rear rack looks like it has a Racoon skin or something draped over it.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Chain guard looks kinda like a Wards Hawthorne I had.



That would be Mr. Robert Craig K******

He was in jail with "Awful Knofel" :wink:

Hard to believe it's been almost 6 years.

 

[kentercanyon]

I'd say the front sprocket is a paisley-ish swirl as well. Consensus is building towards the Wards-Hawthorne. I have a line out to the archivist for the family right now looking for a better copy of the photo. Thanks to all for the help.

 

[CCR]

I was comparing it to this bike @ luxlow, though theirs has been restored and I don't know the history of the parts attached to it. Truss rods appear to match the shape, though the tank version probably had "deluxe" items like a cooler light / rack. Could just be a year thing too.

 

[kentercanyon]

Okay I have a much better photo now... And I'm at a motorcycle show so I'll post it soon. looks like that headlight is at the right angle on the photo above. sprocket is the same too. The rear rack has a fringed decorative banner of some sort draped over it for a special occasion like a parade.

 

[kentercanyon]

Sorry it's sideways - posting from my phone.

 

[kentercanyon]

Here's a close-up of the front of the bike. Solves a lot of questions, I think. This photo is right side up on my flickr page... go figure.
Posting from a bike trailer in Luchenback, TX on redneck wifi. I think the ghost of Waylon is messing with us.

 

[kentercanyon]

Here's a detail from the rear rack. Whatever that is, it's covering the real rack but I think it's the Wards Hawthorne with the "eyeball" on the back like the red bike above...

 

[kentercanyon]

After some reflection, and some much needed sleep to recover from the moto rally,
I think I realized the item on the rear rack might be an industrial / school janitor dust mop head,
the kind of thnig you see pushed around a basketball arena

http://media.tizaro.com/images/1tz/b3_/ ... 01-450.jpg

 

[Sphinx]

There are pictures of him using Honda Jump Bikes as well. I'm going to guess as the money got better, he moved along to more expensive bikes.

That's no HD ...

No, but it;s built by union labor on american soil i bet. (And this guy rode english bikes too)

 

[Sphinx]

Saddlebags !

Here's a detail from the rear rack. Whatever that is, it's covering the real rack but I think it's the Wards Hawthorne with the "eyeball" on the back like the red bike above...

 

[CCR]

Does look like a janitors mop doesnt it :lol:

I think there are saddle bags under some sort of rack skirt, reminds me of these cowboy bikes :mrgreen:

Front lamp looks similar to the pedastal fender lights on the Monarks/Firestones before the "Train" style lights

I think Ive only seen the delta winners used on handlebars and flush mounted to fenders, anything is possible though ...

maybe a weiss brand light ?

 

[ozzmonaut]

Saddlebags !

Here's a detail from the rear rack. Whatever that is, it's covering the real rack but I think it's the Wards Hawthorne with the "eyeball" on the back like the red bike above...

Rather than anything else laid over the saddlebags, I'd guess that it's just a type of saddlebag that has a fringed lid. I have a similar set in black with white piping and white fringes on the lid