- Joined
- Aug 26, 2016
- Messages
- 327
- Reaction score
- 1,291
I have always loved the Murray choppers. About 15 years ago when I didn't have the money to spend on bikes, someone in Hamilton Ontario had a whole collection of all the different Cats/Kats for sale for $500 each. I never bought one and soon the ad disappeared and I kicked myself later, since they were all in excellent condition. This past winter I arrived at our Annual Canadian Winter swap meet and the guy set up next to me has Murray built Brentwood King Kat. I was immediately intrigued. It wasn't mint by any means, but the chrome was excellent on the forks which are unique to this bike and fairly desirable. I asked what he wanted for it and he said "$600". It's a fair price for what it is, but I wasn't in the frame of mind to spend that. Besides, I just got to the show and I hadn't sold anything yet!
Our show this year was in February and strangely enough it was almost 20 degrees outside. Typically in February where still plowing out our driveways. The guys that showed up late had to set up outside, which was a blessing for them. It was much warmer outside than it was inside. I had wait until 10am until the sun hit my corner of the hall where I had set up to sell. Anyway, toward the end of the show when people started to clear out, I asked again about the King Kat that was still sitting there. "Is there and end of show sale price?", I asked. "Nope" was the reply. Fair enough again I thought. I continued to pack up my stuff and a few minutes later I was offered a deal for the bike. On the end of my table was an NOS ARAI drum brake set that didn't sell. I ended up trading the hubs and $200 cash for the KING KAT. It was a great deal for me, since I had 6 of the drum brake sets that I had acquired in a separate deal which I had very little invested in. I also sold about $700 worth of stuff that day, so it was and easy decision. The King Kat was mine!! I packed everything up and drove to pick up a chrome Sears Spyder from a flea market an hour away for $400. I also picked up that Raleigh Fireball that day from my friend Jamie who organizes the show. It's one of the other bikes I'm working on at the moment. It was a pretty good day.
So I just got the KING KAT frame back from powder coat as well. Only cost me $80 because there was no fork to do.
Also tested out my new Park wall mounted bike clamp. I like it.
I've been working on cleaning the parts up. I also took apart the fork so that I could straiten it out a bit. I employed a similar tactic that I often have to use with the forks on the Canadian CCM Marauders. I screwed it to the stairs in my garage and used a 2x4 for some leverage. It worked pretty good. Overall, the bike is in pretty good shape.
The rims have a tiny bit of peppering and the tires are shot. I'm still kicking myself a little over the Murray wheel set I missed out on at Ann Arbor. I had them in my hands and asked the vendor how much. The actual seller wasn't there at the moment and the guy couldn't get a hold of him, so I put them down and went browsing some more. When I came back, they were gone and the guy tells me they sold for $25. DOH!! Lesson learned. When you find something you really want to buy, wait around to find what they're selling for before you put them down.
Our show this year was in February and strangely enough it was almost 20 degrees outside. Typically in February where still plowing out our driveways. The guys that showed up late had to set up outside, which was a blessing for them. It was much warmer outside than it was inside. I had wait until 10am until the sun hit my corner of the hall where I had set up to sell. Anyway, toward the end of the show when people started to clear out, I asked again about the King Kat that was still sitting there. "Is there and end of show sale price?", I asked. "Nope" was the reply. Fair enough again I thought. I continued to pack up my stuff and a few minutes later I was offered a deal for the bike. On the end of my table was an NOS ARAI drum brake set that didn't sell. I ended up trading the hubs and $200 cash for the KING KAT. It was a great deal for me, since I had 6 of the drum brake sets that I had acquired in a separate deal which I had very little invested in. I also sold about $700 worth of stuff that day, so it was and easy decision. The King Kat was mine!! I packed everything up and drove to pick up a chrome Sears Spyder from a flea market an hour away for $400. I also picked up that Raleigh Fireball that day from my friend Jamie who organizes the show. It's one of the other bikes I'm working on at the moment. It was a pretty good day.
So I just got the KING KAT frame back from powder coat as well. Only cost me $80 because there was no fork to do.
Also tested out my new Park wall mounted bike clamp. I like it.
I've been working on cleaning the parts up. I also took apart the fork so that I could straiten it out a bit. I employed a similar tactic that I often have to use with the forks on the Canadian CCM Marauders. I screwed it to the stairs in my garage and used a 2x4 for some leverage. It worked pretty good. Overall, the bike is in pretty good shape.
The rims have a tiny bit of peppering and the tires are shot. I'm still kicking myself a little over the Murray wheel set I missed out on at Ann Arbor. I had them in my hands and asked the vendor how much. The actual seller wasn't there at the moment and the guy couldn't get a hold of him, so I put them down and went browsing some more. When I came back, they were gone and the guy tells me they sold for $25. DOH!! Lesson learned. When you find something you really want to buy, wait around to find what they're selling for before you put them down.
