OLD DAYTON MOTOBIKE WITH ENGINE GOTTA SEE THIS...
- Thread starter OZ1972
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Great find, I personally wouldn't get rid of a motorbike :wink: They are really fun :mrgreen:
:shock: that thing is awsome....too bad im pretty much broke 
Spokeshave said:
It is a cool town. I work at the Chevrolet dealer there and I think there are still some gems to find in Eaton. Even though it's the county seat it still has that small town feel. Great old farm community :mrgreen:
Nice find Oz......I'll be over shortly to see this beauty.
The only thing that would make that bike even more cool would be a kick start for the engine. That style Briggs & Stratton engine, probably a model WMB, was used on early washing machines. I have several of the engines with the same style gas tank and a kick-start pedal. Nice find.
I CALLED "SIMPLEMAN" ON THE WAY HOME WITH THIS BIKE BEFORE I POSTED THE PICTURES, ONCE HE SEEN IT HE HAD TO HAVE IT, THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT & REPLY'S & THANKS TO "SIMPLEMAN" FOR BUYING THE BIKE, THANKS GUY'S OZ
The drive stuff being all skiptooth is the coolest part. Lots of design work in that one. :mrgreen: Not sure about the rear brake rubbing the tire to stop. :shock:
cman said:
Gotta say, this thing is a slick, clever little contraption. I'd be proud to own it. Sweet drivetrain.
I thought that was weird too... the whole engine support setup has the same allen headed bolts? Maybe someone's later fix? The paint all looks pretty old though... Would love to know the story on that one.
All I have to say is it's cooler in person :mrgreen:. The story is it was built by a fellow in Connersville, Indiana in the 50's. Oz went to look at a car and the bike caught his eye. The owner was getting ready to list it on Craigs List and Oz decided to take a chance on it. He gave me a call on his way home to tell me about it.......I couldn't resist. It's a "Dayton" after all .
The frame itself is an early to mid 20's Davis Sewing Machine built "Dayton". '24/'25 was the end of the line for Davis as a bike builder and about the time Huffman came in to the picture at Davis. Huffman didn't start building bikes though till about '34. Davis also built bikes for Harley Davidson.
Most of the bike looks like it has the same parts used when it was assembled with the engine in the 50's. Allen bolts really became popular during World War II (though they were invented earlier) so they were easily available when the motor was added in the 50's. It looks to have gone through a recent update with the levers and caliper brake. No way that brake works right :roll:. They also added a cobbed bracket on the New Departure front hub brake so the new cable would attach. The throttle twist handle is made from a 50's SA 3 speed shifter with the detent ball removed. The engine is a late 30's Briggs and Stratton WMB washing machine engine and the tank is original to the engine's suction carb. The engine mounts, clutch setup, jack shaft and rear wheel drive assembly are all homemade. The skip tooth sprocket on the jack shaft is a rear hub sprocket from a bike. The sprocket on the rear wheel is a womens sweetheart sprocket from a Huffman.
I've given it a little thought :wink:. I'm going to scrap the new levers,rear caliper brake, seat and recently cobbed brackets,refine a few things and get it running. I'll decide it's fate after that....or maybe it will decide mine :roll:.
. The frame itself is an early to mid 20's Davis Sewing Machine built "Dayton". '24/'25 was the end of the line for Davis as a bike builder and about the time Huffman came in to the picture at Davis. Huffman didn't start building bikes though till about '34. Davis also built bikes for Harley Davidson.
Most of the bike looks like it has the same parts used when it was assembled with the engine in the 50's. Allen bolts really became popular during World War II (though they were invented earlier) so they were easily available when the motor was added in the 50's. It looks to have gone through a recent update with the levers and caliper brake. No way that brake works right :roll:. They also added a cobbed bracket on the New Departure front hub brake so the new cable would attach. The throttle twist handle is made from a 50's SA 3 speed shifter with the detent ball removed. The engine is a late 30's Briggs and Stratton WMB washing machine engine and the tank is original to the engine's suction carb. The engine mounts, clutch setup, jack shaft and rear wheel drive assembly are all homemade. The skip tooth sprocket on the jack shaft is a rear hub sprocket from a bike. The sprocket on the rear wheel is a womens sweetheart sprocket from a Huffman.
I've given it a little thought :wink:. I'm going to scrap the new levers,rear caliper brake, seat and recently cobbed brackets,refine a few things and get it running. I'll decide it's fate after that....or maybe it will decide mine :roll:.
The WMB came out in the late 30's and the early ones had the external breathers......late 30's early 40's. The kick start has been removed from this one but the ear is still there to put it back on.
