Ross bike looks like an apollo but not

[Hitman44]

help -- I have this posted in fresh finds but i thought this area might have more muscle bike help. It looks like an apollo but it is not. It has a round lower tube. It is stamped with a 71 as the first number so hat is what I think it is. The owner said he got it used in 1970 but who knows. Help??? It has a shifter but a coaster brake ... does that help?

 

[Hitman44]

ANy thoughts?

 

[GuitarlCarl]

What makes you say it's a Ross?
Cuz it doesn't look like an Apollo to me...
Kinda looks like a Buzz Bike that's been hacked on.


Carl.

 

[deorman]

Looks like Ross to me, but definitely not Apollo. Too bad about the nasty "repair", whatever it is.

 

[Wildcat]

It has a Ross fork crown, and the way the top bar wraps around the headtube is just like an Apollo. The chain ring looks like the same they used on later model apollos. From the pic, it looks like 3 holes where the head badge would have been, with the middle hole larger than the other two. That's how Ross made them. The dropouts are Ross style also. But I can't find a pic of that frame.
It looks like the repair to the frame subtracted an inch from the downtube. It can be repaired again, the right way.

 

[rfeagleye]

Wildcat is right on mark...that is a Ross Apollo that has had some surgery. The large flat frame tube is missing, and it looks like another tube was welded in its place. All the Ross frame queues are there, except the large flat frame bars attached at the bottom of the head tube.

 

[Hitman44]

Man this is crazy -- so what do I do with it? The strange thing is the paint looks original but it can't be right? What about the date stamp starting with 71?

 

[Wildcat]

That looks like original paint, so I think it's a base model or something like that. I would pull the forks to see if there's yellow paint on the inside. Is that a BMA-6 decal on the seat tube? that would ID it around 1971 or so. A date stamp of 71 may or may not be the year. In the 60's Ross serials started with an R. It's a mystery.

 

[Hitman44]

It has a Ross fork crown, and the way the top bar wraps around the headtube is just like an Apollo. The chain ring looks like the same they used on later model apollos. From the pic, it looks like 3 holes where the head badge would have been, with the middle hole larger than the other two. That's how Ross made them. The dropouts are Ross style also. But I can't find a pic of that frame.
It looks like the repair to the frame subtracted an inch from the downtube. It can be repaired again, the right way.

Wow -- thanks for all of the detailed information. It does indeed have the three holes with the center one being bigger. What would you do to fix this? Can a Welding shop do it? What about th lower tube? Maybe it is just a piece off of other bikes? I know the serial. Umber starts with 71 -- does that mean it was a 71 do you think? I know I found a Ross banachee in my 4 hours of looking for pics -- could it have been that? A lot of questions I know ...

 

[Hitman44]

Here is a close up of a remaining decal and the three holes with part of a reflector on the bottom -- does his help at all?

 

[CRASH]

Wildcat is right on mark...that is a Ross Apollo that has had some surgery. The large flat frame tube is missing, and it looks like another tube was welded in its place. All the Ross frame queues are there, except the large flat frame bars attached at the bottom of the head tube.

I'd almost agree with you, except that the bottom bracket shows no signs of welding for that down tube. An Apollo has no down tube there, so one would have to be added.

Are those 20" wheels? They look small. Makes me wonder if this is some 16" Apollo wanna-be, but the only catalog I can find is for '67.

 

[Hitman44]

Just double checked -- 20'inch tires

 

[CRASH]

@jungleterry comes through for the win. Terry, if you don't know, is the "Go To" source for Ross.

Your bike is a Ross Banshee 3 (speed) with some obvious terrible damage to the front. (Forks are bent back, and the head tube is bent down, down tube shortened.)

Here's another thread on RRB. (not 3 speed)

http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/ross-banshee.76413/

 

[CRASH]

If you decide to tackle that restoration... God bless you, first of all. But I do have a chain guard and head badge.

To answer your question about the year, there should be an R in front of the 71. So, R71. And 1971 was the only year they made the Banshee. So, the owner saying he got it used in 1970 can't be accurate. Probably just a lapse of years, since it was so long ago.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Good info Crash!
I hope you do get the 'repair' fixed and get it riding again Hitman!

Luke.

 

[Wildcat]

Check out the rake on the front end! (The original in the ad)
I'll bet someone tried to take out the rake by cutting out a piece and welding it back. But they took too much out.
The forks themselves don't look bent, but taking them off for a close look will determine that.
I would measure to see how far back the bottom of the head tube was bent.

But, the top tube was bent downward right where it meets the headtube. Dang! I just noticed that. Much more work to get everything right. It will take some careful engineering to put it back like original.
It's a tossup, maybe the frame won't have enough integrity after redoing it.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Could probably use the top tubes to give you an idea of where it is meant to be, just cut the downtube away from the headtube and pull it back out until the top tubes are straight, then add in some downtube with a sleeve and call it done!

Luke.

 

[Hitman44]

Man -- thanks everyone for the information -- I am not sure what I am going to do with it -- it would be great to restore but like you guys said it may not be worth it. Well I will think about tbfor a while -- the head tub being bent is what really sucks. A lot of extra work there. Since it was only made one year -- parts would have to be a nightmare

 

[rfeagleye]

Banshee! Well there it is. I don't follow Ross bikes at all. The Baracuda Beast is great, the rest, meh for me. Nice catch CRASH!

 

[BScubed]

Neat oddball! Almost looks like they were trying to go for a Murray eliminator F series look