think about the history of what you are riding?

[murraymadman]

ever think about the age and history of the bike you are riding? not necessarily the brand of the bike, but the age and the history the bike has went through. for instance, my latest beater i threw together is a 37-38' hawthorne/zep. it is just neat to think of the times this frame has been through and the places it's been. it blows my mind to think that a kid could have been riding this listening to his transistor radio about ww2 going on. i don't know, those kind of things i just think are neat.

 

[rms37]

You'll have to adjust that image just a bit. The first commercial transistor radios came out in the mid fifties.

 

[roadmaster]

all the time brother! i like to think of all the rides and the miles it put on when new, how it ended up looking like it is and if its previous riders had as much fum on it as i do. your riding functional transportation at its simplest, a piece of history and a work of art all in one. not to mention a labor of love as well. :mrgreen:

 

[udallcustombikes]

Well put, roadmaster. I am stealing part of that for my new signature.

 

[12bcruzin]

I recently sold a CWC double bar "SPEED" badged bike from 36ish. The rear fender braces had been replaced with thicker handmade steel units and all of the bolts in the fenders were put in from the inside out to help shed mud (smooth on the inside). The front fender had a big leather mudflap with a Willys Overland emblem from the 30s bolted to it to help hold it down. Looking at the bike, I determined that it probably had rarely if ever been ridden on asphalt, only dirt roads prone to turning to mud. It had "war" tires and tubes and wood blocks replaced the rubber pedal blocks so it probably had not been used since WWII. Despite all of the modifications, the bike was in pretty good shape mechanically, seat still had a decent cover, chain was flexible and good grips so I went through it and rode for many more miles before letting it go to the next enthusiast
http://www.flickr.com/photos/david-quic ... 356066779/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/david-quic ... 356066779/