Joe Buffardi
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Nice project! Im looking forward to the process. Joe Potts has a killer Western Flyer that has a rare color scheme. Let me see if he has pics.
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Hiawatha Arrow Colors
- Thread starter Dave Stromberger
- Start date
cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
Your tank looks like the 1940 color scheme which was a little different from the straw or wheat color of the earlier bikes.
Both of the Arrow type and Speedline type bikes were painted in that off white/bone color.
It is my personal favorite of the color choices.
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Both of the Arrow type and Speedline type bikes were painted in that off white/bone color.
It is my personal favorite of the color choices.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
@cyclingday, do you have any reference material to illustrate how these bikes were equipped during their production run? Aren't Gambles store catalogs to show these bikes nearly no-existent? And I'm assuming that this tank design was exclusive to the Hiawatha brand, right?
Just ran across this pic showing an orig paint Arrow with a white/red tank, like mine....
Just ran across this pic showing an orig paint Arrow with a white/red tank, like mine....
cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
I have not seen any retail literature for the 1940+ models at all.
They seemed to be surplus issue with no rhyme or reason as to whether they were equipped with a Arrow type tank or the Speedline type tank.
The down tube configuration was also mixed, being either curved or straight with either tank fitted. They all seemed to be painted the same, Off/Bone White and Brick Red. They almost always were badged, Shelby Supreme.
The 1938/39 models adhered to a more strict convention. Straight downtube meant Shelby issue and curved downtube meant Gambles Hiawatha issue.
The individual tank styles of both didnt cross over between the two frame styles.
I'm not sure if the Bone White was used on the earlier models. It can look similar in pictures to the Straw color, but was actually quite different. The Straw color had more of a Butter Yellow hue.
PS. For some reason, the surplus bikes were not equipped with a horn. The lack of a horn button is also an indicator that your tank came from a 1940 model.
They seemed to be surplus issue with no rhyme or reason as to whether they were equipped with a Arrow type tank or the Speedline type tank.
The down tube configuration was also mixed, being either curved or straight with either tank fitted. They all seemed to be painted the same, Off/Bone White and Brick Red. They almost always were badged, Shelby Supreme.
The 1938/39 models adhered to a more strict convention. Straight downtube meant Shelby issue and curved downtube meant Gambles Hiawatha issue.
The individual tank styles of both didnt cross over between the two frame styles.
I'm not sure if the Bone White was used on the earlier models. It can look similar in pictures to the Straw color, but was actually quite different. The Straw color had more of a Butter Yellow hue.
PS. For some reason, the surplus bikes were not equipped with a horn. The lack of a horn button is also an indicator that your tank came from a 1940 model.
Last edited:
detroitbike
I live for the CABE
Badged Shelby Supreme ...no Horn
Badged Shelby Supreme ...no Horn
Did some digging.... my frame and fenders were both red originally. Accent color appears to have been white.
Here's my seat post clamp... narrow pinched type. My no-nose has a wider clamp. What does this mean? And serial number shown too.
Here's my seat post clamp... narrow pinched type. My no-nose has a wider clamp. What does this mean? And serial number shown too.
thatonejohn
Finally riding a big boys bike
So you're the guy who got the tank... I had it in my hands, but they wouldn't sell it to me because they didn't know what it was for (or what it was worth), Lady kept mumbling on about it being for the first ever electric bicycle. Oh well, just another greedy antique shop wringing every last dollar out of something.
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