# Western Flyer help



## spook1s (Dec 9, 2011)

I just added this Western Flyer to my stable and I would like some help determining if most of the parts are correct.  The chain guard and the front light are my main concerns but I supopose it would be nice to know as much as possible!
Hopefully you guys will offer wisdom. I'd like to know the manufacturer as well and a date if possible.  He seems very pre-war to me.






The chain guard...




light..




rear rack... reflector is glass












It has a Morrow rear. I'll add the serial number later. It needs some TLC but I don't think it's too bad!


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## RMS37 (Dec 9, 2011)

Actually it is the tank that is wrong, the bike is an early CWC built "bent-tank" model probably from early 1937 (the serial number will help pin this down). The early bent tank frames have fillet welded top tubes while later versions of the frame used internal lugs. This makes the early chain guard and Silver Ray light correct but the bike should have the trap door version of the bent tank rather than the late version that is on the bike. The repaint has blended the parts but the two-tone blue color choice was not offered by CWC until 1940 and is probably not original to the bike. Beyond that, the fork is not a CWC unit and looks more like a Schwinn unit and the rear rack should have a faceted glass reflector. The jeweled parade struts are also likely an aftermarket accessory.


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## spook1s (Dec 9, 2011)

Phil... Thank You... You are a wonderful wealth of knowledge!! I sincerly appreciate your input! Someday If I ever meet you in person, I want to buy you lunch!!

I will add serial number a little later. Can anybody show me what some of the previously mentioned correct parts look like so I can begin my search? By the sounds of it, I'll be looking for the correct "trap door" tank, correct front fork, and the faceted glass jewel reflector.
I'm also curious about the operation of the light... There is a hole with a VERY dryrotted grommet on the bottom side of the tank... I assume this is for wiring to the light.. However, there is no switch to be seen... I do have a EA button on top of the tank... looks like a horn button.  I haven't opened the tank yet...


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## spook1s (Dec 12, 2011)

I flipped him over and the serial number is:    A95629       Does this help date the bike any better?

Anybody have any other help in the form of pics they can add?


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## spook1s (Dec 15, 2011)

Still waiting for any help on this one I can get. 

I know what the faceted jewel rear reflector looks like...

I'm not sure on the tank or fork??

If this paint is not original... somebody must have done a good job repainting it a long time ago. 

I agree the "parade struts" are aftermarket but they are nicely aged and go well with the bike.  He's definately going to get a good cleaning this winter and some well deserved maintainence.
I would like to find some rims in better shape and put some better looking tires on him.


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## RMS37 (Dec 15, 2011)

The serial number puts the bike’s production, by my reckoning, near the end of 1936 or the beginning of 1937.  Here are some links to help show the parts you are asking about:

  Scrubbinrims reposted pictures of his 1937 CWC Western Flyer in this thread:

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...oadmaster-chainguard-like-the-one-in-the-link.

  His bike is a bit later than yours and has the trap-door tank which your bike should have. (All 1938 and earlier CWC bent-tank models used a version of this tank with the removable battery panel) His tank has no gills and no horn button. Later tanks added gills and a tank mounted horn button for a horn placed inside the tank. There are a lot of equipment variations on the early bikes and, in absence, it is hard to know for sure if your bike originally had a horn and if it did, whether it was an internal or external unit. Early horn buttons (36/37) are mounted on the side of the tank and on later versions (39/39), the horn button was moved to the top of the tank.

  The fork on Scrubbin’s bike is the 1937 deluxe Swan fork; your bike would have more likely had the 1935-37 “Flying Vee” fork which is shown on the boy’s 1936 CWC shroud-tank bike in this link:

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...ar-Ladies-Hawthorne&highlight=1937+roadmaster

  The fork that is on your bike looks like a Schwinn unit:

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...per-deluxe-ladies-bike&highlight=schwinn+fork

  It is hard to judge the originality of paint from photographs but in this case the patterns, colors, and the quality of the pin striping do not look original or factory. Because the fork and the tank are replacement items on the bike and later in date than the frame, the serial number, and the other equipment on the bike, and because the paint obviously was applied after those items were added to the mix, it stands to reason that the paint is not the original paint on the bike. Many bikes were refurbished during WW2 by bike shops that did a credible job of replicating factory paint jobs and that could be the case with this bike.  

  Regardless of the above, this is a nice bike as it stands, it appears to be in very good condition and has period patina that carries a good deal of charm. It is a great bike as is and could be improved with a good cleaning or it could become the basis of an accurate restoration with the exchange of a few parts that would be date correct for the original bike.


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