# ‘40 Motorbike (crusty)



## ballooney (Oct 30, 2018)

This showed up today...Hudson badged I think. Rough but the paint will come back nicely based on a few test spots. Chrome is pretty far gone. Shippers flattened the rear fender but reflector survived. I’ll need some pedals and seat post...will make everything else work. Hope to move this into the project forum before too long. A gentle clean up and repack will be in store. Love love love these ‘40-41 straightbar tanks. Just plain bitchen!













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## Autocycleplane (Oct 30, 2018)

Wow that will clean up really well actually. I worked wonders on the other maroon 40 with the motorbike decal a couple of summers ago. 1500 and a ton of water....

I’ve never seen a 40 SB with that tall seat tube sticking above the top tube. What’s the center to top measurement on the seat tube?

Great bike buddy. Don’t forget to look down the seat tube for a build sheet....


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## ballooney (Oct 30, 2018)

Thank’s Eric. Good eyes...that’s a 20” mast!


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## ballooney (Oct 30, 2018)

Just looked...no build sheet. 


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## cyclingday (Oct 30, 2018)

Yep!
40/41s great bikes!
Congrats!


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## Pantmaker (Oct 31, 2018)

Great bike. I've got the same one badged La Salle. It's a sweet rider.


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## OZ1972 (Nov 1, 2018)

Awesome bike , love it congrats buddy !


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## Spence36 (Nov 2, 2018)

Nice 


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## bricycle (Nov 2, 2018)

Yum!!!


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## stoney (Nov 3, 2018)

cyclingday said:


> View attachment 892784
> 
> Yep!
> 40/41s great bikes!
> Congrats!




Nice, great line up.


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## ballooney (Nov 3, 2018)

Moved my son’s Panther off the stand and broke this one down today... 











Rear fender took a big hit in shipping...ouch!!




bike fought me but a lot of kroil later I got through it...Took my time cleaning through the heavy grime on the frame. Super stoked on how well the paint is coming back...patent sticker survived.








Pins are really strong!




Love this badge..




More to come...


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## cyclingday (Nov 3, 2018)

Thanks for the update.
It's great to see how well it's coming back.
There's a thread on here somewhere about the Hudsons department store in Detroit.
It's history was pretty interesting.
It was a massive store.
You should check it out, so that you can see where your bike came from.


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## Tim the Skid (Nov 4, 2018)

The late prewar and early postwar (40-41 and 46) straight bars are my favorite Schwinns. The paint and pins look great, looking forward to your updates.


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## anders1 (Nov 4, 2018)

Looks great!


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## Sven (Nov 4, 2018)

Wow...what difference the clean up made. Great job.Keep us posted


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## tripple3 (Nov 4, 2018)

cyclingday said:


> There's a thread on here somewhere about the Hudsons department store in Detroit.
> It's history was pretty interesting.
> It was a massive store.



https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/hudson-badge.90044/
Dig that badge!


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## ballooney (Nov 4, 2018)

Thanks for the link to the Hudson Dept store thread. Great history. Too bad the building was demolished! 

It looks like the “Detroit” in my badge has weathered away. I love this badge though and this bike also came with a Detroit license tag which now makes total sense. 






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## Maskadeo (Nov 4, 2018)

These badges tend not to age well


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## ballooney (Nov 4, 2018)

I was able to scratch out a few hours on this today...mainly washing larger parts and soaking smaller parts...








Couple in my son’s ‘53 Panther project and a lot of schwinn parts floating and soaking around here...





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## ZE52414 (Nov 4, 2018)

What a great cleanup! Can’t wait to see more!


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## BFGforme (Nov 5, 2018)

What is kroil, and how did you get the color back like that? Love the bike... Dave


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## BFGforme (Nov 5, 2018)

I have a'41 BFG challenger that needs that done


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## Tikibar (Nov 5, 2018)

Great score!
What do you use for cleaning/soaking?


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## ballooney (Nov 5, 2018)

David Amsbary said:


> What is kroil, and how did you get the color back like that? Love the bike... Dave




It’s a cleaning solvent. I use it on rusty parts before I break the bike down...let it sit overnight. Here is a pic...




So far on the frame, I used WD40 with 0000 steel wool. I use a cr@p ton of WD40 and rub softly to avoid scratches. I am very careful around the pins as they can disappear in a hurry. This bike took 3 passes. Then wash with dawn soap and water. Next steps will be a light polishing compound and then seal it with a carnauba wax. Lot of steps on this bike but when the paint comes out as strong as this bike it’s all the motivation you need. 


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## ballooney (Nov 5, 2018)

Tikibar said:


> Great score!
> What do you use for cleaning/soaking?
> View attachment 896293




See my reply to David Amsbury for cleaning steps. 

Rusty parts I soak in evaporust...works incredibly well. For greasy parts (bearings etc.) I’ll soak in a 50/50 mix of water and simple green. I’ll even throw the chain in there too...anything with caked on grease goes in this mix. Let it sit overnight and check on it. If clean then rinse in water and let it dry. Done. 


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## ballooney (Nov 8, 2018)

Made some time for the Motorbike tonight...was curious what a brass brush in a makita would do on rust...



It did pretty awesome!




Then hit the rack top with WD40 and steel wool...did some straightening too... before...




After...yummy!




Then hit the forks...yes, they are bent. I will address that later but the paint sure is strong! 
Before




After...delicious!





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## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Nov 8, 2018)

Well Done.............all around !    That bike was / Is  way too nice to "Hang around, and do nothing"      You are an awesome custodian of this bike , For this you both shall benefit !


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## Kickstand3 (Nov 8, 2018)

ballooney said:


> Made some time for the Motorbike tonight...was curious what a brass brush in a makita would do on rust...View attachment 897713
> 
> It did pretty awesome!
> View attachment 897714
> ...




Beautiful !


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## ballooney (Nov 9, 2018)

Moving this bike along a little further tonight...from complete rust and pretty much frozen...sprung free from its rusty cage is a diamond chain once more...




Next up...bent forks. 




Fork, Meet Little Brute...




Now that’s the ticket!




G2G baby!





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## Spence36 (Nov 9, 2018)

ballooney said:


> This showed up today...Hudson badged I think. Rough but the paint will come back nicely based on a few test spots. Chrome is pretty far gone. Shippers flattened the rear fender but reflector survived. I’ll need some pedals and seat post...will make everything else work. Hope to move this into the project forum before too long. A gentle clean up and repack will be in store. Love love love these ‘40-41 straightbar tanks. Just plain bitchen!
> 
> View attachment 892739
> 
> ...




Awesome. Bike let me know if you sell it 


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## ballooney (Nov 10, 2018)

Got in a few more hours today...more cleanup on the painted parts and fender repair using a wood puck (result of drilling with a 3 1/2” hole saw) that’s the same width as the fender. Perfect for pounding out dents...













Back at it with the brass wheel. My new favorite approach to rust on played parts...








Truss rods came out nice...




Back fender was a wreck! Lot of massaging to get it back in shape. The reflector will cover most of the residual damage...




Back in shape...




Done...




Broke the wheels down and soaking rusty spokes in evaporust...




And nipples in simple green...




Getting there...slowly. 




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## Dave K (Nov 10, 2018)

Nice work!!!!   Killer bike.  Keep the pictures coming.


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## bicycle larry (Nov 10, 2018)

ballooney said:


> This showed up today...Hudson badged I think. Rough but the paint will come back nicely based on a few test spots. Chrome is pretty far gone. Shippers flattened the rear fender but reflector survived. I’ll need some pedals and seat post...will make everything else work. Hope to move this into the project forum before too long. A gentle clean up and repack will be in store. Love love love these ‘40-41 straightbar tanks. Just plain bitchen!
> 
> View attachment 892739
> 
> ...



I love it . nice find . from bicycle larry


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## ballooney (Nov 13, 2018)

Just a little progress tonight. Starting to move some parts off the bench top and onto the bike. Paint is turning out nicely. 










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## ballooney (Dec 16, 2018)

It was raining today...perfect excuse to make significant progress but not before wiring in a new task light right over the bike stand (don’t know why I didn’t do that sooner)...





































That’s about as far as I can take it. Need grips and spokes/nipples to build up the wheels. Let me know if you have any of those pieces to help move this along. 




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## barneyguey (Dec 16, 2018)

ballooney said:


> It was raining today...perfect excuse to make significant progress but not before wiring in a new task light right over the bike stand (don’t know why I didn’t do that sooner)...
> 
> View attachment 920549
> 
> ...



Beautiful bike! Great job!


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## ballooney (Jan 1, 2019)

Happy New Year! Minor progress to report...started lacing the rear wheel this afternoon—first time. Going for a 4 cross pattern. I only had to scrap it and start over once. Realized the two wheels I was going to use as a model are laced incorrectly...neither had the 4th cross under. No big...just followed Sheldon Browns instructions...read slowly about 20 times for each section. Will learn how to tension and true next. Having a blast!


















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## Dgoldman (Jan 4, 2019)

ballooney said:


> Happy New Year! Minor progress to report...started lacing the rear wheel this afternoon—first time. Going for a 4 cross pattern. I only had to scrap it and start over once. Realized the two wheels I was going to use as a model are laced incorrectly...neither had the 4th cross under. No big...just followed Sheldon Browns instructions...read slowly about 20 times for each section. Will learn how to tension and true next. Having a blast!
> 
> View attachment 927366
> 
> ...



Love the progress. Keep up the good work!


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## oldmtrcyc (Jan 5, 2019)

Excellent work!  What is the "Little Brute" contraption that you straightened the forks with?


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## Spence36 (Jan 5, 2019)

Yes the lil Brit’s I need one of those . It’s easy to make forks look straight I’ve done many hard part is making them ride straight need that Lil Brute ya have there I have a 40 schwinn rare no auto cycle jewel tank I need it straighten let us know ... 
great job bringing it back from the dead !! 


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## ballooney (Jan 11, 2019)

oldmtrcyc said:


> Excellent work!  What is the "Little Brute" contraption that you straightened the forks with?






Spence36 said:


> Yes the lil Brit’s I need one of those . It’s easy to make forks look straight I’ve done many hard part is making them ride straight need that Lil Brute ya have there I have a 40 schwinn rare no auto cycle jewel tank I need it straighten let us know ...
> great job bringing it back from the dead !!
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




This was the first time I used one and it worked great.  Hopefully it translates into a straight ride once the bike is rolling again.  Anyway, it's a great device and there is one for sale now here on the CABE:
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/little-brute-fork-straightener.145538/

You can youtube "little brute" for a demonstration.  Very handy tool!


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## ballooney (Jan 30, 2019)

Small progress today...thanks to @Autocycleplane who dropped off a set of lobdell stamped drop centers with a rebuilt ‘40 morrow hub. Killer! Thanks Eric!


















Unfortunately, this is how she will sit for a while...have to lace up a hi-lo front drum but I can’t even get a standard hub to tension up correctly. Ugh!  Oh well, I’ll just have to get really good at riding wheelies!!


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## ballooney (Feb 11, 2019)

Done!!! I have some place holders on the bike until I can find some decent ball end grips and silver brake cable housing. Huge thanks to the CABE community and in particular @Autocycleplane for the wheelset, Hi-lo drum and for lacing it up for me plus some smalls and guidance, @davek for some smalls and passion for prewar Schwinns...two of the finest prewar schwinn nuts in our community. Of course it seems all my bikes are equipped with a @bobcycles masterpiece saddle and rolling on @John chain treads is a must. 

I was a little concerned about the fork after straightening it but it rides true. Bike just floats in the road...so comfortable with the tall frame too!  Glad it’s built and road worthy once again. 

Without further adieu...here is the Motorbike in the wild and no longer crusty...

















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## A.S.BOLTNUT (Feb 11, 2019)

Nice job , I love local stuff !


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## Autocycleplane (Feb 11, 2019)

Very cool bike. It was fun for me to have a hand in getting both known examples of the 1940 BA107 “Motorbike” back on the road and I look forward to taking this one for a test ride sometime as well.

Great job Steve.

Here is the other one for reference:


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## Hammerhead (Feb 11, 2019)

AWESOME work. What stunner.
Hammerhead


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## Boris (Feb 11, 2019)

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing your project from start to finish. Sounds like you're going to need two work stands around there pretty soon. Its a shame though, that proper precautions were not employed to prevent the inevitable "rear fender crunch".


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## Ozark Flyer (Apr 16, 2019)

That’s my style, man.  Great bike and good work.


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