# 1930's Elgin motobike?



## jonnymenudo (Oct 21, 2008)

I picked this up out of the rafters in someones barn and breathed new life into it.  The gentleman said it was his fathers and he believed it to be a 1935 model.  Can anyone help verify this?


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## markivpedalpusher (Oct 21, 2008)

Yup looks like a 34/35


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## redline1968 (Oct 21, 2008)

since i am new to this site and this is my first posting bear with me.  I had one and they have grease fittings on the crank hangar  and the head tube for the early ballon elgins. i see yours' is missing the truss rods and the fork is bent. mark


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## the jackal (Oct 21, 2008)

*bike*

what ever It is it looks like mine!






I was told that the frame was produced by Colson. 

Martin


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## jonnymenudo (Oct 22, 2008)

redline1968 said:


> since i am new to this site and this is my first posting bear with me.  I had one and they have grease fittings on the crank hangar  and the head tube for the early ballon elgins. i see yours' is missing the truss rods and the fork is bent. mark




Mine does not have the grease ports on the head tube as some early Elgins had, which also confused me.  It does have the Model D rear hub and correct sprocket however.  The fork is not bent, the camera angle in that shot just makes it look skewed.


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## mre straightbar (Oct 22, 2008)

*looks bent to me too*

think it is any ways straight side shot will clear any doubt


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## jonnymenudo (Oct 23, 2008)

...could be, the stem wont come off at any rate, I suppose if the fork was bent in the steer tube the wedge could be stuck and that could be a reason the stem won't release.  Does this make any sense?  I have tried everything to get the stem out...any suggestions?


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## redline1968 (Oct 23, 2008)

looks bent to me. i hate to say it. yes, i think thats why the stem won't move. try wd 40 oil.


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## mre straightbar (Oct 24, 2008)

*soak the poop out of it with pb blaster*

in any crack pertaining to headset


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## RMS37 (Oct 24, 2008)

Hi,

The fork looks bent but not to the degree that it would keep the stem from being removed. I think it is more likely that the stem is frozen in place from years of corrosion. 

I have had to fight frozen stems several times (the last one took me several hours of work spread over about 4 year?s time).

Loosen the binder bolt, and back it out of the stem about a quarter of an inch, hit it with a hard plastic mallet to loosen the binder plug if necessary.

Once you get the binder bolt and plug loose, loosen the headset locknut. The next step is to spray liberal amounts of your favorite penetrating oil onto the stem where it meets the steerer tube and allow it time to do its work.

Next try to rotate the stem by straddling the front wheel and turning the bars from side to side.

If this doesn?t work, you can remove the front wheel and clamp the fork crown or the uppermost reaches of the blades in a vise. If the bars don?t provide enough leverage you can clamp a longer piece of heavy steel rod in the stem.

Apply more rotational force and the stem will probably break free at which point you can twist it back and forth while working it slowly up and out of the steerer tube,

Use caution during each step and work slowly so you can see if the force you are using is deforming anything that you can?t or don?t want to replace.  Cushion the fork with wood when clamping it in the vice holding it solidly with the least amount of force necessary.

This process has worked for me on several bikes and only once have I had to resort to the vice to free the stem. 

Phil


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## Strings-n-Spokes (Oct 26, 2008)

Here are some  pictures of my Elgin Motobike project,  just got the saddle, handlebars and wood clad 28" wheelset off a donor bike last week.


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