# Twin Bar on Craigslist



## MaxGlide (May 2, 2011)

For anyone interested.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/2358824899.html

Wayne


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## rustyspoke66 (May 2, 2011)

Boy, 1250.00 seems a bit steep.


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## elginkid (May 3, 2011)

Weren't Twin 40's a little better equipped than that?


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## MaxGlide (May 3, 2011)

I have one (not complete) but from what I know they had the rear rack with the battery pod as well as the front bracket with two torpedo headlights. As you can imagine the brackets broke as they had the weight of four D cells and what with how boys treated their bikes, it is no surprise they broke off.


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## Rookie (May 3, 2011)

Ey, this bike isn't too far from me. Interesting, looks to be a bit out of my price range for what's there.


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## Talewinds (May 3, 2011)

Rookie said:


> Ey, this bike isn't too far from me. Interesting,* looks to be a bit out of my price range for what's there.*




Which is why I haven't gone sniffing around on it...
 If it were complete and correct It'd be long gone already I'm sure.


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## RMS37 (May 3, 2011)

It is difficult to determine from the photographs what is on this bike, and considering what is missing, impossible to determine how it originally left the factory.

It may have originally been a Twin 40 but it is now missing all the defining features for that model which include the battery pod rack and the 40/50 shroud with the built in headlight (it is the 4-Star Twin Bar model that used externally mounted twin torpedo headlights. Also of note is the special torpedo’s used on a 4-Star do not hold batteries, as the power is supplied form the rack pod.) 

If the fenders are aluminum, it may have been a Twin 30, 50 or 60 as they are the only models that were equipped with alloy fenders. If the fenders are chrome plated steel then it may have started out as one of the other models which originally had painted steel fenders. Post-factory chroming of the fenders might also explain the non-original chrome plating of the crank hanger whale. 

The rack is similar to the one used on the oddly named Twin 70 (essentially an accessorized 20) but has a reflector instead of a battery light.

The blue paint is probably not original to the frame and was not an original option until the second season for the 4-Star model in spring/summer 1940.

While there is proof from extant Twin Bars that not all bikes conform to catalog descriptions, it is a long stretch to refer to this bike as a Twin 40 unless the owner knows that the bike originally was one before losing most of it’s original parts. If the frame is straight it may be a kick-off point to build a factory correct Twin but I agree it is expensive with none of the spendy parts coming along for the ride (play it against Scrubbinrims recently available Twin 20 project.)


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## Talewinds (May 3, 2011)

It's landed on Ebay now.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...975873&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

Although I don't care for the "collector's" price tag I do VERY much like the shiny fenders and crank pod....

Fenders and pod appear to be alum?


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## RMS37 (May 3, 2011)

The eBay pictures make it a bit easier to sort things out…and they add to the questions. Are the parts chrome, stainless or alloy? Sometimes dirty chrome looks like alloy. The rear fender looks more like stainless and it is not a Twin Bar part anyway. All the Twin Bar fenders have the center ridge and the pressed tails. I have never seen a crank hanger whale in anything but painted mild steel so I am inclined to believe that this one has been plated rather than being S.S. or alloy (I tried putting a magnet on the computer screen but everything just went dark!) That leaves the front fender which I am capable of convincing myself is dirt over chrome rather than alloy (No, I’m not going to try that magnet thing twice. Someone should just ask the seller to test the bike live.)

The other thing that becomes apparent from these higher res photos is that this is a Murray frame, and is one designed for a drop stand which, again by the literature, was not the configuration for the Twin 40’s or any of the numbered Twins which are all shown with kickstand frames. 

By the catalog, drop stand frames were introduced with the 4-Star models and those were never offered with alloy fenders.

Long-Distance Bicycle Forensics (LDBF) can only take you so far. This is an interesting, if somewhat overpriced bike. It will be equally interesting to follow the eBay listing and hopefully the future of the bike.


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## TheSaint (May 3, 2011)

Wasn't the key ID feature for a 4-Star Model frame, the inclusion of the "rear battery pod" mounting plate on the frame?

In the ebay listing of this bike, it clearly shows that plate? So this may be a 4-Star Model with pieces missing?

regards,
theSaint


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## RMS37 (May 3, 2011)

It’s Complicated…

Once serial numbers have been decoded, the date of production will say a lot about how any specific frame may or may not have been originally assembled. Until then there are some general rules but they are less than iron clad.

Again, by the consumer catalogs…

The key ID feature for a 4 Star Twin Bar would perhaps be the rear dropout plates. Those designed to hold and detain a drop stand appear only on 4 Stars in the literature but some early and late 4-Stars used side stands so that “rule” is a one way street. If the bike is designed for a drop stand, the literature indicates it was originally a 4 Star, but if it doesn’t have drop stand type plates it still may have been one.

The fender brace/rack mounting plate comes in two shapes depending on the manufacturer. It would seem that Twin 20’s and 30’s that were not rack equipped would not have the rack mounting holes and I do have one Murray frame that has this same plate with no holes. I have also seen what appear to be original 20’s with the holes so they may be present as a general production efficiency on most frames as they could then be built without regard to their later number assignment. 

One oddity is that I have come across two 4 Star frames, both Westfield built, that use a second, detachable rack mounting plate that accepts the rack bolts and then, in turn, is bolted to the fender brace. These plates are designed to fit the Westfield frame only which has a deeper dogleg bend in the frame tubes at that location. Other bikes I have examined have not had this plate either because it was removed or never there in the first place.


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## elginkid (May 3, 2011)

Well, to support the theory of fender(s) being chromed later...the fender braces are most certainly incorrect.


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## MaxGlide (May 11, 2011)

Thanks for correcting me. My four star has the rear battery in the pod and then front shroud has the light switch and horn. Of course the headlights would be shells with only bulbs in them.... duh! I still need the chain guard, bracket that holds the lights and horn buzzer thingy. Other than that I think it might be complete!


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