# Rare Davis built bicycle



## dave the wave (Jun 14, 2010)

here's one for ya Davis built" Nonpareil" Nonpareil Bicycle Works St.Louis Mo.


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## irene_crystal (Jun 14, 2010)

Love the frame style. Exactly the style bike I am looking to buy.


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## DonChristie (Jun 14, 2010)

Shes a beauty! Looks to be all original. Clean it and ride it!


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## redline1968 (Jun 15, 2010)

cool bike.  selling it? just asking    mark


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## rustyspoke66 (Jun 15, 2010)

Very nice, whats the story behind the find?


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## dave the wave (Jun 15, 2010)

the guy in town called me 10yrs ago about it, so I went over to check it out and made a offer on it.and then 10yrs later went over with another offer and he accepted.thank god i finally got it.for $500.if you look closely at the headtube there's an extra set of holes made by Davis Sewing Machine Co.for the Harley-Davidson headbadge for the Motorcyke. So I think Davis also built this "motorbike" style for other bicycle companys.I believe this is circa 1918.


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## fattommy (Jun 15, 2010)

I believe the rear stand is the same as Harley isn't it?
Tommy


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## redline1968 (Jun 15, 2010)

i knew you had known what it is.   i feel its a harley.    great score..  good luck finding the orig parts as you know there are repops out there.    mark


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## rustyspoke66 (Jun 15, 2010)

Sweet, Dave @ nostalgic.net has restored a few Harleys if your looking for info or parts?


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## pedal alley (Jun 15, 2010)

sweet. like the 50's style front fender drop.


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## 37fleetwood (Jun 15, 2010)

I'm not sure what some of the replies are getting at. if I'm not mistaken Davis made the Harleys. starting in 1916 Davis made bicycles for Harley Davidson and continued  to be the sole supplier of bikes to Harley until 1922 when Davis closed their doors and Horace Huffman liquidated the assets and shortly thereafter started Huffman manufacturing. 
I'm curious what it is that would indicate that the bike is Davis made. to me it doesn't look at all like any of the Davis stuff I've seen and Nonpareil isn't a name I'm aware of Davis using. the badge is attached at the sides of the head tube but there are clear indications that the original badge was attached with two vertical holes in the front of the head tube. the Nonpareil badge also overlaps the head set cups and this would have never been built like this. I have also never seen a Davis bike use this chain ring.
I'm going to guess your bike is a re-badged bike by another manufacturer.
another question, goes to the rarity, Davis was one of the largest manufacturers of bicycles, I would expect them to be more common than most. I'm not saying the bike isn't rare, all of these early bikes are rare but being Davis made would make them less rare than other manufacturers. I may be wrong in all this but I don't think so.


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## dave the wave (Jun 16, 2010)

oh....... I didn't know that.thanks


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## redline1968 (Jun 16, 2010)

american pickers would know......


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## dave the wave (Jun 16, 2010)

you know I never thought of that,American Pickers would know.they are now the foremost authority of bicycle history.


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## redline1968 (Jun 16, 2010)

thats right.. who ya gonna call......................   american picker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  mark


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## pelletman (Jun 20, 2010)

American Pickers are NOT the foremost authority on bicycle history.  My God...


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## redline1968 (Jun 21, 2010)

strange maybe,  but not bad.   mark


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## georgedelk (Jun 24, 2010)

I also have a girls bicycle with a Harley headbadge that states Pinnell's, Richmond, Va., which was a Harley Davidson Dealer many years ago. The frame appears the same as one of the Davis models. The rims are metal but appear to be porcelin and white in color. The crank does not have the HD in the design. The words "Sport Tourist" are painted on the frame. Any idea how old this is? I can email a picture but am having trouble with this site.


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## lmw626 (Jul 14, 2010)

*Another Nonpareil Bicycle Works...*

I also have a Nonpareil Bicycle Works St. Louis bike. I happen to live in St. Louis so mine didn't travel far. It shares some characteristics with the original poster's bike but does have a different head badge.  It looks suspiciously like some late 40s-early 50s Schwinn's.  Mine is missing the head lamp and key for the lock, the seat needs remounting and it has the wrong type of new tires.  The paint is very good condition, almost no rust.  The serial number is E7700.  The seat is embossed "Made in USA Troxel" and the hub and brake are stamped "New Departure Made in USA." 

Photos are here...Nonpareil Bicycle


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## RMS37 (Jul 14, 2010)

Nonpareil is a name and badge used on bikes distributed out of St. Louis. Bikes sold under that brand were produced by several different companies. This girl's bike was made by Manton and Smith of Chicago.


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## lmw626 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks for the reply and info!  Do you happen to know how to date this Manton and Smith?  Is there something about it that tells you it's and M&S?  I'm just curious for future reference if I come across one of these again.


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## RMS37 (Jul 15, 2010)

The built in headlock (on the drive side) is a dead giveaway that the bike was made by Manton and Smith. The other thing that sets Manton and Smith bikes apart is the hand welded un-polished joints. I’m sure the serial number would date the bike but I don’t think any information on decoding their serial numbers is in the public domain. M&S was a small company and used a lot of parts from other suppliers sometimes these help date a bike. The fender braces with the integral drop stand brackets were typically used in the early to mid thirties so I would think your bike is likely to be a prewar bike, on the other hand I have generally seen that badge on postwar bikes.


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## lmw626 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thank you, I appreciate all the information!!  Actually, I just picked this bike up yesterday from a guy on Craigslist.  He had no info except he thought it was a catalog/mail order type of bike and thought it was built on a Schwinn frame.  All I had to start with was the name on the head badge and I'm new to working with and researching vintage bicycles.  And now... I wonder what it's value might be...


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