# 1915 Napoleon project



## PhilipJ

Hello Cabers,

Thought I would post some pics of my 1915 Napoleon project. I'm typically more into high wheels and TOC safeties but I always liked motobikes. I recently purchased this Napoleon from a fellow Caber and I'm working to get it back to riding condition. 



WARNING to all you patina lovers. If you scroll down you will not like what you see!! 

Here are some before and after pics of the preservation process. 



























I'm going to get it back on the road and use her for my next century ride. I plan to put white RD tires on it.

I'll post updates of the progress. 

Cheers,
Phil


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## mike j

Nice job, I was a P L until now, you won me over. Seriously though, looking' great, can't wait to see the rider finished.


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## Monarky

PhilipJ said:


> Hello Cabers,
> 
> Thought I would post some pics of my 1915 Napoleon project. I'm typically more into high wheels and TOC safeties but I always liked motobikes. I recently purchased this Napoleon from a fellow Caber and I'm working to get it back to riding condition.
> 
> 
> 
> WARNING to all you patina lovers. If you scroll down you will not like what you see!!
> 
> Here are some before and after pics of the preservation process.
> 
> View attachment 174358
> 
> View attachment 174359
> 
> View attachment 174360
> 
> View attachment 174361
> 
> View attachment 174362
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> View attachment 174363
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> 
> I'm going to get it back on the road and use her for my next century ride. I plan to put white RD tires on it.
> 
> I'll post updates of the progress.
> 
> Cheers,
> Phil




Hi Phil,  I think it is coming out great, you are doing a great job.  What are you using to clean it up with?


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## bricycle

Wow! that cleaned up good...... paint really pops now!!! Even pinstripe on struts!


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## PhilipJ

Thanks for the kind words. I was excited to see so much of the original paint was still present. 

I have a process for cleaning antique bikes.

1st I spray Tuff Stuff cleaner on the part and then go over it with fine steel wool
2nd I use Meguiars fine cut cleaner
3rd I use Meguiars #7 show car glaze (this stuff is amazing!)
4th I put wax on the part.

Cheers,
Phil


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## SirMike1983

Good looking work. The modern cleaning/preservation products are great for bringing back old paint. It sure beats the days when you had just rubbing compounds and paste polish in the tins and what you got is what you got when you were done. We have many good choices for restoration products/polishes/etc today.


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## M & M cycle

looks great!! nice job!! M & M


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## Gearhead

Great bike and great job cleaning her up!


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## PhilipJ

I've been doing a lot of work on my Napoleon. Here are some before and after pics of the progress.


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## PhilipJ

Here are some more. The seat took a lot of work. I redyed the leather.


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## PhilipJ

Here are some pics of the work I've done to repair the back rim. 















I still have some work to do on the rim fix. Afterward, I'm going to sand the rims and schellac them. I wanted to keep the bike as original as possible but the paint on the rims is pretty rough. Plus I really like the look of schellac on rims. I've rebuilt wood rims before and it's by far my favorite part of bringing TOC bikes back to life. I'm going to save it for last. Besides the rims I still have work to do on the hubs, rack, stand and the mounting hardware for the fenders. 

Below is a pic of what the rims will look like finished. 





Cheers,
Phil


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## squeedals

Is that an original high wheeler in the background??


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## PhilipJ

Yes. It's an 1888 Columbia 54".


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## bricycle

Nice work!


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## Wheeled Relics

Nice to see how the wood looks under the old red paint. Starting to think about wood wheels.


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## willswares1220

I like what you did with that preservation rather than a total, all out restoration to preserve the original paint & plating.

And, thanks for the recipe on cleaning!


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## squeedals

PhilipJ said:


> Yes. It's an 1888 Columbia 54".




Nice.........very nice...........


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## ZOO

*Tank???*

I never knew the napoleon had a tank in 1915.


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## PhilipJ

Does now.


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## PhilipJ

I'm sure there is someone more knowledgeable about this topic than me who could provide better feedback. But what I understand is during the teens tanks, along with a lot of other accessories, were options added to bikes.


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## ZOO

OK,  thank you


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## bricycle

ZOO said:


> I never knew the napoleon had a tank in 1915.




Sears offered these as an optional acessory for Standard Elgin, Napoleon and Chief. Note: also fits my Mead Premier perfect also.


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## Goldenrod1

You are my new hero.  They were made to ride.


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## ZOO

Thank you bricycle. I was confused with seeing Elgin on the tank, my understanding was Elgin started the motorbike models in 1920, but without a tank. Is there a catalog reference to these accessory tanks?


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## bricycle

ZOO said:


> Thank you bricycle. I was confused with seeing Elgin on the tank, my understanding was Elgin started the motorbike models in 1920, but without a tank. Is there a catalog reference to these accessory tanks?




Check some of balloontyre 's threads of catalogue pics.....


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## Wheeled Relics

Oh wow. I love patina, but this is pretty amazing to see the original paint come back to life like that!


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## Balloontyre

ZOO said:


> Thank you bricycle. I was confused with seeing Elgin on the tank, my understanding was Elgin started the motorbike models in 1920, but without a tank. Is there a catalog reference to these accessory tanks?




Yup, according to the catalogs I've seen, no tanks until mid 20's, no accessory tanks at all till the 30's. Elgin brand (aside from king) first appears in 1920.


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## Iverider

We can all pretend that big brother handed the bike down to little brother and in the process it gained a tank to make it "NEW"!

Great progress on the paint recovery. How'dja do it? You goin' to Chestertown in 2015?


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## PhilipJ

Thanks for the kind words! Five years in the Marine corps as an avionicsman you develop a skill for fighting corrosion. 3 1/2 years I was stationed in Hawaii. The salt is killer on electronics. It's funny, when I was in the Corps I hated busting rust but now I pay a lot of money and spend a lot of my free time doing it. 

1st I spray Tuff Stuff cleaner on the part and then go over it with fine steel wool
2nd I use Meguiars fine cut cleaner
3rd I use Meguiars #7 show car glaze (this stuff is amazing!)
4th I put wax on the part.

Sometimes I'll spary the part with PB Blaster before using the steel wool. It really breaks up the corrosion. 

I've been using Evapo-rust on the non-painted parts. I read about it on the Cabe (the benefits of the Cabe are neverending!!!) This stuff is great and safe. No worries about getting it on your skin. Cost is a bit high but worth it IMO. 

Thanks for the feedback on the tank. I think I'll keep it on the bike as it doesn't permanently alter it in anyway and IMO it looks great on this bike. 

Unfortunately not going to be able to make it to Chestertown. Life has been really busy lately. We just adopted an eight year old girl. She has already told me she wants a high wheel bike.  We will see how long that lasts. I'm guessing her teenage years might change that request. I got my old Hutch I raced in the 80s back to riding condition and gave it to her. Next summer I plan to get her on the trails to do some mountain biking. 

Cheers,
Phil


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## pedal_junky

You scared me with your Warning. I was expecting complete showroom restoration. I think there is plenty of patina left. The bike is beautiful and nice job bringing her back to life. Semper Fi.


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## Balloontyre

That tank looks right at home there, is it a switched version?


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## bricycle

Balloontyre said:


> That tank looks right at home there, is it a switched version?




yes it is. It's better than the other one tho-


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## PhilipJ

I'm almost finished with my Napoleon project. Here are some pics.


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## bricycle

You did her proud! A guy almost doesn't mind selling a bike if he knows it is going into hands as good as yours......


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## PhilipJ

Thanks Bri! I can't wait to take her for a ride soon. I have a few more things still to do. The main task left is purchasing and mounting the tires. I'm going to put some RD treaded black tires on her. I've purchased two sets of RD tires before for another bike. They ride great and I haven't had any trouble with them. I need a lock nut for the cranks. The one I have is stripped. If you have one or know someone that does who would be willing to sell it to me please let me know. 

Cheers,
Phil


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## bricycle

Problem is no two nuts will fit the same (should), but some looser, some a bit to tight. In the mean time tap nut with hammer to flatten a smidge and reinstall should tighten better...?


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## PhilipJ

Awesome! Thanks for the tip Bri. You are the Wiz!!!


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## gator49

Very Nice--amazing job


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## jrramirez875

By any chance would u be interested in saleing this tank

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## jrramirez875

And if yes 1424 251 6922

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## jrramirez875

A beautiful there

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## jrramirez875

Bicycle

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## pedal_junky

jrramirez875 said:


> By any chance would u be interested in saleing this tank
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk




That's funny.


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## jrramirez875

pedal_junky said:


> That's funny.





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## jrramirez875

excuse me how much was the cost on that tank..

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## PhilipJ

I purchased the bike with the tank on it. I believe the previous owner put the tank on the bike. Not interested in selling it. 

Thanks!


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## bricycle

Those tanks run upwards of $275


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## jrramirez875

Would take 400

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## PhilipJ

Recently finished my Napoleon project. This project has been a joy to work on. I learned a lot and am happy with the way the bike turned out. Several members of the Cabe have provided great help in this process. Thanks to all! Much of the bike isn't original but I really enjoy the way it looks. I also enjoy the way she rides. I went with Robert Dean tires again. They are 28 x 1 1/2 black tread single tube tires. The tires ride and look great!! The handlebars are a blast! The only problem I've been having has to do with the coaster brake. It won't engage. The hub just spins backwards. I would say every tenth time I try to engage the coaster brake, it works. When it works it's quite effective but one in ten times is an issue. Anyone have any experience with Musselman Model M hubs? I've taken the hub a part several times to inspect it. I don't have a lot of knowledge about coaster brake hubs but it all seems correct.

Thanks for looking and for any help with the Musselman hub.

Cheers,
Phil










View attachment 330875


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## SKPC

Was this bikes' Maker ever determined?


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## Archie Sturmer

SKPC said:


> Was this bikes' Maker ever determined?



Thought to be a Davis-built.
Never really showed a serial number, although the truss forks (and sprocket) did look Davis.

Were Sears Napoleon bicycles sold as motor-bike models, or only as diamond frames; was the "Chief" model their only motorbike model, until replaced by the Elgin?




Maybe a one-year-only thing?


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## SKPC

yes, could have been one or two only AS...another piece of Davis tall frame moto literarture...pretty spot on..


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## Goldenindian

red one from 1918….(8) on bottom bracket. Same style Napoleon motobike.
also orange one has (D) bottom bracket. Probably not one year thing. They have subtle differences…lugging, fender depth, 3 speed ect.


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## Rusty72

That orange Napoleon is killer !!
Who owns it ?


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