# My Huffman G519 tribute bike



## rwdfresno (Jan 14, 2015)

I've been around Military vehicles and Warbirds pretty much my entire life. As a kid I wanted to restore and own a military vehicle so bad. I was too young to drive and couldn't afford jeep or a deuce and a half on my allowance. 

I would read sit and read my TM-2800 "Standard Military Motor Vehicles" cover to cover at least 2 times a day. I'd always stop on the page that showed the "Scooter, Motor, 2W, Airborne" and fantasize about getting one. The book still opens naturally to that page. It quickly became apparent that my allowance wasn't going to achieve that goal anytime soon. I'd have to settle for "Bicycle, Military, Universal" that was just across the page. 

Back then the internet was yet to proliferate to the point that you could simply Google for just about any information and I didn't have Johan's wonderful site, TheCABE, the G503.com and other great sources of information at my fingertips. Even in the military vehicle hobby I couldn't find a lot of information about G519s. All I had to start with was the this picture and the good fortune of having a best friend who's dad collected prewar Schwinn bicycles. He was able to use my TM-2800 and some of his channels to find more information to help me source some parts to build a replica bike.

I built what ended up a mix of Columbia and Huffman parts. I finally got all the parts and restored it to my wartime Army impression. I must have hundreds of miles on this bike between all of the airshows and military vehicle meets that I've ridden around at. As I got older and life happened it caused me to move several times, get distracted from some of my hobbies, and the bike has been in storage for many years. Finally, I was able to have my dad bring my bike out to my home in CO when he made  road trip out from CA. I was surprised how worse for wear it was. It was stored in a place that others, had access to and my nice raspberry reflector, original Columbia chain guard and some other small parts were stollen. It was a bit sad for me to realize that they probably taken by the hands of someone who knew what they were and hence were fellow enthusiasts.

Anyway, seeing it in a rather pathetic state and having so many great memories with it made me want to bring it back to it's former glory. I'm going to re-restore it, and this time focus a bit more on making an authentic impression. Some of the things like the drop stand, seat, Columbia chain guard, and handlebars, etc weren't correct for the impression. Now that I have such a wealth of knowledge to reference I'd like to get as correct as possible considering what I have to start with and the availability and cost of parts. It won't be perfect, but I'm going to try and make it as authentic as I can considering what I have to start with, and the rarity and availability of correct parts. Wish me luck! Thanks everyone for putting some much knowledge at my fingertips.

thanks, Ryan


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