# 1951 Schwinn Spitfire



## Rich404 (Sep 24, 2015)

This is my 1951 Schwinn Spitfire. At first I was going to create a peewee Herman replica bike but then decided to use it as inspiration to create a cool version of that custom modification.

Rich.


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## Rich404 (Sep 24, 2015)

Hi all! This bicycle had a lot done to it. The frame, fenders, neck, seat clamp, post, and chain guard came with the bike. I did however change out the original Spitfire one-piece fork for an original locking springer. This was done to keep any 'big-adventures' from happening on this bike. I happen to really like the feature from my Black Phantom and I do use it. The saddle was a 'NOS' Messenger seat. It was one of the best I had seen for an old seat. The handlebars were changed, the rims are 144 spoke each, and tires are Schwinn Typhoon Cord. The skirt guard was sourced from a 1938 Elgin.

Some of the custom fabrication went into cutting into and adding fins to the Delta light, the art deco shark tooth under the horn tank and the construction of the rear console. I am in process of making the rear saddle bags. I am going to add some of my own details to further enhance this old Super-Cruiser.

-Rich.


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## bricycle (Sep 24, 2015)

Welcome to the CABE, kool bike...


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## Rich404 (Sep 27, 2015)

The humble beginnings of my saddle bags.

Rich.


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## Rich404 (Sep 27, 2015)

Rich404 said:


> The humble beginnings of my saddle bags.
> 
> Rich.




What you see above are both saddle bags. While I shape them I have them held together with painters tape. You can kind of see the seam in the middle. The cardboard is the template that I created to start this process. I went over many pictures of the movie bike to get the sizing correct and then drew on the cardboard. Afterwards I cut it out and used it as a template to create the saddle bags. I sourced some foam, glued them together and let them dry. Once dry I began the shaping process using a belt sander and then sanded free-form. At first I did them individually, and once the general shape came to be I used the painters tape to hold them together for consistency. I will go back and fine tune them over the next week. 

-Rich.


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