# 1937&1941 hawthorne ?



## george jaime (Jul 9, 2019)

picked these up today,both spin and brake,any insight would be helpful,both have head badges,must be hard to find the tanks.might sell,might fix up,i really like the one that i think is a 37.well thanks everyone,i,m older and probably posted wrong,not to good with computers .


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## Archie Sturmer (Jul 9, 2019)

The Wards Hawthorne bicycles look to be a product built by Snyder Mfg., and likely at their acquired Excelsior plant in Michigan City Indiana, (closer to MW Chicago), if the serial stampings have earlier letters of the alphabet.
The taller was their ‘motobike’ the short called ‘sport motobike’.
The bikes may be called streamlined or semi-streamlined; later Snyder would introduce a motobike frame with a curved down tube, for the fully streamlined look, which continued into the middle 1950’s.
The hanging tank which fits between the parallel bars, would be the more difficult to find of the two.  Split tanks from Rollfast bikes are less uncommon.


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

thanls Arch,any recommendation on a tire brand i should get,are duro ok.these bikes are functional if i put on some tires,one has morrow brakes.


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## SKPC (Jul 10, 2019)

GJ.  Nice old bikes!  Before getting too far ahead of yourself, take the larger bike apart and clean/service the hubs, crankcase and headset. You should even take the wheels to someone who can evaluate the structural integrity of them and ensure they are rideable.  As you do this, start looking for tires...


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

thanks,i,m,pretty excited.whats the chances of finding two at once lol.


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

serial on the fastback looking one


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

was wondering best way to save the patina,once i break it down for greaseing.


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## Balloonoob (Jul 10, 2019)

Archie Sturmer said:


> The Wards Hawthorne bicycles look to be a product built by Snyder Mfg., and likely at their acquired Excelsior plant in Michigan City Indiana, (closer to MW Chicago), if the serial stampings have earlier letters of the alphabet.
> The taller was their ‘motobike’ the short called ‘sport motobike’.
> The bikes may be called streamlined or semi-streamlined; later Snyder would introduce a motobike frame with a curved down tube, for the fully streamlined look, which continued into the middle 1950’s.
> The hanging tank which fits between the parallel bars, would be the more difficult to find of the two.  Split tanks from Rollfast bikes are less uncommon.



So is this a hanging tank or split tank? I'm guessing hanging. What does a split tank look like?


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## fordmike65 (Jul 10, 2019)

george jaime said:


> was wondering best way to save the patina,once i break it down for greaseing.View attachment 1028381



It looks to have been repainted long ago, so you wouldn't really be preserving any original paint. I usually give my bikes a light cleaning with soap and water, possibly a light coat of wax and that's about it. Then go through the drivetrain and replace/service whatever it needs. New tires and tubes are always a must for me. Good luck with your project.


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## Archie Sturmer (Jul 10, 2019)

george jaime said:


> any recommendation on a tire brand i should get,are duro ok



Duro tires are economical, and 26" x 2.125" wide best fitting.  Some riders of classics sometimes like to add a bit of color to dark bikes via the tires, by deviating from the basic black.  There are also economical tires in color combinations, (also by Duro), but that is more a question of style preference.  My preference is sometimes to avoid white or cream tires which seem to attract dirt.

I have also found a compromise in black tires with red or blue sidewalls.


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

fordmike65 said:


> It looks to have been repainted long ago, so you wouldn't really be preserving any original paint. I usually give my bikes a light cleaning with soap and water, possibly a light coat of wax and that's about it. Then go through the drivetrain and replace/service whatever it needs. New tires and tubes are always a must for me. Good luck with your project.



10/4 mike,definitely not repainted,it was red,few specks here and there.i scuffed it and clear coated.this one was in close proximity to a fire that stripped the paint.leaving a nice gunmetal patina thats been on there since who knowes when.all the bolts for fenders and chain tensioner came out beautifully .i want to take a minute to thank yuo all for the motivation.plus i still got number two in the last photo


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## fordmike65 (Jul 10, 2019)

Are there any signs of darts or other details? I'm pretty sure these had some accents and not a solid color. I could be wrong tho. Its your bike, but just a note that clearcoating a bike...or any vintage piece,  is usually viewed as a big no-no. Enjoy!


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

your rite ,defiantly had some repaint .but the fire wherever it happened stipped 99%


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

i.m a rat rod guy and i love it,better than red rustoleum i guess.how bout the year on this one,check out the gooseneck.


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

Archie Sturmer said:


> Duro tires are economical, and 26" x 2.125" wide best fitting.  Some riders of classics sometimes like to add a bit of color to dark bikes via the tires, by deviating from the basic black.  There are also economical tires in color combinations, (also by Duro), but that is more a question of style preference.  My preference is sometimes to avoid white or cream tires which seem to attract dirt.
> View attachment 1028438
> I have also found a compromise in black tires with red or blue sidewalls.



thanks


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

to late for fix a flat


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

fordmike65 said:


> It looks to have been repainted long ago, so you wouldn't really be preserving any original paint. I usually give my bikes a light cleaning with soap and water, possibly a light coat of wax and that's about it. Then go through the drivetrain and replace/service whatever it needs. New tires and tubes are always a must for me. Good luck with your project.



ya i got very excited and lost all control.and some money probably.reminds me of when i was a kid i painted everything candy apple red


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## george jaime (Jul 10, 2019)

there she be,fromt rim shot but rear is great


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## Balloonoob (Jul 10, 2019)

george jaime said:


> was wondering best way to save the patina,once i break it down for greaseing.View attachment 1028381



Nice score George.  Hopefully everything comes apart for you and the front tire falls in your lap. Pretty cool to score 2 cool bikes at once    it's gonna look great back on the road. I'm a fan of the fastback bikes. I say do the bare minimum cosmetically but get em riding smooth. For what needs replaced or added just try and get close to original or look the part. Enjoy the ride. Btw. A fire only adds to the story of the bike. So long as it did not compromise structural integrity. Take it easy on the first couple rides.


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## Archie Sturmer (Jul 10, 2019)

Your work looks good on the fire bike; I believe that the “Y” serial stamp may reflect a 1937 bike built at the Snyder plant in Little Falls NY.  Not sure if all of the sport motobikes were from the eastern plant.


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## george jaime (Jul 11, 2019)

Balloonoob said:


> Nice score George.  Hopefully everything comes apart for you and the front tire falls in your lap. Pretty cool to score 2 cool bikes at once    it's gonna look great back on the road. I'm a fan of the fastback bikes. I say do the bare minimum cosmetically but get em riding smooth. For what needs replaced or added just try and get close to original or look the part. Enjoy the ride. Btw. A fire only adds to the story of the bike. So long as it did not compromise structural integrity. Take it easy on the first couple rides.



ya thanks,definitely needs front rim,thank goodness the back one is nice,because the skiptooth sprocket.if it weren’t for the fire these may have not been found for another 80 years.the fire didn.t burn the seat or the back tire so i guess its just heat treated lol.


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## george jaime (Jul 15, 2019)

thanks Arch


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## Balloonoob (Dec 6, 2019)

@george jaime any progress on these 2 beauties?


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