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Correct wheels for the Marine bike found

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What identifies it as a Marine bike? How is it different from say an Army bike? A very cool bike and I would bet not many survived. Please post a picture of the head badge.

The head badge is the same stamping as the prewar ones but it is steel and not brass like the prewar badges or aluminum like postwar ones. I thought it was odd when I removed it and there was rust on the back side but paint on the head tube. I put a magnet on it and low and behold, steel. I've never seen another made of steel. My Army bike is missing it's headbadge but I assume it should be as well.
 
The head badge is the same stamping as the prewar ones but it is steel and not brass like the prewar badges or aluminum like postwar ones. I thought it was odd when I removed it and there was rust on the back side but paint on the head tube. I put a magnet on it and low and behold, steel. I've never seen another made of steel. My Army bike is missing it's headbadge but I assume it should be as well.


Hi Mr.Columbia,

From observation, a lot of the early 'Curved tube' frames have the brass badge. The later 'Straight tube' ones all seem to have the steel badge (I've not yet seen a brass one). The USMC bikes so far found are all of the later 'Straight tube' version, so a steel badge is appropriate.

Interest(ingly (to me!) this parallels (for the same reasons of strategic metal supplies) the data plates on Ford GPW jeeps where generally they were brass in 42-43, steel with tin plating in 43-44 and (really poor quality) Aluminium in 44-45. This is why earlier plates are easier to find than later ones, the Aluminium especially suffer from Galvonic corrosion.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
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