Selling on this basement find '68 Krate. It was down there for 30+ years but at least some of the first 20 the bike was ridden as the pedal surfaces are worn somewhat. It is correct for the model year other than the saddle and front fender which are from the '69. It also lacks the trademark sissy bar struts and the only thing I can think of is that a heavier kid had it and after breaking the original saddle and struts they decided to clamp it all down. Or maybe the kid just liked to jump a lot and broke it that way. I think at the same time the '69 fender caught the kids eye and had that put on as '68's didn't have them. The HD code prefix does in fact designate this bike is an August/68. That is about all the history I have on the bike however as the origins of how it even ended up in the basement are unclear but certainly all on the up and up.
Usual surface chrome specking but no rot anywhere. Paint is chipped in enough places that if further restoration was done on this bike it would be repainted. As it it photo's shiny and looks good until you get out the readers and fashion yourself to be a bike critic. I know I do! You can get original code touch up paint and I have some on order that will either get put on appropriately or go with the sale.
The Handlebars have several holes drilled in them for some sort of accessories that are not with the bike. Doesn't effect the look much unless you have your readers on again. The correct sparkle grips are in fine condition as well as the Weinmann levers. New white (as original, there was a good look at the original housing under the shifter cover). The rear pads are beveled from improper adjustment but stop the bike. Front Atom hub is working great, just had to adjust the bearings a bit and didn't tear them down because they still felt good. Same with the rear but I did shoot a bit of T9 into the freewheel to loosen it up. Derailleur works but is scarred from it looks like one good skid on it or a combination thereof. Still works great and is in proper adjustment. Suicide shifter works like butter, always loved them as I had one on a '68 Fastback bitd.
There was still original grease in the bb which was good enough that I left it there. The cranks are straight and so is the "Mag" chainring. What I suppose to be the original chain was soaked and re-lubed and is not worn enough to replace. The chain guard is in fine shape with a few nicks in the field paint but not the white lettering. The appearance of the slightly darker red on the guard as compared to the frame was explained to me to be because the frames and guards were painted separately. It is not a repro, nothing on the bike is actually. I only found one bolt that was not stock, the one holding the left fender stay and sissy bar, other than that all hardware including star washer were applicable are back in their proper places.
The fork works fine and the damper rubber is in good condition. The chrome is as the rest of the bike. Shiny but a good base for further work or fine as is. And speaking of rubber the rear Slik still has mold nubs on the non drive side and the white lettering is pristine. One small area on the edge of the tire where a skid was performed and maybe that is why the derailleur got rash on it but overall a nice example. After blowing it up to 20 psi I noticed there is a crack around the top of the raised ridge on the sidewall. Not enough to really catch your eye but there nonetheless. The front tire is fine and shows the correct tire code for the year. The rear rim strip was stock and the front had some Velox tape, must have had some flat issues. Both tubes hold air. Rims are same chrome wise and true enough for show work. The nips are kind of sticky and need to be soaked more before adjusting. The bike rolls very nice though as I found out pushing it around a bit. Feels very smooth. Rode it enough to determine that the shifting is fine and the brakes work but due to the rear tire crack that is all I am going to ride it. It didn't get any bigger at least!
Price is $1500 FOB Portland, OR. At that price for a non-local sale I will include professional packaging and delivery to the shipping company of your choice. I feel this bike is priced fairly to the market as compared to what I am seeing online so not accepting lower offers at this time. I will be adding more photos as time/requests permits. Thanks for looking!
Usual surface chrome specking but no rot anywhere. Paint is chipped in enough places that if further restoration was done on this bike it would be repainted. As it it photo's shiny and looks good until you get out the readers and fashion yourself to be a bike critic. I know I do! You can get original code touch up paint and I have some on order that will either get put on appropriately or go with the sale.
The Handlebars have several holes drilled in them for some sort of accessories that are not with the bike. Doesn't effect the look much unless you have your readers on again. The correct sparkle grips are in fine condition as well as the Weinmann levers. New white (as original, there was a good look at the original housing under the shifter cover). The rear pads are beveled from improper adjustment but stop the bike. Front Atom hub is working great, just had to adjust the bearings a bit and didn't tear them down because they still felt good. Same with the rear but I did shoot a bit of T9 into the freewheel to loosen it up. Derailleur works but is scarred from it looks like one good skid on it or a combination thereof. Still works great and is in proper adjustment. Suicide shifter works like butter, always loved them as I had one on a '68 Fastback bitd.
There was still original grease in the bb which was good enough that I left it there. The cranks are straight and so is the "Mag" chainring. What I suppose to be the original chain was soaked and re-lubed and is not worn enough to replace. The chain guard is in fine shape with a few nicks in the field paint but not the white lettering. The appearance of the slightly darker red on the guard as compared to the frame was explained to me to be because the frames and guards were painted separately. It is not a repro, nothing on the bike is actually. I only found one bolt that was not stock, the one holding the left fender stay and sissy bar, other than that all hardware including star washer were applicable are back in their proper places.
The fork works fine and the damper rubber is in good condition. The chrome is as the rest of the bike. Shiny but a good base for further work or fine as is. And speaking of rubber the rear Slik still has mold nubs on the non drive side and the white lettering is pristine. One small area on the edge of the tire where a skid was performed and maybe that is why the derailleur got rash on it but overall a nice example. After blowing it up to 20 psi I noticed there is a crack around the top of the raised ridge on the sidewall. Not enough to really catch your eye but there nonetheless. The front tire is fine and shows the correct tire code for the year. The rear rim strip was stock and the front had some Velox tape, must have had some flat issues. Both tubes hold air. Rims are same chrome wise and true enough for show work. The nips are kind of sticky and need to be soaked more before adjusting. The bike rolls very nice though as I found out pushing it around a bit. Feels very smooth. Rode it enough to determine that the shifting is fine and the brakes work but due to the rear tire crack that is all I am going to ride it. It didn't get any bigger at least!
Price is $1500 FOB Portland, OR. At that price for a non-local sale I will include professional packaging and delivery to the shipping company of your choice. I feel this bike is priced fairly to the market as compared to what I am seeing online so not accepting lower offers at this time. I will be adding more photos as time/requests permits. Thanks for looking!
