Bicycle Archeology

[37fleetwood]

ok, I waited until the auction ended before posting this so as not to influence the bidding, but a bike which I think is a treasure trove of information for Huffman collectors everywhere. I'll post the photos and then the discussion part. feel free to let me know what you think, these are just my thoughts on the bike.

ok, not very impressive is it? but look closer, what is the first thing you notice? the chrome Crows Beak guard. this guard first came out in 1938 and was also used in 1939 so the bike is either 1938 or 1939 as far as the guard goes. next notice the truss rods that style was used in 1937 and 1938 so we've narrowed it to basically 1938 as the one year with both options present. next look at the stanchions for the truss rods, in 1937 they are flat and until now I assumed they would be flat in 1938 but aparently not, they look more like the later post war types up into the 1950's. while looking at the truss rods etc. notice the head badge, see anything funny? no screws or rivets, this bike has a "bottle cap" style headbadge. I always thought those stopped way before 1938. attached to the fork you probably missed the 5 sided fenders as I did until Jamie (Aeropsycho) pointed them out to me. now most guys will try to tell you that those were offered in 1940 and maybe 1941 but I have held the minority view that they were earlier and this bike kinda confirms it. of course I kinda cheated, I happen to have had some information most don't have, see:

next notice the down tube, 1938 is the first year for the curved down tube for Huffman and the 1938's were not very curved at all while 1939's and later have a much more curved bar. finally notice the sprocket behind that beautiful Crows beak? it's 1/2 inch pitch chain! just like in the catalog. never seen one which actually had one that was all original before. well let me know what you think.
Scott

 

[Aeropsycho]

Missing Link!

"AAAAhhhh I've seen 5 of them" (Chubby Checker)

It seems too have a strange paint job as well

Did you notice the strange bevel edged fork bearing cups... I have seen those on a Indian....

J A M I E

SANDWICH!!!!

 

[Flat Tire]

Thanks for the info Scott, I didnt know that type badge had the bottle cap mount, also didnt notice the fenders....nice!........wonder if the buyer bought the bike for the chainguard then sell the rest? That would be a shame...Don

 

[37fleetwood]

well, I'm not saying that the bike itself is too significant in itself it is just the information that can be confirmed or new information that can be had from such an unusual bike with this odd combination of parts.
Scott

 

[37fleetwood]

well like Indiana Jones half of the Archeology is done in the library, after looking into the catalogs and such I found the bike. it was a bit complicated as the Huffman catalog and the Dayton catalog are different, or rather the bikes are different. I have a rather nice 1939 Huffman catalog and I usually refer to it in most cases but in this instance the bike is a Dayton so into the Dayton catalog I went. this is what I found:

this ad shows the 1939 Dayton Model 11, however this bike is somewhat different from the one shown but the clincher is in the Huffman catalog where under the description os Model 11 it says this:

Model 12
Same as Model 11 less Twinlights, Tank, Horn, Luggage Carrier and with Persons
No. 219 Reflector In aluminum housing instead of Taillight in Luggage Carrier.

so I can now say with a fair amount of certainty that this bike is a 1939 Dayton Mainliner Model 12. this brings up a new problem, 1939 is the only year I have Literature from both Huffman and Dayton and if it is all different then I am missing half the picture and need a whole bunch of catalogs before we can go foreward with any book project.
Scott
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[Adamtinkerer]

I see it also has the ultra rare red and white mesinger seat and matching grips! They didn't even start selling seats like that til 1959 or so, must be an early prototype! ~Adam

 

[37fleetwood]

I see it also has the ultra rare red and white mesinger seat and matching grips! They didn't even start selling seats like that til 1959 or so, must be an early prototype! ~Adam

they were an uncatalogged option
Scott

 

[sm2501]

What was the auction number?

 

[sm2501]

Seems to me one of the Dayton guys told me that those headcups were used 1 year, and I think it was 1940. Very similar to the cups used on teens Indians.

 

[37fleetwood]

this is out of the 1939 Dayton catalog, and conveniently someone just posted it in much better quality scans than the one I had. I have been in contact with the guy who ended up with the bike and sent him the catalog page and he confirmed that other than the few things changed over the years the bike is optioned like the 1938 Model 12. if these cups were used in 1940 they were used in 1939 also but I've never seen a 1940 with these cups. here is the 1939 Dayton catalog page I posted earlier in the better scan recently posted, followed by the Model 12 page.
Scott