Is it a Westfield or Miami Built Motorbike?

[hoofhearted]

Krautwaggen ... there are 'tells' within your 'STAR' that scream Miami-Cycle ... however
the Miami DNA that i see MAY have passed thru Westfield .. before going out the factory door.

Am noting some conflict in the year Miami supposedly folded. Many sources site 1922 was their
final-production year. One other says 1923 final production year. Regardless of that final
production year ... Westfield DID purchase the remains of Miami-Cycle.

I believe there is some connectivity in the name 'STAR' as it pertains to your motorbike ... and
the Miami-Built 'STAR' motorbike owned by fattommy .. his Miami is just below ...

Having NEVER seen a truss fork like your 'square-ish' example on any Miami-Built ... i WANT to say
that fork is not a Miami product. However .. this would show a very limited-degree of consideration on my part.

Your fork HAS Miami features in the top of the 2 into 1 truss design ...like many Miami-Builts ... but that
squarishness has me uncommitted to say which company built it.

Could your entire bicycle come from a specific time .. when Westfield was building Westfield-Built Miami's ???

Is your frame built entirely of Miami-Built components .. BUT assembled by Westfield ???

Is your fork a Miami-Development from just moments before Miami folded ???

Is it possible that YOUR STAR BADGE came from a stack of Westfield-Produced 'STAR' badges .. these
badges having a daisy-edge or border ... available on some dusty shelf inside Westfield since 1901 ...
and occasionally got used when two-dozen, simple, private-label bicycles were ordered by Mumford &
Sons Hardware Store ???

When Westfield finally exhausted the Miami-STAR badges (if these badges were even used by Westfield) ...
is it possible that the daisy-edged STAR badge (like yours) was placed on bicycles destined to be delivered
as a private label ???

One thing IS certain ... much more research is indicated .. before any conclusions can be reached.

................ patric cafaro

 

[Iverider]

I like all of these options! I did just email Mr. Columbia who told me the bike didn't have any readily identifiable Columbia features. I'm going to start a list of what it's NOT. It will be easier.

 

[chitown]

Looks like you've got a Chicago built Excelsior Cycle Co frame. This fork is a match! This should make the pond even muddier with all these so called Miami built features. (fender bridges, dropouts, trumpet joints on lower bar...)

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?59363-Help-with-old-excelsior-deluxe!!

 

[dubsey55]

I wouldnt care to hazard a guess as to the manufacturer, but like where your going with the rustoration! I would tho,strongly suggest you get a competent welder attach/reattach truss rod arms using tig with silicon bronze rod , (sticks to rust!). They are in the correct spot now, but wont be for long when you start riding the thing. I have read your IJ posts, and know you like to kick em down the road! Good for you, and, Im all for rust, but please fix the structural stuff,,,,Walter in NJ

 

[Hobo Bill]

simluar but knot the same

So while perusing eBay today I came across a Hartford bicycle purported as being built between 1890 and 1901.

Looks more like early to mid teens to me BUT if you scope out the badge, it's nearly identical to that of my Star motobike.

It also exhibits the same thick fender bridges albeit different flatter fenders. Kind of between full rain gutters and flatties.

There are still differences in it's construction vs. my motobike in that this has a bulbous chainstay termination at the dropout AND axle adjuster screws. It also appears to have a two piece crank that I've not seen before (while mine is one piece)

Could this Hartford be a Miami bike? Is mine a Miami bike? Who knows? How much will it cost to find out?

Interesting badges Hartford cycle co. with an attached badge on top that reads american bicycle co. i don't know if this has any connection with the pope...still a bast eh!!

 

[fordsnake]

Interesting badges Hartford cycle co. with an attached badge on top that reads american bicycle co. i don't know if this has any connection with the pope...still a bast eh!!

Colonel Augustus Pope was instrumental in creating the American Bicycle Company (ABC); a consolidation of 42 bicycle manufacturers. Eventually Pope acquired ownership of the trust, which controlled the central bicycle patents in the US. Hence earning Pope a residual of around $10 for every bike sold. The Pope Manufacturing Co was manufacturing about a quarter million bicycles annually.

After Pope's death, the company reorganized and it was renamed the Westfield Manufacturing Company.

By your own evidence the inverted “Y” truss rods suggest it could be a mid or late 20’s Westfield build?

Other Miami badge names under the Westfield banner.

 

[bricycle]

Just recently picked up this motorbike from a fellow Caber and the crossbar/seat tube lug suggests that it's a Westfield built bike. The strange thing is, the rear dropouts don't have threading for adjuster like some Miami built bikes I've seen. It also has pretty Chunky stay bridges. Have a look at the photos and tell me what you think. I also didn't see a serial number on the bottom bracket, but I haven't scraped any of the gunk away just yet. Paint? What paint? The rack, grips and chainring seem wrong, and the crank is a bit of a dog leg so unsure on that too. I'm planning on building up a set of Velocity P35s, greasing the bearings up and riding the crap out of it! The D-X graphic on the rear fender is kinda cool too!

So is this Circa 1920???

 

[kccomet]

id say pope i have the same truss rod set up on an early crusty moto frame

 

[kccomet]

pope