Notes on the Airman Comet

[Freqman1]

I probably really should update my Five Bar Article. I have continued to study these bikes and have picked up a few things along the way that should be added. One thing that I have learned a lot more about is the Airman Comet. This is one of those bikes that, for a long time, existed only on a catalog page. Then a few years ago a fairly complete red house paint bike showed up confirming that these were actually produced (Marty's [10~18kustoms] bike). The problem was it was missing the tank and light set-up.

The thing that perplexed me is that these bikes were only equipped with two "D" cells to power the horn. I had never seen a tank with a switch, which appears to be shown in the ad, plus it would have to have either a lantern or four battery holder typical on most tank bikes equipped with horn and lights.

About a year later I was sent a very small picture of a complete (-tank) Comet that had the Delta aluminum battery tube attached to the frame. This answered the problem of powering the lights. Last year at MLC I met the owner of this bike and he showed me pics of the complete bike (with tank). This is an original paint, complete bike. Unfortunately the owner has not yet shared these pics with me. Fortunately Marty brought his bike and I was able to study it closely. Based on my observations here are my thoughts on the Comet:

- The original bike is maroon/black. Marty's bike appears to have been maroon as well. It is possible these were only built as maroon/black bikes. The ad shows a blue/red color scheme

-Both bikes have stainless fenders like found on the 26X. What is odd though is Marty's bike has channeled braces (original rivets) while the other bike has flat braces. The ad shows painted fenders.

-Both bikes have Troxel M1 seats with the chrome chassis.

-Both bikes had drop stands as shown in ad.

-The Comet was equipped with Delta Silver Rays with the Delta aluminum battery tube with conduit to the lights. The ad does not show this but rather seems to depict a small switch on the side of the tank.

-The original bike has a Wald #3 stem. Marty's bike does not have the original stem, guard. or chain ring. The ad depicts the 'non-slip' stem.

It should be noted that about three or four original Five Bars have been converted to Comet configurations. I have one of these (primered bike pic) and considering they were built strictly off of a picture they are very close to the original bikes. V/r Shawn

1939 Spiegel Ad

Marty's Bike

My Clone

 

[New Mexico Brant]

Thank you for the updated information Shawn! I appreciate your time and willingness to share this information with the CABE community.

 

[catfish]

Great info!

 

[New Mexico Brant]

Any speculation on why so few of these exist? Did they just not sell well?

 

[Freqman1]

Any speculation on why so few of these exist? Did they just not sell well?

A pencil springer on the front end is not a good idea. On the back it is a really bad idea! Nearly every one of these pencil springers I have seen the standoff for the spring is bent. The back spring on my Comet clone bottoms out with my buck75 on it so I need to find a stronger spring. Another thing is if you really look at how the back of this bike is designed it is fairly complicated. The fender is actually attached to the rear 'fork' and the axle adjustment is a little tricky. I believe very few of these were ever sold and, obviously, even fewer survived. V/r Shawn

 

[bikewhorder]

I've spent a good bit of time looking at the pencil springer and I don't even understand how that thing was supposed to work. At what point was the vertical motion of the struts supposed to be converted to the horizontal motion of the spring?

 

[Freqman1]

I've spent a good bit of time looking at the pencil springer and I don't even understand how that thing was supposed to work. At what point was the vertical motion of the struts supposed to be converted to the horizontal motion of the spring?

The person that designed this was absent from physics class that day! Like I said not a great design which is probably why it lasted only a year. V/r Shawn

 

[fordmike65]

I've spent a good bit of time looking at the pencil springer and I don't even understand how that thing was supposed to work. At what point was the vertical motion of the struts supposed to be converted to the horizontal motion of the spring?

The person that designed this was absent from physics class that day! Like I said not a great design which is probably why it lasted only a year. V/r Shawn

They work. Maybe not as well as other designs, but they do indeed dampen the ride.

 

[rustjunkie]

Seems to me they work differently than the way we would expect: moving horizontally not vertically. I've seen folks push down vertically on the handlebars and when the spring doesn't move they say "see, it doesn't work".
I don't think they were designed for taking up vertical impacts like potholes or going off curbs, but when in motion they work as they seem to be designed: moving in an arc and taking up shocks as obstacles and bumps are encountered.
Perhaps part of the reason they were changed is because they didn't function in the way the buyers expected.

As for the fenders, I'd say that Marty's bike isn't the greatest example for what might be original as many of the parts have been changed, and those fenders differ from the fenders on the other example.
At least one painted fender Comet existed: a photograph of one was converted for print in the catalog/advertisement.

 

[catfish]

Any speculation on why so few of these exist? Did they just not sell well?

They didn't last long. They quickly became this fork.