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Restoration vs. original

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Kevinl678

On Training Wheels
Just wondering why so many out there are so hung up on an original bike ?? I would take a nice perfectly restored Stingray , krate , fastback any day over one that is beat up. Then again I am a perfectionist , I have actually had people upset with me over supposedly ruining an original bike by restoring it. I guess it's just one's preference.
 
Just wondering why so many out there are so hung up on an original bike ?? I would take a nice perfectly restored Stingray , krate , fastback any day over one that is beat up. Then again I am a perfectionist , I have actually had people upset with me over supposedly ruining an original bike by restoring it. I guess it's just one's preference.
It's something I have found with the bicycle crowd that you don't get with cars, motorbikes or boats.... sure over there we appreciate a really NICE original vehicle but it has to be nice or have a really great patina. I am a restorer also and a perfectionist! Having said that a really nicely patina 1900 bike can be perfect as is... but when they are to far gone restoration has got to be the only way. The "keep it original at almost all costs" is very much in bedded in the old bicycle culture and sometimes (like everything) it gets taken to extremes by some.

At the end of the day if you own the bike, you do what you want to it. Just enjoy the ride! :)
 
Survivors are the STORY tellers!!!!!!!
I think we all like looking at and admiring a well done restoration, BUT a well preserved Survivor that has managed to out live the trials and tribulations over the years will always be at the top of the food chain in my opinion, and most I know agree! Condition is what usually commands whether a bike deserves to be left alone, or restored. Leave the 6-10's alone and just show them some lovin! A cool scruffy one now and them never hurts either! Just my 2 cents!!!
 
It is preference. It is also people who use the word "restore" incorrectly. When you say "perfectly restored" this means you used an exact match single stage enamel and not powder coat. The correct chrome, cad, and zinc finishes. Correct decals, guard screened and not a decal, correct hardware, etc... I see a lot of 'restored' bikes that are not even close. People fail to do the research and find out what 'right' should look like. BTW I don't think there is any such thing as "perfectly restored". Look at original bikes and you will see paint runs, dry places, crooked pinstripes, off center decal placement, etc... Most of us 'restore' these defects out. V/r Shawn
 
Original just once and bikes or anything which show nice usage,a few scrapes and scratches tell me they had a purpose and were enjoyed. Kinda like an old piece of furniture with a dent or nick, gives it some character. I restored a couple of things over the years,should have just "preserved" I didnt like them any more all new and perfect,IMHO. I crack up reading blurbs: "100% original restored mint" LOL, nonsense.... Right up there with "rear facing drop outs" LOL
 
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It's something I have found with the bicycle crowd that you don't get with cars, motorbikes or boats.... sure over there we appreciate a really NICE original vehicle but it has to be nice or have a really great patina. I am a restorer also and a perfectionist! Having said that a really nicely patina 1900 bike can be perfect as is... but when they are to far gone restoration has got to be the only way. The "keep it original at almost all costs" is very much in bedded in the old bicycle culture and sometimes (like everything) it gets taken to extremes by some.

At the end of the day if you own the bike, you do what you want to it. Just enjoy the ride! :)
I completely disagree and it is a matter of context...cars have always been stored outside in the weather once mot needed so condition is usually poor vs og bikes, many times stuffed into the back of barns and sheds for decades often need little to bring back. Old cars were not that fun to drive with low power, bad brakes and manual everything so customization, restoration and updating is more accepted....an example of interest in auto og, , a few years back, I went to an event celebrating the 32 ford at the Petersen Auto Museum. The event featured the best of the best 1932 fords from all over the world. In the parking garage was a large crowd, larger than around any other show car in attendance. Someone had brought in a "barn find" all original, untouched and in very good shape 32 ford complete with dust and webs...and people went nuts over it...
 
Talking restoration... I have a 1915 car and I am a professional (was) spray painter... so I have really looked into the finishes on older cars... in my opinion the best was the replicate the early baked enamel paints that were (used up until the dull duco came in in the 1930's) is to use the latest two pack polyurethanes.... they have the depth and super high gloss that the best early Japan black could get. But one has to remember that even at the same time, different companies had different paint budgets and did things differently! My car is a high class Fiat from the time when they were hand build so it would have had the best paint around.... model T at that time had the paint literally hosed on!

Edit... don't get me started on powder coat.... industrial process that's great for mass production but should have stayed there! Having said that I expect some can be good. But nothing beats a man or woman with a spray gun a good eye and a bake oven.
 
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