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what Is the difference between shelby motorbike and a westfield made motorbike 28in ?

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dave the wave

I live for the CABE
this looks like a shelby but has a niagara headbage and westfield decal. serial num. K 15363 on the bottom. this is a westfield.so i am thinking they had the same characteristics as a shelby? say for instance the shelby lindy.what is the difference between the two.

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Perhaps the thought that “it might be a Shelby” (or an early Rollfast) may give us some comfort for identifying an old bike - as it cannot be an “I don’t know”.
As for Westfield bicycles there may be a few things. The seat post clamp is usually tight to the seat tube designed for use of a notched pinch bolt - this is best seen from a side view (picture 3).
Many Westfield bicycles of the uncertain era use the double “D” drive crankset - distinctive but can be moved from one frame to another.
Another older detail may be the head tube construction - not visible when assembled, but built like a tank when one looks inside with the fork removed. I believe Westfield used 1”-26tpi forks and 1+1/4” headset cups, on older bikes.
My unknown bikes might be an old Shelby or Snyder, but at least it’s not like I don’t know what they are.
 
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Many more subtle differences between them during the 20's & 30's motobike era from tubing sources to tube size to construction techniques, frame geometries as well as the actual locations the frames were being built at the time...lots of facts are still missing and so it makes it very mysterious. Great Western, Consolodated, Miami, Pope and Davis to name a few had very similar looking frames from that time as did Westfield and Shelby. Much to learn still I think about the moto era frame makers and always very interesting stuff. My 35 Westfield-made Elgin motobike frame has a bomber sleeved and butted head tube as AS mentions. It really is too bad the head badges were removed or replaced on these old frames. Many more answers could be had if they were not.
 
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About 1931, Westfield adopted that trumpet joint; some may be used to seeing a 1930 and prior reinforcing band at the seat tube.

1932-K Westfield built.

Spyder-web sprocket looks similar to A&S and Shelby; but I believe that the symmetrical Shelby version had 3 equal-size bulges were the drive pin hole might have been be drilled.
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Early Shelby motorbike "straightbar" frames also used the same diameter top & lower truss tubes. Schwinn was the other maker I know of. This is a good point to start from when looking at these frames. Shelby also did not use trumpets that I know of. And as AS points out above, Shelby's sprocket has the bulges on the drive-pin trifecta of radial connectors to the outer spiderweb. The sprocket, while similar in design, is used by a few other makers. Who knows who the jobber was that made them......
 
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