Everyone involved or not, excuse the tone this letter may have please. Yesterday morning I lost my best fuzzy buddy forever, Felinicus Caesar. When things like this happen to me I tend to write these kinds of rants based on how I feel at the time. On top of the emptiness I feel over him pretty much dying in my arms, I now feel offended because of a comment made that does not take into account when I or others read the post.
I wanted to do this in a PM but I am not allowed.
First off, I read the post when it was brand new, no comments at all and I did not make one. I was in the middle of composing a thread and it popped up. At that time the OP had not admitted that he built a fake bike and made a forged letter proving its authenticity
This attitude toward myself and others that did not read the post about it being a joke (and in bad taste I will add considering the effect it created) is totally unnecessary. Have a little respect man.
In all due respect to you, I like you as a member for the most part. However, nobody has seen it all here or on any forum in the world. Calling someone a liar (like some did on the Autocycle thread) is in poor taste and will be read by new and prospective members. That is the point of MY thread here is to respectfully agree or disagree on this subject.
To everyone here who wants to yell "fake" and "where's the proof" every time you see anything you do not believe exists, I make a suggestion that would improve the attitudes over these bikes whether they be a fake or an anomaly.
Where is your proof that IT DOESN'T EXIST? If this bike was brought into a court of law and a plaintiff said it was a fake, the burden of proof would be on the accuser, not the accused. It would be presumed innocent (authentic) until proven otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence.
Saying "I have seen it all and this doesn't exist" by itself would not meet the burden of proof. The plaintiff could bring in the previous owner who had direct knowledge of it coming from a dealer or his grandfather got it new and he directly told the previous owner about it would serve to rebuff the "I've seen it all and this doesn't exist") argument.
To prove it is a fake the plaintiff would need to produce documents directly from Schwinn saying it never existed. Not the new Schwinn, they know practically nothing about the real history of the Arnold, Schwinn Company or the original Schwinn Bicycle Company.
I have read written tales of how both Ignaz and Frank W Schwinn used to create new bikes or parts while walking the factory floor. They would take the drawings to a group of workers to build the bike or part as a test mule. A lot of bikes and parts that never saw the light of day were built there as well as a lot that were successful lines. Who knows what was built and discarded, or built and given to a large dealership for a showroom display.
The point here is that none of us, including myself know everything there is to know about even Schwinn bikes, let alone the entire bicycle history. That is why try to research new things at least one a day. The White Corvette was not a research project, it was only one post when I read it and since the member was well known here and had a forged document from Schwinn saying the bike was real and recently found there was nothing to research.
Everyone can be wrong on a subject, including myself. When someone can produce written verifiable proof that something was not made by a manufacturer I will admit I am wrong. But who knows what was lost in the Schwinn fire in August 1948 that burned a lot of information and documentation of what Schwinn built and never produced? Nobody will ever know for certain on one off bikes or parts.
This episode has taught me a valuable lesson here though. That lesson is that it is getting harder to trust anyone when they bring forth a new find even if they do have documentation. It is also harder to trust the opinions on whether or not, how many and what color/finish they came in One letter in a million could never be verified, especially if the writer is dead.
My name is Rob, and I approve this rant.