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  • Old bikes story

    I have enjoyed reading these stories, everyone that I know that are deeply into the old motorcycle scene have their favorite story that have in some way caused a memory they will never forget.

    My fav. is back when I was a young man, 20 years old. I had my girlfriend and 2 year old daughter all packed up in my first restoration, a 1939 BSA M21 outfit and we where abroad to Denmark on holliday (who would travel to a foreign country on a BSA M21 outfit nowadays?). Having spent several days in Denmark we where heading home when the BSA died in the outskirts of a rather big city called Randers. Some roadside invetigation soon told me the magneto had got sick. Whilst trying to figure out how to repair, a old gentleman came by and told me "you dont see to many of this sort of bikes around no longer", wich was trough but, I had to explain it was dead at the moment.
    He then replied that I should not worry as he had some old bike parts not further away than that we could push the bike.
    Well, push we did and in a backyard further up the street was this really big steel building with just one door in the front. He told me to follow him , and my goodness me; this was the AliBaba cave of vintage motorbikes & parts. I have never ever seen that many parts and bikes at one place ever and most likely never will.
    Inside the buliding you had to climb ladders to get to the highest points.
    The reason of all this stuff was he had been running a motorcycle shop started by his father and apparently they had never thrown away anything whatsoever since the twenties. He was now since long retired and spent his time in this building with his bikes and parts.
    I luckily took a few photos back then that I have now scanned, they just show some of what was in there:





    And finally a pic. of the old man up in the ladder looking for parts:

    Sverre

  • #2
    Thanks for sharing sveger!!! I wonder what happened to the Indian in the second photo?????

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    • #3
      Kind'a reminds me of Bob's Indian in Etters PA.

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      • #4
        ah, but did he get you fixed and on your way? ...bill

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        • #5
          Roadside repair

          Yeah sure, the magneto was fixed and we got home to Norway.
          I think much of the stuff that was in there have gone to Germany / Holland after the old man passed away, personally I have a IOE Harley 61" engine and some parts that came out of there.

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          • #6
            Excellent stuff!

            Was there anything REALLY old in that shop that was pre-1920s or even pre-teens?

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            • #7
              Looking at the top picture, and the third bike in appears to be an Indian Powerplus, post '16. And the 8th bike in has an interesting tank. Also, it looks like someone updated the fork on the Powerplus.

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              • #8
                Realy old bikes

                With regard to the really early stuff, no. There was some European from late teens but mostle twenties and up. I am a little disapointed noone have asked about the four cylindered engine in pic. 3. This is a ca 1920 Nimbus "stovepipe" engine. This was a bike with clear recognition to the Pierce. Oil and fuel in frame. There was several of this early Nimbuses there. Later Nimbusès did not have single cylinders but all cylinders in one cast.
                As you will see from the photos there where several English overhead camshaft engines there to. I allso remember one very strange Ariel engine with overhead rotation valve mechanism, no ordinary valves but like a ported rotating pipe), strange. There where allso several four valve Rudges and many parts for this. If I knew then what I know today I would have tried to get a couple of four valve Rudge heads to make my JD a four valve OHV job. There is at least one of these modified Harleys in Sweden, looks great and is fast too.

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