What bike should I buy? Hawthorne Zep looks cool.

[Combat_Butler]

I live in England (UK) so vintage customs and cruisers are an oddity; modern cruisers are easy to buy but none of them have that "classic" look that I'm looking for - too much aluminum and plastic. I've got a blurry idea in my head of what I want the bike to look like, I want it to be the kind of elegant bike that a gothic Italian mafia ninja vampire would ride.. strangely there don't seem to be many bikes like that around.

I don't really care if it's all-original or not, for me it's about the style not the authenticity, but even so I'm not sure what it's going to cost if I want something that is ready-to-ride. I know I could save money by doing the restoration work myself but I don't have the space or time to work on a bike and if I wanted a part restored/repaired - say a dummy-tank for example - I know the average workshop engineer in the UK is going to start any sentence involving a price-quote by sucking air over his teeth. I'm sure labor costs are a lot less in the USA.

Could I get a heavy bicycle shipped from the USA for under $200? And what should I look out for if I don't want to spend a small-fortune on parts & restoration? I saw this Hawthorne on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280566457138&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
and I've PM'd the seller for details (size, condition etc) but tbh I don't have a clue what it's worth.


One of these would be nice after I win the national lottery:

 

[Lonewolf]

I don't think you'll be able to get it to Britain for $200.00.
Maybe $300.

An interesting method is to have the seller ship it in two boxes via US postal Service and make sure the guy more or less wraps the boxes around the bike to make a lot of rounded edges. It's impossible for the USPS to get an accurate measurement and they usually end up shipping it for less.

8)

I sent a Diamondback Turbo using this method and got it to Aus for about $305.00. Multiple boxes is the key. You send one big box and you will get hammered.

 

[vibr8shun]

One of these would be nice after I win the national lottery:

...if you win the national lottery, could you send me one of those too.................... friend?.............

 

[sensor]

those are really nice bikes....the only thing i would be wary about is the fact that they are smaller frames(even though it IS a 26" frame) it feels like a 24"...but then again i am 6'

 

[olschbp]

wish mine looked half that good, and had the tank and rack,

 

[olschbp]

here is my first that I did,

 

[Combat_Butler]

I don't think you'll be able to get it to Britain for $200.00.
Maybe $300.

An interesting method is to have the seller ship it in two boxes via US postal Service and make sure the guy more or less wraps the boxes around the bike to make a lot of rounded edges. It's impossible for the USPS to get an accurate measurement and they usually end up shipping it for less.

8)

I sent a Diamondback Turbo using this method and got it to Aus for about $305.00. Multiple boxes is the key. You send one big box and you will get hammered.

Thanks Lonewolf, that's a sneaky tip!

I missed a couple of bikes on Ebay in the UK over the last few months; it's always the same, just when you're not looking the good stuff appears. At the moment the closest thing I have to a vintage bike is my old Raleigh Chiltern but it's a typical large diamond-frame design the same as 99.9% of bikes in the UK. I don't have a photo of it (I must do that sometime) but it looks something like this one but without the front carrier.

Here's one with custom handlebars:

I'm sure there's a lot that can be done with it but there's no way of getting around the problem of the frame being so ordinary.

 

[rms37]

Since you are asking about the eBay bike specifically I will mention that it is at least partially misrepresented. The bike is not a 1936 model; the frame is from late 1941 or early 1942 (It is a CWC produced frame and both the curved down tube and the serial number confirm this date). In addition to the postwar headlight that is noted, the springer fork is no older than 1947. The saddle and some of the other parts on the bike are also post WW2. To be fair, the misrepresentation may not be intentional as the seller may have purchased the bike in its current state and may not know how to date it.

It also appears to me that the bike was not properly prepared before being painted; in the shot of the head tube, you can see that the shiny paint job has been applied over what appears to be pitted metal.

The best way to value a bike like this is to consider the value of the individual parts and then assume a percentage discount for buying the lot in total. If bought separately the parts might total to around $500 so I would say the bike is worth a ballpark value of $300 to $350. Keep in mind that the bike is not a restoration (not that it is advertised as such) and that all the work that was done would have to be undone and redone to a higher and more accurate standard to add value in that venue. Obviously, someone put a lot of work and some money into building and painting the bike as it sits so judged as a custom cruiser any added value is appraised to individual taste and the seller and the buyer, if a transaction is reached, will determine an agreed monetary value.

 

[Combat_Butler]

Since you are asking about the eBay bike specifically I will mention that it is at least partially misrepresented. The bike is not a 1936 model; the frame is from late 1941 or early 1942 (It is a CWC produced frame and both the curved down tube and the serial number confirm this date). In addition to the postwar headlight that is noted, the springer fork is no older than 1947. The saddle and some of the other parts on the bike are also post WW2. To be fair, the misrepresentation may not be intentional as the seller may have purchased the bike in its current state and may not know how to date it.

It also appears to me that the bike was not properly prepared before being painted; in the shot of the head tube, you can see that the shiny paint job has been applied over what appears to be pitted metal.

The best way to value a bike like this is to consider the value of the individual parts and then assume a percentage discount for buying the lot in total. If bought separately the parts might total to around $500 so I would say the bike is worth a ballpark value of $300 to $350. Keep in mind that the bike is not a restoration (not that it is advertised as such) and that all the work that was done would have to be undone and redone to a higher and more accurate standard to add value in that venue. Obviously, someone put a lot of work and some money into building and painting the bike as it sits so judged as a custom cruiser any added value is appraised to individual taste and the seller and the buyer, if a transaction is reached, will determine an agreed monetary value.

Excellent advice! Thanks rms37, much appreciated. 8)

 

[Combat_Butler]

I think I might have found something I could work with, an Electra Vince Cruiser. It's a modern bike but it looks quite pretty in the pictures.
Link: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=28869

However, air-brushed, digitally-scrubbed photos can be misleading and there is nowhere in my area I could see one up close. It's £380 ($600) which isn't too much for me to spend but I'd want to change the saddle for something retro and the gear shifter is an eyesore.. and if those mudguards (fenders) are plastic I'd have to replace them with *real* ones. It looks like there is no front brake either.. not good. I'd definitely have to fit one to make it safe for British roads.

I'd really like to put a rear carrier-rack on it too but it looks like the back wheel is higher than the tube.
Thinking about it now, I'm not fond of coaster brakes either. ...., that may have foiled the plan before I've even started. I want normal brakes not crappy coaster brakes! Pedal-back brakes are a pain in the ... when I want to stop and start.


Bah! The more I think about it the worse it gets! :?

 

[CycleTruck]

here is my first that I did,

Nice! What fenders did you use?