Click on pic for full size view (there's another at the bottom of this page). Beginnings of my Chief bobber. Just to help give a clearer idea of what kind of bikes I like. Forks are of unknown heritage. They are sturdy 40mm and German (I think), but that's all I know. I got them with a couple of sidecar dirt tracker chassis with Triumph frames, and since I sold most of that again, they were kinda free. If they don't work, I have most of a Chief girder front end, but you see so many of those around... I have no real idea when I can afford to do anything with this bike, but I'm dreaming of a Kiwi engine for it. Some day I'm probably going to restore this bike to something like original, but I'll have to find a lot of parts first, so I'm in no hurry. The red thing under the workbench is a Czech Jawa trailer (one tail wheel), which may go behind this bike for carrying stuff on longer trips. It's got nice round Indian shapes to it, and they even got the color right. If I go for a car alternator for this bike, the trailer may even be wired with the remains of a 12V cooling box for cars (cold beer on the road, how's about that...Or maybe sell icecream at the beach? That should be popular with the cuties there). Before I start on this bike in earnest, I'd better finish the Scout, though. Both to get at least one project finished and to rip out the engine from it and put it in the Warpath-kinda chassis!

(as the ultimate digression, the small lump on the wall, visible above the bars of the bike in the top picture is an 18cc Lohmann bicycle clip-on engine with variable compression. Made in Germany around 1949, the inventor had the idea that ignition systems were the root af all evil, so he designed it with a moveable roof over the piston crown instead. This is connected to an extra throttle grip, and you're supposed to engage the drive (tilt the engine so the drive roller touches the rear tire) and pedal like crazy while twisting both "throttles" to arrive at a state where the carb gives a suitable mixture that the variable compression compresses to self ignition and the engine fires.  When (if...) you succeed, the little engine's supposed to go real well. The engine came with a chart of carb jettings for various fuels. It can run on gasoline, diesel, kerosene and lamp oil... I intend to find a period (Indian would be neat!) bicycle and give it a go some time, but back to the bigger bikes now!)