The other day I’m having a phone conversation with a fellow collector who said he had sold a couple of bikes and was looking for another project. I was familiar with both bikes one was restored and the other was a mix of original paint parts and re-chromed parts. Both bikes were from the early 1950’s so each well over 60 years old.

The largely original bike was sold via the internet to a person relatively new to vintage bikes. He proceeded to tell me how the person said he was disappointed that the bike had scrapes and scratches on it. I had seen this bike in person and, personally, I thought it represented well given the age of the bike. Rule #1. of bike buying—the bike will always look better in the pictures! I have seen people advertise with pictures that were less than forthcoming but that wasn’t the case here. As a buyer you know what deal breakers are for you and should ask for more detailed pictures to satisfy you. If the buyer is unwilling to provide the requested information this should be a red flag and you need to move on. I have rarely encountered this but when it happens I have passed. In a couple cases I learned that there were problems and glad I saved myself the money.

As a buyer it is your responsibility to do your homework and ask the questions that are important to you. I have no expectations of any electrics e.g. horn or lights to work on any vintage bike when I buy it. If they do work it is just icing on the cake. What I do ask though is the condition of these components to see if there is any battery acid damage. Unfortunately this is very common on most of these bikes. Pictures of the insides of lights and tanks is probably a good idea if you are dropping serious coin on a bike. For me as long as the housing (tank or light cover) isn’t compromised I’m good. In some cases such as with the Schwinn Fenderlights found on Autocycles, Phantoms, and B6s there are pretty good reproduction battery trays that can be replaced fairly easily if you want to make the light work again. If there is significant damage to the bottom of a rare tank then what looks like a good deal may be money lost as most collectors shy away from heavily damaged bikes.

Another area of concern is preproduction parts. Reproductions have been around for many years and some are so good that after a little shelf wear cannot be distinguished from the real deal in some cases. Knowing the provenance of the bike is helpful in determining the likelihood of reproduction parts. Study original bikes if possible and know what was reproduced for a particular model. Fiberglass reproductions have been made of just about every tank so make sure to ask, particularly on rare bikes, if the tank is steel or fiberglass. Steel reproductions of varying quality have been made of straight bar, DX, and cantilever Schwinn tanks. In recent years very good reproductions have been made of chain guards, handlebars, and even seats.

All this said if you are going to collect original vintage bikes that are 60, 70, or 80 years or older then you probably aren’t going to get something that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor and to expect such is unrealistic. I have a mental checklist that I use for every purchase and by methodically using this list have drastically reduced instances of buyer’s remorse.  Make your own list, get what suits you, and enjoy the ride!