Featherbed frame

mean gene

mean gene

VIP MEMBER
Joined
Dec 21, 2020
Messages
1,204
Country flag
Slim line featherbed frame for sale on Dallas Craigslist $700.. My wife reminded this was a riding trip not a gathering trip!
 
mean gene said:
Slim line featherbed frame for sale on Dallas Craigslist $700.. My wife reminded this was a riding trip not a gathering trip!
Click to expand...
If its a original Featherbed frame then go for it, lots of fake ones around, love my hot 850 Featherbed Commando.
 
Might be worth pointing out the frame is about 3 hrs south of Dallas in College Station. It's actually closer to Houston than Dallas.
 
If only I were back home in Houston , I'd try real hard to snatch that up.
 
cjandme said:
If only I were back home in Houston , I'd try real hard to snatch that up.
Click to expand...
Getting harder to find original Featherbed frames that haven't been cut or butchered up or rails dented or bottom rails not rusted out the original frames are heavy but they dent easy.
 
grandpaul said:
They usually fetch $1,000 w/ swingarm...
Click to expand...
I would expect to pay at least $2000 for a replica wideline featherbed frame, A slimline must be worth more than $1000 ? However cost and worth are not the same thing,. What determines value - supply and demand ? - I don't think so.
 
I paid $400 for my 57 Wideline Featherbed frame back in 1979 from a mate, that was with swing arm, fuel tank and a worn out rusty road holder frontend, bought off my mate who got me started on Norton's, and about 12 years ago I bought a Manxman Slimline, ex race bike basket case with a new alloy tank with complete running gear but had a missing head, I was lucky the owner had lost interest in it and I ended paying $1k for the lot, its a ex Mike Farrell race bike but the 650 motor is not matching numbers to the frame was out by 65 in the numbers, but the frame was still Manxman blue frame and the primary is also blue, but most of the original Manxman parts are missing, so I was pretty lucky to get it at that price, the motor has some goodies from race days, would have like to seen the head, a very rare bike with racing history.

Ashley
 
ashman said:
I paid $400 for my 57 Wideline Featherbed frame back in 1979 from a mate, that was with swing arm, fuel tank and a worn out rusty road holder frontend, bought off my mate who got me started on Norton's, and about 12 years ago I bought a Manxman Slimline, ex race bike basket case with a new alloy tank with complete running gear but had a missing head, I was lucky the owner had lost interest in it and I ended paying $1k for the lot, its a ex Mike Farrell race bike but the 650 motor is not matching numbers to the frame was out by 65 in the numbers, but the frame was still Manxman blue frame and the primary is also blue, but most of the original Manxman parts are missing, so I was pretty lucky to get it at that price, the motor has some goodies from race days, would have like to seen the head, a very rare bike with racing history.

Ashley
Click to expand...
Cmon Ash get this Manxman in the project section
And get it built,I'd love to see it
Cheers
 
baz said:
Cmon Ash get this Manxman in the project section
And get it built,I'd love to see it
Cheers
Click to expand...
When I first got it I started the rebuild, frame all painted, front end rebuilt, new Ikon rear shocks, then chasing a head for it was the hardest part looked all over the world for the right one and after 2 years searching a member here told me about someone in South Aus and gave me his contact number and behold he had 2 heads, he sent me the best one with new valves, but by this time life got in the way with work and family, now been retired 8 years now and I still haven't found the time to get back into the project bike, but always find the time for my 850 Featherbed hot rod and my other bike.
Who ever said once you retire you will always find plenty of time to do things, well it hasn't happened to me yet, life just gets in the way by having a good time and living on a tight budget just to survive don't help, I have money put away but that's for rainy days and I am to young to get the old age pension, so my retirement is all self funded, the kids have left home but the wife and dogs are expensive to keep on the road as well the reno on my old house all takes its toll on the finance so some times got to down size in what I spend money on and cost of living is getting out of hand, I already sold my old 2013 Thruxton and my wife's car has to go but we are giving that to the oldest daughter and the BF because they need help.
I love to finish off the Manxman Cafe build but I am not a rich man only rich in life.

Ashley
 
ashman said:
I paid $400 for my 57 Wideline Featherbed frame back in 1979 from a mate, that was with swing arm, fuel tank and a worn out rusty road holder frontend, bought off my mate who got me started on Norton's, and about 12 years ago I bought a Manxman Slimline, ex race bike basket case with a new alloy tank with complete running gear but had a missing head, I was lucky the owner had lost interest in it and I ended paying $1k for the lot, its a ex Mike Farrell race bike but the 650 motor is not matching numbers to the frame was out by 65 in the numbers, but the frame was still Manxman blue frame and the primary is also blue, but most of the original Manxman parts are missing, so I was pretty lucky to get it at that price, the motor has some goodies from race days, would have like to seen the head, a very rare bike with racing history.

Ashley
Click to expand...
That sounds like a really lovely purchase. When you build a race bike, you need two things - a decent front brake, and a close ratio gearbox. If you were lucky, you might have got both. The rest is much less important. Even if the motor is not really hot, the close box will help the bike accelerate fast. And you can only go as fast as the front brake will allow.
 
AL mine I built in the early 80s as a road bike and has been on the road since and the stock Commando gear box is just fine after replacing the LS bearing back in 79 when the original one blew outside my house when I put it in gear, and the last 12 years has had a major up grade of front brakes, front end, JH maggie, oil tank and different carbs but they have just been replaced with my old Amals, lot less trouble some (got sick of the right carb float sticking all the time (PWK carbs no matter how many times I tried fixing it), so 40 years in the Featherbed she is starting to show her age but its well ridden and its the way I like it, built by my own hands and always improving it but its perfect the way it is now, its my HOT ROD toy and its light, fast and handles like its on rails, I no need to race it and I have nothing to prove, its a fun bike to ride.
Featherbed frame
Featherbed frame

Ashley
 
'Racing improves the breed'. If you raced it, you would quickly find any limitations. You can race with the normal wide ratio gearbox and never know why you are that bit slower. Gearing has a very strange effect on a Commando. If you improve your motor's torque, because of the heavy crank which affects throttle response. the bike will not usually perform better until you raise the overall gearing. But when you do that, you effectively move the gearbox's internal ratios wider. That affects the amount of revs you lose on every up-change. When you use close ratios, the bike accelerates faster as you come-up through the gears. A four speed close gear cluster costs $700, but then you have the problem of the high first gear. For a fun bike, that would never be a problem. For a commuter bike five speeds would be better.
 
Al mine goes quite well, with the hot cam, head work, balanced crank and the Joe Hunt putting out a great big spark, tuned pipes and stock gearing, it has no troubles getting up there quick, and the best thing I can ride it anytime I want and the 4 speed works well for me, its built for tight twisty roads up in the ranges and its pretty good on the open straights and highway when need to, its been around Lakeside quite a bit in its early days but more fun on the ranges, its just a great bike to ride anywhere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top