1941 CCM Ivanhoe Motorbike

Submitted by jdwillia on Fri, 04/15/2016 - 22:17

There still seems to be a steady stream of old CCM's coming from farms on the prairies. I recently picked up this 1941 CCM Ivanhoe motorbike that surprised me because it is the first CCM Ivanhoe that I have come across, and the serial number indicates that it is a 1941, which is late for any of the separate CCM headbadges. It has high grade equipment on it (Dunlop W.O. rims and Gibson pedals), but only a one-piece crank. It may or may not have come from the factory with this crank. It also has the remains of a decal with a beaver on it on the upper seat tube, which I have not seen before, but other Forum members may recognize.

John Williamson

3 Comments

Submitted by jdwillia on Fri, 04/15/2016 - 22:20.

Picture 1

ivanhoe_001.jpg ivanhoe_005.jpg ivanhoe_003.jpg

Submitted by T-Mar on Sat, 04/16/2016 - 09:52.

The separate brand headbadges were still in use as late as 1941 and possibly even 1942. However, I have never seen an Ivanhoe from this period. They are certainly not mentioned in the 1941 catalogue. The catalogued 1941 Motorbike brands were Cleveland, Red Bird, Massey, Perfect, Columbia, Rambler and Cadet. 

I notice the head badge is held on with screws. This is probably  due to one of the obvious repaints. However, it would still be interesting to remove the badge and see if these are the original holes or if the badge is obscuring holes for a different CCM name plate.

It certainly does look like it was marketed as a premium brand, as opposed to a mid-range brand like the Rambler or a budget brand like Cadet, as it has the chromed truss of the premium brands, as opposed to the painted truss of the Ramblers and Cadets. It also has the contrasting fenders of the premium brands, as opposed to the colour matched fenders of the mid-range and budget brands. This would seem to indicate that the crankset may be a replacement for a Triplex. Offhand the only other differentiator that I can think of, that you haven't already covered, if whether the front hub is a CCM or Falcon.

Given the era, it's also possible that CCM was already into materials conservation mode and had depleted or were conserving their stock of remaining Triplex cranksets. CCM may have used existing stock to create something beween their typical mid and high grade models. Not wishing to confuse the consumer and/or tarnish the image of their premium brands, they may have resurrected an old brand for the atypical component mix. But that's pure speculation on my part. Regardless, it is a very interestingand rare  acquisition. Congratulations and enjoy! 

Submitted by jdwillia on Mon, 04/18/2016 - 22:02.

Thanks for your observations and ideas TMar. The paint and headbadge appear to have been factory, and not a repaint. Their is no evidence of any other holes for headbadge screws. The front hub is the CCM hub, and not the Falcon hub. The seat is a Mesinger B6. The remnants of the beaver decal on the seat tube appear to be what is left from a 1921 to 1926 seat tube decal that had the beaver on top. It also has the typical 1942 down tube decal and the cone decals that made up something like a sunburst head. I think that your idea that the factory was using up old stock is probably right. It may have originally had a Triplex crank that was replaced at some point. The pedals came off very easily - perhaps too easily for an original 1942 crank.

John