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Has anyone seen this odd 1920s colour combination?
I bought the 1927 repro catalogue from Wayne, and was very surprised to discover that in 1927 the following colour combination was offered on the Motorbike Model and Sport Model (fork truss with single top tube):
"No. 28--Stearns Yellow and Blue Stripe, Sapphire Blue Fork and Guards with Gold Stripe."
Does anyone here own a CCM with these original colours, or has anyone ever seen one? I don't imagine that it was ever a popular colour choice. If one exists, I'd love to see it in person, or in photos posted here.
Also, if anyone owns catalogues from other years - probably 1920s - that show this colour combination, can you please post the year and the models on which it was offered?
Thanks.
No, I haven't seen that combination and it's not mentioned in the 1928 catalogue. However, I've seen examples of a similar option offered on 1950s Sports and Club Racer models. It used a marigold frame with black head tube and black mud guards. They're quite attractive.
Thanks T-mar. In the 1927 catalogue, the paint colour info came from a little box at the bottom of page 9, under the title "HANDY REFERENCE COLOR CHART FOR C.C.M. NAMEPLATE BICYCLES" Does your '28 catalolgue have a box like this? I'll attach a photo.
The 1928 catalogue has a similar insert, defining the finish options. The listed options were 4,14, 24, 26, 29, 36 & 39.
The two finish options not listed in your catalogue are described as follows;
#29:CCM Green and Red Stripe
#39: CCM Green and Red Stripe, Gold Sunburst head.
The replacement frames and forks page lists eight different finish options, adding #3 to the above list.
I also checked the page listing the 1/4 pint tins of paint (they may be in the index under enamels) and while they list several colours not listed among the 1928 bicycle finishes, Stearns Yellow is not among them. It seems strange that they wouldn't catalogue tins of touch-up paint in a colour that was offered on bicycles only a year before.
Finally, I checked the specifications for each individual bicycle model, to see if #28 was included in any of the finish options, but it wasn't.
Thank you T-Mar for the detailed info!
Brian,
These are from 1922, 26, 27, 28, 29 catalogues.
I couldn't find a chart in the 24 and 25 catalogue.
Thanks Mark, that's awesome. It appears that the yellow frame and blue fork and guards was a one year only offer. It's hard to imagine any teen or preteen boy being overjoyed to see their new Motorbike Model under the Christmas tree in those colours. I doubt records of this survive but it wouldn't surprise me if zero orders were placed from dealers for bikes in this colour. I wonder if there was a brand of motorcycles sold in these colours that provided inspiration, or perhaps a motorcycle racer with a yellow and blue bike.
I'm restoring a '27 Sport Model and if it weren't a Massey I'd be tempted to try out this colour scheme. For the sake of its future resale value I think I'll stick to black with gold stripes, and wood rims with black, red, and gold stripes.
The rims are already painted so no changing it now.
I have a can of Marigold yellow touch up, unopened.