RE: [CR]New member and Macleans!

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Chater-Lea)

In-Reply-To: <002401c6dfeb$81e5fdc0$6f60b351@David>
From: "neil foddering" <neilfoddering@hotmail.com>
To: david.peace@dsl.pipex.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: RE: [CR]New member and Macleans!
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 15:51:49 +0000


I have a letter from Murray Maclean who is the Veteran-Cycle Club's Maclean Marque Enthusiast, which lists serial numbers of machines known to him. KB123 dates from March 1950 and KB905 dates from June 1952, so it would appear that yours may date to around 1951.

Further to Joe's and Hilary's discussion of the frame numbering sequence, Murray suggests (inferring from his list of serial numbers) that the second letter of the post war serial numbers may not be a frame builder's identification letter, but could be part of the serial numbering, this letter being changed when the serial number sequence reached 999, no four figure numbers having been discovered to date..

Hence, the next number after KB999 would be KC1, and this range would continue through the years until KC999 was reached, to be followed by KD1.

Neil Foddering Weymouth, Dorset, England


>From: "David Peace." <david.peace@dsl.pipex.com>
>To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Subject: [CR]New member and Macleans!
>Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 16:10:00 +0100
>
>Hi,
>
>I'm new to the group and have been 'lurking' for the past week or so to
>get the feel of things.
>
>Suddenly in my dotage, so to speak, I have become interested in bikes
>again, and find that (after a gap of many decades) the fascination I had
>with classic bikes at grammar school in the fifties has awoken again.
>Then, the make of 'racer' ,as we called them then, was a measure of your
>'street cred' as they say now. I had a Claud so was higher in the
>pecking order than a Dawes owner. The guy with the Ellis Briggs was
>higher than me and the lads with a Hetchins or a Bates were 'higher'
>still.
>Curiously, the king of the bunch was the owner of a Jack Taylor - many a
>stunning girl was passed un-noticed as one of the lads went over to
>examine the Jack Taylor yet again!
>Now that I've bored you all with 'introductions' as requested when
>joined the group I'll get on with the thread.
>
>Hilary Stone might remember that he sold a green Macleans frame to me a
>month or so ago. Consequently I have been very interested in the
>discussion on Macleans numbering and went into the hut to check the
>numbers on the frame. This is what I found. KB 685 is stamped on the
>forks in the usual place. KB 685 is stamped on the left rear dropout and
>the number 83 is stamped dead centre on the underside of the bottom
>bracket shell! Hope I haven't confused matters but it seems to be a new
>angle on the discussion.
>
>Best wishes to all group members. I hope I will soon be calling on the
>mass of expertise here!
>
>Dave Peace
>Scarborough, Yorkshire U.K