BicycleMonkey

I found this World Voyageur I'm considering buying for the collection. The seller is asking $300. It's got a few more scratches than I'd like to have seen but I guess one can't be too choosey with this model. Would I be overpaying? Here's the pics I've been sent so far.

rekmeyata

Depends if it has ALL the original components, if it does then yes it seems to be a fair price from what I can tell from the photos. There does appear to be some degree of rust on various areas, the springs on the brake calipers for example, those could snap if the rust is too bad at some point. You can get most, if not all, the original components on E-bay as needed. If you decide to upgrade components at least save the original stuff so the bike can be brought back to it's former vintage value if need be. I think the front gear rings may be worn out because some appear to be pointy in the photos. It looks like you might have your work cut out for you getting this restored but excellent condition ones sell for around $700 (in blue, the least valuable color, orange and yellow are the rarest so those sell for more) so you have room to play with.

That bike was the premier touring bike made by any company back in the day, so it was a very highly thought of bike. If you do decide to go touring on it some day buy a stainless steel rear rack and not a cheap aluminum one because the old metal technology back then did make touring bikes in general flex a lot when loaded and going down a hill where the speed may go above 15 mph those frames would visually flex back and forth, and a solid rack will help reinforce the rear.

If the bike fits you then I would offer $250 and see what the seller does, if he ok's the offer then ask if he has any other tools, parts, and accessories to go with the bike.

BicycleMonkey

I got some pics of the drivetrain. I'd want to keep it original and only replace things with original components. The seller bought it new in 1973 and says the only non original items are the saddle and the tires.

Metacortex

He isn't lying, it is all original except for the saddle and tires. It is also missing the original toe clips and straps. The Opaque Blue is also the rarest color for these. I'd want to see a pic of the serial number stamped on the underside of the bottom bracket shell, and I would also offer $250 or less.

rekmeyata

I'm not sure where you got your info but the opaque blue was the most common color. The one that was rare that had that color was the Schwinn Sprint of about the same year (give or take a year) that had all Campy components.

BicycleMonkey

That's funny b/c all you see on Google images are the orange and yellow ones.

rekmeyata

That's because the people with the rarer colors are more into bikes like collectors and the such, and those people will be more likely to post their bikes pictures.

Metacortex

Nope, sorry. These were made in '72 and '73 and so far all of the '72 production I've seen were only Kool Orange or Kool Lemon. Those are by far the most common colors on the World Voyageur (with orange being more common than yellow). To make my point just do a Google image search for Schwinn World Voyageur and you'll see pics of orange and yellow models outnumber blue by at least 10 to 1.

BicycleMonkey

Well I'm gonna buy it anyway..even if he won't drop his price to $250.

rekmeyata

Like I said in my last post usually only bike collectors and fanatics will post their bikes pictures and those people will tend to post if they think they have a rarer something, in this case color. My understanding was that the blue was the least rarest of color on that model, but I could be wrong.

rekmeyata

Try to get him to drop the price, the worse that can happen is that he says no, then if you still want the bike after looking at it closely and have ridden it then pay his price, but make sure after the agreed amount of money is settled on that you ask for any extra parts, accessories, tools, etc he be willing to let go with the bike. Some of those World Voyageur bikes were sold with a tool kit in case the bike broke down on a tour of course, that would be rare to get! He might just have one.

zukahn1 

I don't think $300 is out of line if you want a vintage Schwinn that's actually nice rider to keep. Most of the issues with this bike look to be minor surface rust and dirt which should be fine after a full tear and cleanup. You can use this as bargaining point since a shop would likely charge around $200 to do this.

BicycleMonkey

It's in my possession! It's gritty but it'll clean up when I get around to it.

I've updated the album here with more images:
https://imgur.com/a/RPmhj

Metacortex

Good job! That one should clean up nicely. This '72 model in Kool Orange is currently my go-to daily rider:

BicycleMonkey

I would totally love to find a Kool Orange one next!

Metacortex

...and I would totally love to find an Opaque Blue one! The orange ones are by far the most common so you shouldn't have a too hard of a time with that.

rekmeyata

Nice, really nice.

Metacortex

Thanks!

trainman999

BicycleMonkey, Great find, it’s also missing the kick stand and a black 4130 chrome molley decal on the seat tube above the F/D. Mine looked about like yours when I got it, some polishing compound some wax and some elbow grease looks good as new now. You will like the ride. Was yours the one on craigs list in Mobile? There is an orange one for sale on ebay looks rougher than yours only $1500
Metacortex, was serial #2E1*** the 1*** frame made in April 1972? There is also a Yellow (looks real rough) and a Blue one for sale on Ebay for big bucks under various spellings of Voyageur. Yellow one has serial#K20**** did they change the format at some point?

BicycleMonkey

Yep, it was the one in Mobile. The guy was a NJ transplant. My S/N is 2J5986. I guess that means 2 or 1972 and J for October of that year.?

seedsbelize 

My orange one shows no trace that it ever had a kickstand. I'll make a point of checking the serial.

BicycleMonkey

Mine doesn't either. Mine doesn't even show any marks where a clamp-on kick stand would have been installed.

Metacortex

A kickstand was not included from the factory, any found on one of these bikes would have been added by the dealer or owner(s).

A frame serial of 2E1*** would indicate the 1*** frame made by National/Panasonic in May of '72.

The format for a specific manufacturer never changed. While most World Voyageurs were made by National/Panasonic, some were made by Bridgestone. Serials starting with Year Month (e.g. 2E...) are the former, those starting with Month Year (e.g. K2...) are the latter.

Scooper

J is September.

A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Not Used, J=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec

Metacortex

Yes I believe that is true as unlike Schwinn in Chicago, National/Panasonic did use the letter "I" in its serial numbers. Here is a pic of a 7Ixxxxx serial (Sept. 1977) National/Panasonic built Schwinn Volare: