I have to side with wellbiked and Sierra here, as a happy owner of a pair of Voyageur 11.8's (and just recently, a suspiciously similar Panasonic Team Professional...) -- these bikes are pretty sweet! They ride great considering the non-premium tubing, and should be below 25lbs if you add nicer bits.

- 23" and smaller frames have double-butted top, down and seat tubes, and the 25" and 27" frame (yes, I've seen one that big!) seattubes are straight/non-butted 4130.

- the only caveat IMO is the forks on these use 21.15 (not 22.0) stems. The SR-supplied stems use wedge-expanders, whereas the Schwinn 'S'-logoed stems suppied with lower grade Schwinn "Xtra Lite" bikes use plug-expanders.

- my black Voyageur also had a stuck seatpost, which I successful freed! The SR post in your auction is the same as mine -- sort of funky, it has opposing pairs of "rotating clamp bolts", which clamp to the seat rails. Size is 26.8.

- the dropouts on these are nicely forged, as well.

Go for it-- especially if the price is right. PM me if you want any details!
=- Joe

Nice bikes, Joe Loco!........One thing I've noticed about the SR stems that are .833" (21.15 mm), they usually have a distinctive ridge near the top of the neck showing where the stem was necked down during the machining process (you can see this on the stem on duane041's e-bay bike). I recently bought an extra tall SR stem on e-bay for my le tour luxe, and I'm not sure the seller even realized it wasn't a standard sized stem. But when I saw the little ridge in the photos, I was pretty sure it would fit my Schwinn, and it did. :)

That's what I thought. You are only the second person that I have heard speak of Bridgestone producing bikes(or frames as the case may be) for Schwinn. Do you know of any way of telling the Panasonic made Schwinns from the ones made by Bridgestone?

You guys should post some pics of these... or have you? ;) Also, re: the 21.15 stem issue, do you know the measurements of your replacement? I wonder if other (quality) manufacturers might have made 'road' stems with this size...

=- Joe

Yeah, I know. I only have some poor quality pics taken in a basement with a flash. This summer I should drag all my bikes out, photograph them and post the pics on a photo hosting website. It just seems like so much effort, and there always seems to be something I would rather be doing(like working on the next bike or riding one of them). :rolleyes:

I hope your tools include a Milwaukee Sawzall and a nearby 'fridge full of cold, bottled water, for you'll need both if you want to tackle this job...

P.S.: Don't even think of drilling it out - that's murder...with a captial M.

-Kurt

Eric,

I really don't know how one would tell the difference. There may be a way to differentiate the Panasonics from the Bridgestones, but I'm not aware of it.

Joe, yeah, I know, I'll post some pics sometime, but I need a digital camera. And the truth is, I'm so tech challenged, it's amazing to me that I'm able to even type messages to this board, much less do something like post a pic. :eek: Anyway, as for the stem, it's kind of a freak it's so tall and has such a short extension. I measured it, and it has a 55 mm extension, with about a 110mm rise capacity (to the min. insertion line). The extension is at an angle approx. parallel with the ground. I love it for this bike, because the theme on my le tour is "sit up and smell the roses" (or something like that). In addition to that, the bike is really about a half size too large for me, which allows me to keep the saddle fairly low, and combined with the tall stem I'm able to ride in the most comfortable position I've ever ridden in. Aerodynamics be damned! :D I don't know of any brand other than the old SR's that came on those Schwinns that would be made in the .833" size. I think I got lucky with this particular e-bay find, because not only was I able to guess that it was the .833 based on the little ridge I mentioned, but it's just what I was looking for to put me in the position on the bike that I wanted. And on top of that, it hardly looked used, just a couple of minor blemishes that polished right out-

Good luck trying to get things unstuck. The 11.8 is a very nice bike and I believe they were made by Panasonic. I'm positive the World Voyageurs were Panasonic made.

Actually, I have a Porter Cable TigerSaw, but it's the same thing :)
I think a combination of some heat (got three different types of torches to use), a nice big vice, and some "persuaders", shoud do it. I have a friend whos been welding for about 15 years, so he knows how far he can go before things start to distort. That is, if I even win the frame. I already put in my max bid, so we shall see.

Maybe, if that doesn't work, I can put the frame on the front of this year's demolition derby car. Here's a movie of me ruining last year's car (a little green Subaru)
http://homepage.mac.com/wagonwaller/...Theater21.html
That should loosen it up a bit ;)

Kerk,

If you ever run across another opaque blue Voyager in 22-1/2" (56cm) frame, drop a note. I'd really love to have another one of those. 30 years on, and I still have wonderful memories of the bike.

Syke
Deranged Few M/C

Don't bother with heat. Aluminum expands twice as much as steel when heated, so you'll end up scorching the paint, but you won't get the stem out.

Quick-freezing the stem (to shrink the aluminum) works...sometimes, but not often. A pair (or three, if you wish) of CO-2 tire-inflation cartridges might just do the trick - one through the BB, the other through the top, and the third handheld around the seattube area of the frame. I've had limited success with this method, but it may work for you. Three cartridges should be sufficent overkill to find out whether the stem is "somewhat stuck" or "jammed for good".

Personally, I find the Sawzall method probably the easiest remidy. Cut the stem to about 1/2" from the frame lug, then stick the blade of the Sawzall down the seattube, and make a nice slice in the stem, from top to bottom. Grab the end with a pair of Vise-Grips, and peel the stem off the walls of the tube.

Good luck (if you get it).

P.S.: My LBS-found '61 Paramount has a jammed stem, and a well-mangled seattube. Lucky me - I have to have a framebuilder replace the tube!

-Kurt

I like this one best!! But my Sawzall blades seem too 'tall' to fit, if it comes to that. Are there narrow blades that I haven't seen?

Turn it over. Clamp it in your bench vice. Pour some Parson's sudsy ammonia into the inverted seat tube. Wait, oh, two of those cold bottles of "water" worth. Rack on the frame. No go? Wait another day. If it still doesn't twist out, you have a major problem, one that can best be fixed with a sawsall (although...see the Hetchins note above, that is not always infallible either).

Maybe, if I win it, I'll be lucky enough that if it IS that stuck, it'll be stuck in a useful position.

Thanks for all the suggestions. If I get the frame, I'll let you know what worked best.

If you give up on all that you can pick up a full chrome Voyaguer 11.8 over on the Schwinn Forum for 300 bones ...

http://www.schwinnbike.com/heritage/...ad.php?t=31051

Not mine ...

Bob Hufford
Springfield, MO