Ok so the short story is that i have found a very nice bike and the owner won't sell it!
It is being used as an outside ornament at a local restaurant.
There are a couple of other bikes there which are just old and nothing special but this one is a dream bike for me.

So any ideas on how to convince the guy to sell it?

Anybody else have any frustrating bikes that are unobtainable?

Here is a photo i found online and it's a cleveland safety bike.
Everything is original and there on the bike. The saddle and tyres are toast though.

find a cheaper vintage bike to replace his lawn ornament, and a little cash. or just steal it.........kidding on the last one...

Bribe him with pie and/or cheesecake. Always works for me.

Tell him you are from the health department

+1. Just make sure the donor fits the look that the fellow is going for, and - for visitors to his establishment - is equally if not more visually appealing.

-Kurt

I usually bribe with sex.

Nice old bike! That Cleveland, a Hirondelle retro-directe & a Pierce shaft driven bicycle are particularly attractive to me. Good luck with that persuasion.

this. show some skin and smile.

Maybe if you just steal part of the bike, then offer to buy the rest at full price?

Do a Google search and print out any information that shows the value.
Hand him the papers, with the cash in your other hand, plus a bit extra and have the replacement
bike ready.
Now is not the time to be looking for a deal.

I'm the owner, and you will never get my bike! How much money are we talking about? I prefer also blondes, 4'11"-5'5", petite, pretty, with a sexy hour glass figure! :-) Maybe money is not the main focus of the owner, maybe he has some sentimental attachment? This will work, but it will require patience from you. I recommend that you befriend the owner. Go to his restaurant often, compliment his food, and atmosphere, and chat with him mano a mano. Address him by his first name as much as possible. Forget about the bike, but genuinely try to find out more about him, his family, his restaurant, Do this for several months until he begins to trust you. He will eventually open up to you. casually bring the subject of the bike up again, but this time, since he "knows" you, he will be more receptive. Let him know that the reason that you want the bike, is because you plan on restoring it and riding it. Let him know also that you know that that is a special bike to him, but also let him know that it is slowly but surely deteriorating! Give him the line that it is better for him to know that the bike is going to someone that will take care of it for "him", and that you will continue to frequent his restaurant and bring the bike over for others and specially for him to see. piont out the tires and saddle as complete destroyed, but that you can still save the frame.

Remember, your approach is extremely important. It could mean the difference from getting the bike, or seeing the bike being destroyed by the elements day by day! Good luck!

Fash

Bad business. Then he'll know that the only way to keep the OP around is not to sell him the bike

-Kurt

Okay, we're going to need a wisecracking short guy of Italian extraction from Brooklyn; a chainsmoking French atheist cynic who calls himself the Mole; a fallen priest who knows how to tapdance; a buxom dame in a tight blouse; a big schooner, the dark of the moon, five sticks of dynamite, seven hundred feet of 3/4" rope, two Dodge Power Wagons, three avocados, a muffler from a '77 Ford Pinto and a bass lure. I got it all worked out but you have to trust me.

I think your best bet is going to find an interesting bike to offer in trade. Come up with a solid reason why you want that bike, find out why he doesn't want to give it up, and negotiate with him to exchange bikes.

Oh, yeah, THAT'S a lot of fun.

Become a pest, wave some money around.....do it long enough and he'll sell you the bike just to get rid of you!

Get a German tank. WWII vintage would be ideal, but they are hard to find; a more modern Leopard will do. Drive up to restaurant in the tank. Problem solved.

He doesn't need the money. He's more interested in the aesthetic value of the thing. Make him a fair offer and leave it at that. The more you bug him, the more stubborn he might become. I think I'd mention the historical significance of the machine and how sad to see it deteriorate in the weather....and then leave it there.

BTW. With all the cool bikes you have...what do you want that old thing for?!

That's becasue you've only achieved "Entry Level Pestdom"...ya gotta move foward, stepping up the game...at some point, it will become his sanity vs. selling you the bike.

Here's a cunning plan for you. Bribe the city's leading food critic to complain about the cheesy decor.

Tubes are polly nesting grounds for Cock-A Raoches anyway.

try this,

lock 8 bikes that look about the same around it, then remove 8 bikes a week later