1962 Columbus Discoverer I picked up last weekend.

[SimpleTom]

Very cool find!!!! I wonder how the top bar keeps from bending if you hit a really hard bump?

So the bar must be a very thick wall because the bike is surprisingly heavy.

Cool looking bike but one sic jump and that thing will fold like a taco shell so it must have lived a pampered life.

Basically since it was designed as a scooter it wasn't meant to do any "sic jumps".

 

[Outlaw Ace]

Cool looking bike but one sic jump and that thing will fold like a taco shell so it must have lived a pampered life.

Not too unlike a King "O" Lawn step through minibike, never meant to be treated like a solid uninterrupted loop frame.

 

[Fantic Freddy]

Very cool and retro Tom, how do you find stuff like this?

 

[Havasu Dave]

So the bar must be a very thick wall because the bike is surprisingly heavy.

Basically since it was designed as a scooter it wasn't meant to do any "sic jumps".

One of the first things I thought of, but didn't "say" because it's not politically correct is that "back in the day," 30 percent of America was not obese. Very few of the bikes produced for "kids" would have lasted if the average rider weight was 250 pounds. There wouldn't be a need for shoehorning ten horsepower OHV engines in them either.

Then again, there are a few representatives from the old days that are just poor design for rider weight, like the seat on the Bug Flea, NONE of which survived.

 

[delray]

tom did you ever get them brochure pictures i sent you?
it's a real production built bike guys......:thumbsup:

note on the bottom page...date of 4/62

sold for $129,tom i will give you $200:wink:......:laugh:

 

[Steve73]

That’s a pretty cool looking motor scooter. In the 2nd picture you could even ride it with one hand. Now that’s swell..

 

[SimpleTom]

tom did you ever get them brochure pictures i sent you?
it's a real production built bike guys......:thumbsup:

note on the bottom page...date of 4/62

sold for $129,tom i will give you $200:wink:......:laugh:

Yes, Thanks for sending them. Also, it is the exact bike that you saw in Jefferson years ago. I don't know if it's the same owner but I didn't pay anywhere near what they were asking back then.

 

[6WD]

nice find i just picked one up out of my buddies grandmas barn that she use to ride it when she was a kid.. i'll post a pic soon

 

[GustoGuy]

Wow 1962. It is in great shape. Does it have a simple friction clutch design? Very portable too and it will not take up much room in the garage. How well does the engine run?.

 

[6WD]

Can't beat free runs like a champ!

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

Really cool scooter, Awesome score!

 

[6WD]

Does anyone have a manual for it at all? I'm trying to figure out the springs for the carb for it.

 

[SimpleTom]

Can't beat free runs like a champ!

Nice find! Looks like it confirms that the pin striping is original. I don't have a manual. Only pics of one

 

[ugmold]

That is coooool, never seen one before

 

[GustoGuy]

Very cool find!!!! I wonder how the top bar keeps from bending if you hit a really hard bump?

Most likely it is built for people under 200 pounds of weight. Back in the early 1960's obesity rate was less than 1/2 of what it is today.

 

[GustoGuy]

Most likely it is built for people under 200 pounds of weight. Back in the early 1960's obesity rate was less than 1/2 of what it is today.

I looked up the obesity rate for adults in the early 1960's was about 7%. Today it is about 32% so over 4 times as many adults today are obese so this bike would need a serious redesign and most likely a cross brace on the seat to support the average American today.

 

[GustoGuy]

One of the first things I thought of, but didn't "say" because it's not politically correct is that "back in the day," 30 percent of America was not obese. Very few of the bikes produced for "kids" would have lasted if the average rider weight was 250 pounds. There wouldn't be a need for shoehorning ten horsepower OHV engines in them either.

Then again, there are a few representatives from the old days that are just poor design for rider weight, like the seat on the Bug Flea, NONE of which survived.

Nothing wrong with pointing out the truth. The statistics don't lie and about 4 times as many people are obese in 2019 than were in 1962. Sedentary life style and lack of any kind of physical labor plus cheap processed foods have created an epidemic of obesity. I am a health care professional and I see it every day. I try not to eat processed foods and I go on long hikes and ride my minibikes. I am 5 foot 11 and 187 lbs which puts me at a BMI of 26 which is considered slightly overweight. I could stand to lose maybe 10lbs at most. A BMI of 35 and over is called morbidly obese and about 1/4th of obese people unfortunately fall into the morbidly obese category. At 5 foot 11 inches a BMI of 35 would mean a body weight of 251lbs. I would be carrying 80+lbs of excess weight over a person with a BMI of less than 25. That means I would need to gain 64lbs over what I weigh right now to become morbidly obese. I think I will try and get down to 178lbs which is an ideal weight for someone my height. The last time I weighed that was about 2003.

 

[JohnnyTillotson]

Such an odd frame I had to pick it up. It's all original.

Now THAT is cool

 

[Rockchester]

WOW now that is different! What a great find, Merry Christmas to you!!!

I found a bike exactly like this don't know much about it though

 

[Rockchester]

Such an odd frame I had to pick it up. It's all original.

I have one exactly like that just picked up can anyone yell me anything about it I can't find much online anywhere.