[schwinnman67]

I have a 71 Dynamo compact that my father bought brand new in 1971. I learned how to ride on this bike in 1975 and got it from him in 2015. It was in great shape until some lowlifes stole it from my garage. I did recover it (2 years later), but they ruined it. When they stole it, they tried to hide what it was (removed the frame plate, cut the end off the seat, spray painted it black and put bicycle handlebars on it).
I've been trying to locate parts to restore it back to it's pre-theft condition, but it's been very hard to find everything. Hoping to get advice here with the restoration as it happens...

 

[Huckster]

As horrible as it is at least you have it back and at least most of it is intact. The seat can be replaced or perhaps repaired. They pop up on eBay and there are some European sites that will list on as well. As far as the paint lets hope they just painted over and did not sand and paint. If so I would pull the skid and experiment with mild solvents to see if the upper layer can be removed without damaging the original paint. Good luck...it was and still is a beautiful bike. Save it.

 

[schwinnman67]

As horrible as it is at least you have it back and at least most of it is intact. The seat can be replaced or perhaps repaired. They pop up on eBay and there are some European sites that will list on as well. As far as the paint lets hope they just painted over and did not sand and paint. If so I would pull the skid and experiment with mild solvents to see if the upper layer can be removed without damaging the original paint. Good luck...it was and still is a beautiful bike. Save it.

Thanks for the reply! The skid plate was added on after the bike was built, so it's not blue like the rest of the bike. We also added the knobby tires in 1985 (originally had a street tread). Trying to find out the part numbers for the engine service tools, need to fix a problem it had before it was stolen (no 4th gear).

 

[GBo]

Thanks for the reply! The skid plate was added on after the bike was built, so it's not blue like the rest of the bike. We also added the knobby tires in 1985 (originally had a street tread). Trying to find out the part numbers for the engine service tools, need to fix a problem it had before it was stolen (no 4th gear).

I’m sure it will look as good again.

 

[tmaxey]

Schwinnman67,
A mostly happy ending to the low life encounter. Thanks for sharing your story. Were you able to save the original Blue? I seem to find the minis in pairs. I bought a pair of Dynamos last April and a pair of Buzzers in December. I have all four running and just finished a restoration of the 1972 Blue Dynamo.

 

[tmaxey]

Thanks for the reply! The skid plate was added on after the bike was built, so it's not blue like the rest of the bike. We also added the knobby tires in 1985 (originally had a street tread). Trying to find out the part numbers for the engine service tools, need to fix a problem it had before it was stolen (no 4th gear).

schwinnman67,
I'm curious if you ever corrected the high gear issue? I have the same problem on one of my dynamos. I swapped out the left hand case cover to rule out a bad shifter mechanism. It still has a problem staying in high gear. I can hold down the shifter (in a sweet spot) most times to gain use of 4th gear. Any ideas?

 

[schwinnman67]

schwinnman67,
I'm curious if you ever corrected the high gear issue? I have the same problem on one of my dynamos. I swapped out the left hand case cover to rule out a bad shifter mechanism. It still has a problem staying in high gear. I can hold down the shifter (in a sweet spot) most times to gain use of 4th gear. Any ideas?

Unfortunately, I have not found anyone in the Denver area that I trust to work on the engine. If I do get it solved, I'll post the repair.