Bitten by the vintage accessory bug !

Original vintage accessories from the 1930s to the 1960s for Art Deco designed American bicycles and motorcycles, as well as European scooters are an obscure aspect of collecting, conserving, and restoring these machines.

Accessory collecting is one thing and installing select pieces properly is another. While these machines are design icons and some people prefer them as is, I prefer to install a few or as many accessories depending on a particular era and regional style called for. In my case, the Vespa 150, the Lambretta LD MkIII, and the Zundapp Bella R154K are accessory laden but still kept to minimal degree so as not to detract from the Art Deco lines. Whereas the Schwinn Hornet, Harley Davidson FLSTF, and Lambretta Li150 Series 1 push the limits and are heavily clad with all the bells and whistles (and mechanical sirens ! ). Like a tower of cards, however, installing just another item can cause the whole design to fail.

Unlike many decades past, there are no longer shops that stock these vintage items. I opt to stay clear of reproduction accessories and every original period item had to be sought out and reeled in from "the four corners of the world" through personal contacts and online auctions.

I hope that I can share the result of my passion or madness here with the flickr community. Some have been completed, or are currently in progress, or I may have parted with.