Maybe I should change my view on this bike that i got real cheap (cheap in danish terms - please read on). My goal was to find a bike that I could restore to original looks as many of the bikes I see on this forum. I thought that this one was - well not the best candidate - but doable when the unoriginal part was changed. Frame was true, Engine not stuck etc...
I Denmark there aren't that many bikes in original looks because the tax/registration fee on bikes are very high - above 200% of the bikes imported value. So a new bike costing $10000 of the factory/importers will cost more than $30000 with license plates on the street. The effect of this is that a poor youngster that want's to ride a bike can't afford a decent bike. So al the young dudes are loking for +20 years old bikes to buy and run. Theese old bikes aren't allways in a state that they can withstand the rough riding a new "energetic" young rider wants to ride with. So many of theese bikes are lost due to to rough handling of the driver and to little maintenance.
Another factor is our climate. We live in the so called "rust belt" where the temp in the winter months passes freezing point (0 degrees celsius) 80 times or more per year. The streets are poured over with salt to melt the ice forming. at the same time the humidity is high. Because of the high tax on cars and bikes the young guys with the old bikes can't afford another bike/car to use in the winther. The old bikes are run throughout the year in salt, humidity...... They are rusting like ...... The upside of this is that we have a well established chroming industry that can take the old chrome of your part and put new thick chrome that can withstand the weather and the salt at low prices.
At the same time the very high prices of bikes in Denmark has the effect that there aren't that many barn bikes. Who would "forget" a bike worth $30000 in the barn for years? I know about great many danish classic/veteran car and bike enthusiasts are importing old bikes and cars from abroad to restore and run.
So it is difficult finding good objects for an restoration project in Denmark and nothing like this herdly ever happens:
http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=17276.30.
I thought that my present project bike was a good restoration candidate since it wasn't in to bad a state, engine turning, limited amount of rust in the frame etc. The issue about the possible Dresda swingarm makes me reconsider the goal of this restauration. Maybe this should be a cafe'd bike like yours since it has so many parts that i need to change to get id back to the original state.
My major problem with the decision to make this a cafe is that I would also like to have a restored beauty like the one in the link above. It is sooooo beautifull, it looks exactly like the dreams of my youth did. So if I decide to make the present a cafe'd bike I will have to go and find another candidate for a restoration back to original and finding the candidate is the difficult part.
Anyway when i have dismounted the swingarm of the bike i will post pictures to se if anybody can identify it as a dresda swingarm.
