😀 Welcome to the world of 3-Speed Supers (or standard if that’s what it proves to be). Whatever, it certainly looks good and I do hope you enjoy it.
I too have a 3-Speed Super (1924/26 is – its a long story), so thought I’d drop a few notes that you might find useful. Please don’t feel down if the last 2 or 3 points I raise seem a bit negative – they are just things you NEED to know. I can tell you that I love owning and riding my 3-Speeder 😀 .
Firstly – it is indeed, as you say – a 3-Speeder – but you will find yourself in a bit of no-mans-land with this machine (the vast majority of Scotts fall into 2 other brackets; “2-Speeders” and “Flyers” (Flyers bieng 3-Speed obvioulsy) though there are other derivatives such as Sprint Specials). Anyway – 3-Speed Supers are not as common as the other “Big 2 groups”.
Secondly – if ever you talk about you engine, you will find most people will refer to your “type” of engine as a “2-Speeder” – bit confusing to begin with, but this is because 80% of the time your engine is found on 2-Speeders and the majority 80% forget the lesser 20% of occasions where it is used on 3-Speeders.
❓ Thirdly – looking at you engine and give the year – it looks like a “Narrow Bearing Engine” (you can tell by looking at the sides of the engine where the crankcase doors are – if they are flat then it is definitely a narrow bearing crank – if it swells out by 3/8 of an inch or so around the crankcase door – then its a wide bearing crank). “Narrow” means the big ends are only 1/4″ wide, whereas “Wide” mean they are 3/8″ wide like the later Flyer engines. No big issue – but as a narrow bearing crank is inherently weaker than a wide bearing crank – just take on board all the warnings about ensuring little end alignment / big end bluing etc to ensure the crank gets as easy a time as possible.
Fourth – If you get any queries about the gearbox side of life, yours appears to be the “Wobbly Walking Stick” variety.
❗ 🙁 Fifth – You have the narrow type Scott Front Forks – these are great in many ways – but you will see from various reports, that the fork stem (bit going through the Frame Headstock, not the bit in front where the spring action takes place) is VERY prone to cracking / snapping – which if this happens can be catastrophic – for the bike AND YOU. So read up on this bit and get it checked out.
❗ 🙁 Sixth – Yours is the original Scott front “brake” – more of an ornament than a brake – and again there are some serious safety related issues with respect to the brake plate anchoring mechanism – which you would be wise to pay some specific attention to.
❓ Seventh – the Undertray for mounting the engine / gearbox is particularly prone to cracking (from photos yours looks good – but this is an area where “A stitch in time” is well worth keeping in mind – so keep a good eye open for cracks (especially around the rear mouting lugs).
Both 5 & 6 are covered in some of the recent past Scott eNewsLetters – if you let me have you email I can send copies of the specific editions to save you trawling.
Do hope you enjoy.
Graham
(Graham.Parker@CompliantManagement.co.uk)
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