Smith Flyer

The restoration of a Smith Flyer

By a former Club Member

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Smith Motor Wheel BEFORE

In October of 1996 I put an ad in the Gas Engine Magazine for a carburetor for a model-P Briggs & Stratton. This carburetor was the same as the ones used on the motor wheels previous to the model-P. One evening I received a phone call from a fellow in Missouri and he told me he had a whole motor wheel for sale. I asked him to describe it to me and it turned out to be a Smith motor wheel. So we struck a deal and I ended up with it. In the meantime a fellow from Oregon called thinking I had a carburetor for sale so we began talking and he told me he had parts for a Flyer. I stuck a deal with him and that was the beginning of my restoration project. I started with the flyer itself and had most of the wood work done by a local friend of mine. This included the making of the slats and the cross members but the metal parts that were missing I had to reproduce. The back axle, steering column bracket, rear spindles and a couple other brackets had to be made. After the flyer was finished, I started on the engine. Now, this critter was quite advanced for it's time period. It had roller bearings, an aluminum crankcase and an 8:1 gear reduction. I went over the engine and had it nickel plated. The finished project turned out pretty good and I plan on restoring a bicycle some time in the future.

Smith Flyer AFTER

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Smith Flyer AFTER

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Last modified: 05 / 19 / 2009