1977 Motobecane U.S. Catalog and Owner's Manual

This post is a public service.  I had a heck of a time trying to find a spec sheet for my bike...I hadn't opened the back cover, where, when I did finally, I found specs for all the 1977 models.  This of course was well after having exhausted all of the search terms I could think of.  So here it is, in all its glory: the 1977 catalog.  This also includes the retail prices at the Oakland shop where the bike came from.

Eyephone Candy

I've had a hell of a time trying to get the photos from my iPhone (had to be a bit obtuse to avoid being censored - another apple conspiracy).

These pics show the original condition with some cleaning. The Super Mirage was on the low end of the Motobecane line.  The main difference between the Mirage and the Super is aluminum alloy components resulting in almost a pound difference in the weight of the bike.  While still pretty much a tank at about 27 lbs, the Super is a solid steel bike.

I'm going to post the 1977 Motobecane catalog, which came in pristine condition with the bike, separately.

The Moto:

The Tune-up

10-22-14

About six months ago, I bought a Park Tools bike stand.  This is my favorite tool right now.  Without it, washing or tuning a bike is more about juggling the bike, than fix it.  It's like changing a light bulb with a ball-peen hammer and a chisel; it can be done, but not gracefully.  So the bike stand lets you focus on the thing instead of the not thing you're doing.  The bike stand is zen.

I'd done the once over.  The Moto was clearly a win.  I had it's golden body in the stand, held firmly by the clamp on the seat tube. Gloves on; check.  

I'd bought a set of tires after work to install, and I was looking forward to getting a reliable set.  Tires are pretty darn important, after all.  I got a set of Schwalbe Marathons.  These are nice because they have the reflective sidewall.  But they were definitely a modern looking tire.  Plus, the set I bought were a 1-1/2 inch tire, whereas the original tires were a 1-1/8 inch.  Different ride for sure.

I was ambivalent about this choice. So after the shifting tune-up, I held off on the tire installation, leaving the funky original and the nice gumwall Specialized that came as a freebee on for a time.  

Instead of changing the tires, I used my time polishing the chrome and doing a bit better detail work on the components and frame.

I'd spent too much time on the internet researching how to restore chrome.  I had a bottle of chrome polish, but knew from experience that the polish didn't get at rust.  As it turns out, chrome can be restored to a decent condition using vinegar and tin-foil.  You can soak small parts in vinegar for a while and polish with foil.  Or you can dip the foil in the vinegar and polish.  From a distance, chrome restored this way looks pretty good.  Up close, you can see the pitting...but short of stripping and reapplying the chrome.....

I hit all the chrome on the bike with the quick method first.  I figured I could soak the small parts later when I was working specific components.  The Moto cleaned up very well and I could have probably stopped there...but I couldn't.

I had resolved by the end of this cleaning and tune-up to go with a full restoration.  I was going to strip the bike down to its frame and rebuild it from the bearings up.  Necessary - maybe for me...not probably for the bike.  But I was thinking back to those hours of pretending to be captaining a ship with my bmx in the back yard of the Orchard house in Gardena with the rear wheel as the boat's motor and the front as the boat's wheel. 

I'd get distracted then by the nuts holding the wheels on.  Then I'd gather up what wrenches and screw drivers I could from my step-dad's tool box in the back shed and start taking my jalopy apart.  Trong, my best friend from a few houses down, and I were always dis- and re-assembling various bmx components into new bikes.  And it was about as much a pass time to work on our bikes as it was to ride them.

I was going to pursue this deep seated impulse with a bit more finesse.  I resolved to restore the bike with modest upgrades, taking it all the way down.  Tomorrow, I would rebuild the front hub.  

Super Mirage Restoration - Phase I; The Wash Down

I wanted to do a quick once over of the bike to see where I stood. When I bought it, I ran through all the paces I could given it had an inner tube that wouldn't hold air so I couldn't ride it. Most of my information was based on trust of Poster and a visual inspection of the components.

I was pretty sure the bike was a 36 year old new bike. The chain rings had almost no wear. The cogs had no wear at all...I don't think the right shifter was touched until I touched it....the rims were true (100%). The bike had all original components, even the Moto rubber bar wrap...

I did a once over on the rack with soap and degreaser. It was late - after the kids were down - so I had the front porch light on and the bucket out front. Spider shit, dust, and other garage funk patina mixings formed a fine layer over the entire bike. It is amazing how neurotic you can become when called to the task. Between the flat large handled brush, the toothbrush, the sponge, the grease rag, me and the Moto, we came to a very deep understanding.

Clean, but rusty, I was anxious to take a ride. The bike was rusty - not me; that last sentence didn't make that clear - I was going with context. Tires: I had bought innertubes at Revolution, along with a set of Schwalbe Marathons. But I had since decided the retro look with gum walls was where I wanted to take this project. So I couldn't install the tires.  And the tires were shot. Crumbling...

I put the original failed rear tire back on and pumped it up. It held. I put the Specialized touring tire that was maybe 20 years old on the front along with a new innertube. Funky, but holding. Up the street. Down the street. Up the street. Down the street. Through the gears, up and down. Apart form having a geared bike (10 whole speeds), just like when I was a kid...up and down the street for no other reason than the sheer joy of it. I'm not the vehicle naming type, but I have to admit, there was a bit of puppy love developing. The bike is gold and brown and beautiful, after all...

It was getting late. I had to turn in. Not too exciting in terms of restoration activity, but got a maiden voyage in that confirmed the Moto was essentially new. I couldn't wait to ride it for real. Tomorrow? No. It wouldn't be very cool for Pi and I to get stranded on the way to school...Plus, The shifting wasn't flawless. The chain fell off the sprocket in the 5th gear, in fact.

Patience, young grasshopper.

I needed to tune the shifting up tomorrow for sure.

Motobecane Super Mirage

10/7/14 - Recount the acquisition

I have  a Craig's List problem, of sorts.  It is a pass time of mine to peruse the pages of CL.  Sometimes I even engage the sellers on items I know I'll never buy.  I don't really know the real reason I do this.  It is part cheap-skate (always looking for the killer deal) and part entertainment (seriously, some of the posts are quite entertaining).

Lately, I've been looking at bikes.  I sold my Specialized Rockhopper for my asking price, no haggling involved, a few weeks ago.  And though I did so in part to clean up the back porch and thin the bike rack a bit, I kind of wondered if I could find a steel touring bike (for cheap) to replace it.    

Though I wasn't "really" looking, I found a 1984 (?) Trek 620 for $300.  I set a date to check it out.  I went with rose colored glasses to the meeting.  The bike was nice and light and had several extras, like the touring racks and clipless pedals. 

The problems were several, though.  The paint was in a bad way, and it hadn't really been maintained to any degree for maybe years.  It seemed almost slapped together.  So I mulled it for a few days, then moved on.

The Trek got me to thinking about older bikes.  Maybe, if I could find one whose frame was in reasonable condition and parts were available, I could take on a restoration project. Why not?  It isn't like my life isn't hectic enough already with two kids under 5, a house with two and a half rooms under remodel, and a 40+ hour a week job.  What the heck? Why not?

I started trolling CL for vintage bikes.  Not in a real serious way. But I figured if that killer deal came along, I'd jump on it.  I found a Raleigh Grand Prix that, even from the pictures on my phone, looked a bit rough.  But I decided I'd go look at it.   

Saturday was the day.  I was to meet Joe at his storage facility.  Sunny and Pi went to Ballet, so Theo and I had the morning to ourselves.  We loaded up the San Anselmo and the trailer and headed out.  

Oh, and earlier, while having coffee, I was trolling again, and noticed a Motobecane Super Mirage listed.  It was billed as having less than 100 miles on it and then being stored in a garage since; one owner; and, it was asking $100.  So I sent an email asking to see it.  But I had the Grand Prix on the line, so I wasn't all that serious about the Moto.  

Theo and I finally made it to the mini storage.  Though it was only 10:00, he was seemingly ready for a nap.  Getting a 2 y.o. out the door is difficult under the best circumstances...but luckily, he was in a lackadaisical tired mood, not an obstinate tired mood.  So we were off.  

The Raleigh was in poor shape.  Chipped, dented, rusted, components failed.  It made the Trek look like a Cadillac.  While I was thinking of doing a restoration, I wanted to make sure my first rebuild as an adult had a passing chance at success.  (just look at the Kawasaki 440 in the shed, and partially the garage, that I've been "restoring" for years now).  So, I decided to pass on the Grand Prix.  

I also redoubled my efforts to see the Moto.  Before I left the ministorage parking lot, I sent the poster another email.  Just to remind him that I had emailed earlier...in case my email got lost somewhere...  I was thinking of the timing of trying to look at bikes in an already overpacked weekend.  No response yet.

Theo and I started home.  Pastels on the Plaza was on, and we were biking past it.  Theo was interested, but very tired, so we stopped to have a look.  I had "pick up paint" on the list, too, and had planned to swing by Hensel's after the Plaza.  Theo and I got through about a side and a half of the paintings, and he was over it.  He was so tired, I decided to blow off getting paint.  We headed home.

As we were unloading, the Moto poster called back.  Hmmmm.  Nap for baby, go look at bike?  Take car to look at bike...put baby in car seat....nap in car seat....nap for baby AND go look at bike. It was settled.  Luckily there was no one there to argue with me, and my powers of rationalization were at full capacity.  Theo and I loaded up in the van and headed over to Q Street.  (This was another part of the rationalization - it was so close).

Poster and I waved at each other as I pulled in to his driveway.  No bike to be seen as yet.  He was an older fellow, with blue poly pants, white tube socks pulled up around swollen ankles, leather slippers and a dress shirt loosely buttoned over a white tee.  He was kindly and straight forward.  I knew I could trust him.  

We exchanged a few niceties, commented on the crazy hot weather we'd been having, and he showed me through the garage to the bike in the back yard.  There sat the "champaign gold" beauty that would soon be mine. Oh yes, I would have that bike.

He told me he bought the bike from a shop in '77, and, as his ad said, he rode it for less than 100 miles, then garaged it.  He said he liked walking, not biking.  I said, "well, there are two kinds of people in this world, aren't there", distractedly, as I evaluated the bike.  

The frame was in good condition.  There were rust trails here and there over the whole frame, but the paint was pretty good. The chrome was somewhat pitted, but it was definitely restorable. And the mechanical parts were in new condition.

Poster said he didn't know much about bikes. Poster said that he'd bought it in Oakland in '77 and rode is under a century, then garaged it. Poster told me he had extras. Poster told me he had three other emails waiting on the bike. I was definitely hooked. Poster asked what I thought of the bike. I said, "well, if I don't make you an offer now, I am sure you'll have it sold by the end of the day". So I made an offer...his asking price. (probably could have nocked him down a few, but I still think it was a good deal.

So, now I had a Super Mirage to add to the collection...and a project bike to boot. (but only a wafer thin project at that.)