A most unusual Heinkel turn signal

Initial Assessment

Shawn Mahoney

Buying a scooter sight unseen means you get surprises. Pictures are good but don’t always make you aware of what you’re getting into, even when they show you obvious issues or things you should be really happy about. That’s the case with this Heinkel.

The goal of the initial assessment is to highlight problem areas and produce a lists of tasks and spare parts required. Once this is done I make an assessment of the resotration level I want to acheive and develop a plan of action. The main tools you need for an assessment are a camera, a computer, boxes/bags with sticky notes for labeling, and a pair of gloves.

The Good:

There’s a lot of good things about this scooter; It’s an original US import, it rolls, it runs, it’s complete, and it has some unique accessories:

Heinkel turn signals, air scoops and taillamp
Heinkel turn signals, air scoops and taillamp
Heinkel spare tire-never used!
Heinkel spare tire-never used!
PA Motorcycle Plates from the mid 1960's
Heinkel plates- I wonder if I can use them?

Then there were some worrisome areas. This scooter seemed to have rusted from the bottom up. The paint on top was quite nice, but underneath…

Heinkel needing some bodywork and paint restoration
Some bodywork and paint restoration is required
PA Heinkel with "Made in Germany" tag
Now I’m suspicious- evidence of repaint and bodywork
Heinkel 103-a1 Swingarm with rag as a gasket
A rag is not an effective swingarm plug!

I really wanted an original paint bike. The rust repair may make that difficult to acheive, and there looks like evidence of an earlier repair/repaint on the nose.

Time to start the restoration list!