Myrons Mopeds

Columbia  made in USA by Columbia  Sachs or Solo engine

Columbia is one of America’s best and oldest bicycle makers.

From the days of true horse power, their bicycle was “an ever saddled horse which eats nothing”. Colombia and Montgomery Ward mopeds are made by Colombia Manufacturing Company, Division of MTD Products Inc, One Cycle Street, Westfield MA 01086. 

Columbia has been credited with many firsts in the biking industry, since its founding in 1877 by Col. Albert Pope. It has pioneered many improvements to the industry, producing bikes, motorbikes, and furniture for nearly 150 years. Here is the Columbia Manufacturing Inc website, history page. http://www.columbiamfginc.com/columbia_history.html

 

Colum  plain  Mopet            Model List
model model model speed  engine  frame   notes
2220  8220  281  25mph Sachs  sheet  36900-7
2221  8221  280  20mph Sachs  sheet  36902-7
2222  8222  282  30mph Sachs  sheet  soft tail

2240  8240  341  25mph  Solo  tubular  soft tail
2241  8241  340  20mph  Solo  tubular  soft tail
2242  8242  342  30mph  Solo  tubular  soft tail

2250  8250         25mph  Solo  tubular  hard tail
2251  8251         20mph  Solo  tubular  hard tail
2252  8252         30mph  Solo  tubular  hard tail

2260  8260         25mph Sachs tubular  solo seat
2261  8261         20mph Sachs tubular  solo seat
2262  8262         30mph Sachs tubular  solo seat

2270  8270         25mph Sachs tubular  long seat
2271  8271         20mph Sachs tubular  long seat
2272  8272         30mph Sachs tubular  long seat

2280  8280         25mph Sachs tubular  top tank
2281  8281         20mph Sachs tubular  top tank
2282  8282         30mph Sachs tubular  top tank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia Owners Manuals list all model numbers on the front cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Columbia Sheet Metal Frame with Sachs engine

 

America’s first moped, is also Shaun’s favorite. Hats off to Columbia! This is a well made, long lasting, economical, safe, and fun bike, very strong and sturdy but not heavy. Definitely one of the Top Ten Mopeds of the 1970’s. Can you dig it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Re-Branded Columbia’s: Western Flyer, Imperial, Yard-Man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western Flyer is the brand name of Western Auto Stores products, like bicycles, motorbikes, toy wagons, scooters, etc. In the 1950’s, Western Flyer bicycles equipped with Whizzer motors were sold there. That was the original-and-all-American moped. See Whizzer.

 

 

 

 

 

Yard-Man is the brand name of MTD Products (which owned Columbia). They made (and still do make) lawn mowers, power equipment, small motorscooters (1960’s) and mopeds (1970’s).

 

 

 

 

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Re-Made Columbia: KKM Mopet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KKM Enterprises,  405A Old Gallia Pike, Franklin Furnace, OH 45629, in 1987, bought the rights, procedures and equipment needed to make Columbia mopeds, both the stamped sheet metal kind, and the tube frame kind. From 1987 to the mid 1990’s they re-made Columbia’s that were all called Mopet. 

KKM VIN Info: KKM mopeds were made after 1980, and thus were required to have the 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number and other requirements that the Columbia mopeds did not have.
Digit 1 is the Country, 4 = USA 
Digit 2,3 are the Maker, 33 = KKM Enterprises
Digit 4 is the Line, A = Frame A, B = Frame B (tube or sheet, don’t know which)
Digit 5 is the Type, A = two wheel, B = three wheel
Digit 6 is the Engine Maker, S = Sachs, M = Minarelli, L = Solo, R = Morini 
Digit 7 is Engine Model, 2 = Sachs 505 1D, 1 = Sachs 505 1A 
Digit 8 is Hub Type, C = cast 105mm, B = pressed 105mm, A = pressed 90mm
Digit 9 is check digit 
Digit 10 is Model Year, J = 1988, K = 1989, L = 1990

Based on this and the photo of the red 1988, it’s VIN is 433AAS2CxJxxxxxxx, where x is any.

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Columbia Sheet Metal Frame Parts List

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Columbia Tube Frame, Solo or Sachs engine

This kind of Columbia has a frame made from one large main tube. The gas tank is the frame, just like the stamped sheet metal kind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Re-Branded Columbia’s: Open Road, Ward, Imperial, Western Flyer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open Road was the brand name of Montgomery Ward stores bicycles and mopeds.

Western Flyer was the brand name of Western Auto Stores products, like bicycles, motorbikes, toy wagons, scooters, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Re-Made Columbia: Mopet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KKM Enterprises,  405A Old Gallia Pike, Franklin Furnace, OH 45629, in 1987, bought the rights, procedures and equipment needed to make Columbia mopeds, both the stamped sheet metal kind, and the tube frame kind. From 1987 to the mid 1990’s they re-made Columbia’s that were all called Mopet. See above for the KKM Vehicle ID Number info.

 

 

 

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Columbia Tube Frame Parts List

 

 

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Table of Specifications and Components

by Shaun Strahm, July 2015, from manuals, photos and actual parts

20 mph Models	2221 Columbia Commuter 8221 Imperial, Western Flyer 36902-7 Yard-Man? 281 KKM Mopet	2261 2271 Columbia Commuter 8261 8271 Ward Open Road 2281 Columbia Medallion 8281 Western Flyer Apache 3000	2241 Columbia Commuter 2251 Columbia Commuter 341 KKM Mopet
25 mph Models	2220 Columbia Commuter 8220 Imperial, Western Flyer 36900-7 Yard-Man? 280 KKM Mopet	2260 2270 Columbia Commuter 8260 8270 Ward Open Road 2280 Columbia Medallion 8280 Western Flyer Apache 3000	2240 Columbia Commuter 2250 Columbia Commuter 340 KKM Mopet
30 mph Models	2222 Columbia Commuter 8222 Imperial, others 282 KKM Mopet	2262 2272 Columbia Commuter 8262 8272 Ward Open Road 2282 Columbia Medallion 8282 Western Flyer Apache 3000	2242 Columbia Commuter 2252 Columbia Commuter 342 KKM Mopet
Frame	███Columbia stamped sheet	███Columbia large single tube	███same
		E N G I N E
Engine	███Sachs see Sachs Motor Sachs 505/1A (20 and 25mph) Sachs 505/1A (30mph '77-80) Sachs 505/1D (30mph '80-93)	███same	███Solo see Solo Motor Solo 255, "20" clutch (20mph) Solo 255, "25" clutch (25mph) Solo 255, "30" clutch (30mph)
Sprocket Teeth	11 x 48T (20mph) 11 x 42T (25 and 30mph)	same	11 x 57T
Exhaust front pipe	751-0219 20mm ID (20 and 25) 751-0290 26mm ID (30mph)	same	2500372 22mm ID
Carburetor	███Bing see Carb/Bing square type Ø12, Ø20 clamp 85/12/101 (505/1A '76-79) main jet: 4.0mm #52 float needle: metal tip push-only 85/12/101A (505/1A '80-93) main jet: 4.0mm #52 float needle: viton tip push-pull 85/12/104A (505/1D '80-93) main jet: 4.0mm #58	███same	███Bing see Carb/Bing round type Ø10, Ø16 clamp 1/10/112 (all models) float needle: viton tip push-pull main jet: 3.5mm #58
		E L E C T R I C A L
Magneto Generator	███Bosch Ø90 0212-124-040 5-wire anti-clockwise	███same	███Bosch Ø90 0212-124-039 5-wire clockwise
Ignition Wires	blue (points to coil)	same	same
Generator Wires	yellow 6V 22w head light green 6V 10w brake light green/black - brake light ground gray 6V 5W tail light	same	same
HL Bulb	███6V 18W 4.5" sealed beam	███same	███same
SL Bulb	███6V 1.5W or 2W (7mm base)	███same	███same
BL Bulb	███6V 10W (15mm base)	███same	███same
TL Bulb	███6V 5W (15mm base)	███same	███same
Head Light	███CEV 2139 "bullet" ('76-77) ███Peterson rectangular ('78-93)	███Peterson "rectangular"	███same
Rear Light	███ULO "Superman" ('76-78) ULO "late Superman" ('78-83)	███ULO "late Superman"	███same
Left Switch	███CEV 8040.5 round chr. ('76-77) ███Merit 343 rectangular chrome	███Merit 343 rectangular chrome	███same
Right Switch	███CEV 8177 round chro. ('76-77) ███Merit 342 rectangular chrome	███Merit 342 rectangular chrome	███same
		W H E E L S
Tires	███Carlisle 2.25-17 (21x2.25)	███same	███same
Rims	███Sun Metal 1.60-17 36-spoke	███same	███same
Spokes	███185 x 2.6mm, 0.45 thread	███same	███same
Front Hub	███Grimeca stamped steel Ø105 sealed bearings, 35mm center brake is on right, speedo on left	███Columbia cast aluminum Ø105 sealed bearings, 28mm center brake is on right, speedo on left	███same
Rear Hub	███Grimeca stamped steel Ø105 sealed bearings, 35mm center single chain brake is on right, sprocket left	███Columbia cast aluminum Ø105 sealed bearings, 28mm center dual chain with freewheel threads brake is on left, sprocket is on left	███same
Brake Shoes	███Grimeca cast aluminum 105 drum diameter, 20mm wide	███Columbia stamped steel 105 drum diameter, 20mm wide	███same
Freewheel	none	none installed	███18 tooth
F Axle	███hex bolt 1/2"-20 x 5.5"	███hex bolt M12-1.50 x 150mm	███same
Rear Axle	███hex bolt 1/2"-20 x 6.5"	███hex bolt M12-1.50 x 170mm	███same
Axle Nuts	███F & R: one - 1/2"-20	███F & R: one- M12-1.5	███same
Bearings	███F & R: 1/2" x 35 x 11 #6202-8	███F & R: 12x28x8 #6001	███same
Rear Sprocket	███Ø45.5, #420, 48T (20mph) Ø45.5, #420, 42T (25 and 30)	███Ø115, #415, 48T (20mph) Ø115, #415, 42T (25 and 30)	███Ø115, #415, 57 tooth
Chain	███#415 or 420 110 links (20mph) #415 or 420 106 links (25 and 30)	███#415 114 links (20mph) #415 110 links (25 and 30mph)	███#415 98 links
		F R A M E
Gasoline	85-95 octane pump gas pre-mixed with 2-stroke oil 50:1 or 2.5oz/gal	must mix in a gas can, not in tank because tank is too long and thin	same
Gas Tank Air Vent	none	press to let air escape when adding premix to tank	same
Gas Cap	███30mm quarter turn, chrome	███30mm push-in, hard rubber	███same
Gas Valve	███Karkoma M12x1 female vertical valve in vertical position straight reserve tube for vert mount spigot right (left or down is OK)	███Karkoma M12x1 female vertical valve in horizontal position curved reserve tube for side mount spigot left	███same
Saddle	███Messinger solo seat	███same	███same
Right Control	███Magura wrap-around throttle folded aluminum front brake lever plastic choke thumb trigger	███same	███same
Left Control	███Magura folded aluminum rear brake lever small plastic starter lever	███same	███same
Throttle Cable	███double ended 35.0" x ??.?" top end = sideways barrel Ø5x8 bottom = in-line barrel Ø3x5	███double ended 37.0" x ??.?" top end = sideways barrel Ø5x8 bottom = in-line barrel Ø3x5	███double ended 42.0" x 45.2" top end = sideways barrel Ø5x8 bottom = in-line barrel Ø3x5
Choke Cable	███single ended 37.4" x 39" top end = none (Ø3x5 pinch bolt) bottom = in-line barrel Ø3x5	███single ended 39.4" x 41" top end = none (Ø3x5 pinch bolt) bottom = in-line barrel Ø3x5	███double ended 42.0" x 44.0" top end = sideways barrel Ø5x8 bottom = in-line barrel Ø3x5
Starter Cable	███single ended 32.0" x 38" top end = none (pinch screw) bottom = sideways step Ø5/Ø6x12	███single ended 34.0" x 40" top end = none (pinch screw) bottom = sideways step Ø5/Ø6x12	███single ended 37.0"x42.5" top end = none (pinch screw) bottom = mushroom end
F Brake Cable	███single ended 36.9" x 42" top end = mushroom bottom = none (Grimeca pinch bolt)	███double ended 38.9" x ??.?" top end = mushroom bottom = S hook	███same
R Brake Cable	███single ended 62.8" x 68" top end = mushroom bottom = none (Grimeca pinch bolt)	███double ended 64.8" x ??.?" top end = mushroom bottom = S-hook	███same
Speedo	███VDO 48mm diameter, not 60 40mph, M10x1 thread	███same	███same
Speedo Driver	███VDO 1/2" hole, M10x1 thread left side type, single finger tang	███same	███same

Discussion

WELCOME. Columbia parts for sale are found in their various type categories. These are Sachs Motors, Solo Motors, Bing Carburetors, Bosch Magnetos, CEV headlights, Merit switches, ULO tail lights, VDO speedometers, Grimeca wheel parts, brakes, spokes, tires and tubes, Magura controls, chains, sprockets, cables, bearings, seals, engine hardware, pistons, gas valves, gas caps, pedals, pedal cranks, axle parts, seats, exhausts, steering, handlebars, grips, bulbs, forks, fenders, racks, covers, mirrors, etc. Use this table to specify or identify the item for your Columbia model. Then look for it in the Parts by Type menu. Some of the parts category web pages are finished, some are being constructed, and some are still blank. Please email Shaun with a question of a part that you cannot find. 

After days of studying “all” of the Columbia, Mopet and Montgomery Ward parts manuals, service manuals, owners manuals, brochures, photos from the internet, and many actual known parts, this is the result, concentrated and useful information, for you to use. Enjoy!

Notes

Speed Versions – The only difference between a 25mph Columbia with a Sachs 505/1A engine, and a 30mph one, is the exhaust front pipe or header. The 30mph version is 28mm OD, and the 25mph one is 22mm OD.

Speed Versions – The only difference between a 20mph Columbia with a Sachs 505/1A engine, and a 25mph one, is the rear sprocket. The 25mph sprocket is 42 teeth, and the 20mph is 48 teeth.

#420 Rear Sprocket (on sheet metal frame models) is thicker than most moped sprockets. While most are 4.3mm thick, for #415 or 415H chains, the Columbia (sheet metal frame model) one is 5.5mm thick, for a #420 or 420H chain.

The 42T x 45.5 x 5.5 original sprocket can be replaced with a 42T x 41.5 x 4.3 Italian moped one, but the center hole has to be precisely cut 4mm bigger, on a lathe. Then the chain can be a 415 or 415H, like the front sprocket is.

#415 Rear Sprocket (on tube frame models) has a 115mm center hole, bigger than any other moped sprocket. That is because of the oversize 105mm drum brake that goes inside the sprocket. Having the brake and sprocket on the same side allows the opposite side to have a screw-on freewheel sprocket for a pedal chain.

Brakes made in USA by Columbia are compatible with Grimeca brakes made in Italy. The cast aluminum Italian-made Grimeca brake shoes on the early 1976-78 sheet-metal-frame Columbias, directly replace the stamped steel American-made brakes on the monotube-frame and late 1978-80 sheet-frame Columbias. The USA made brake plates, cam shafts, lever arms, are also each interchangable with Grimeca items, but the axles are different 12.0 mm on the American type hub, and 12.7 mm (1/2 inch) on the Italian type Grimeca hub.  

 

 

 

Gas Valve (sheet frame) is located on the left front, close to the decompression valve and start cable. The original had the hose spigot on the right, heading toward the carburetor. Although right is prefered, the replacement gas valve can have the hose spigot going down or left. Shown above is a “12×1 spigot down” replacement petcock, on a yellow Columbia.

 

 

 

Gas Valve (tube frame) is located on the left rear, near the left pedal. It is shown (broken) above on a black Columbia. The handle lever gets kicked and broken easily. Care must be taken to not kick it when stepping through the frame.

 

 

 

Electrical: Columbia lights are completely separate from the ignition. Never will the engine die when the brakes are applied or when the brake light wires are loose, like on many other mopeds. Each of the lights has it’s own generator wire, so they are independent of each other. The 6V 22W AC yellow wire powers the head light, speedo light and horn, the 6V 10W AC green (and green/black) powers the brake light, and the 6V 5W grey wire powers the tail light. Those three lighting source coils, plus a fourth ignition source coil (perhaps 20 volts but not officially rated), comprise the “Bosch 6V 22-5/10” magneto-generator. 

 

 

The End

This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2015 at 11:31 pm and is filed under Colombia Parts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.