The attached pic is an original Caper Cycle dealer poster. I'm glad to hear that Aaron found another one! Whomever abandoned it in a pile of leaves surely had no idea of how hard they are to find. I notice that it has the later aluminum fenders with the corners cliped at 45 degrees. Earlier ones were usually rounded on the ends. Ben Hunt had a PULMAX machine that was used to cut the radius....but clipping using the shear was easier. Ben painted them several different colors. Usually red. As an ag equipment builder/repairer he usually had on hand John Deer Green and Yellow and other equipment colors like Ford Blue and he'd use it up on Capers when he could. It will be noted that the engine plate is made from 10 ga. diamond plate. His main line of manufactured articles was pick-up rear bumpers that used a lot of it. See pic of a sales sheet that shows his line. A lot of the diamond plate ended up as drop-off behind the shear, however, Ben utilized as much as possible on the Capers rather than sending it to the scrap yard. A few years ago I got to talking with a local guy that found a frame and wheels of a Doodle Bug in the town dump. He was 10 or 12 years old and acquired a lawnmower engine and got it running. Ben at that time was thinking about getting into the mini bike boom and asked if he could measure it up. When I heard this I high tailed it home and rolled up my Hiawatha Doodle Bug next to one of my Capers...and sure enough; They were basicly the same size with the same fork rake and etc!
Are you still able to make fenders? Someday I will finish mine, this year I did give up on fixing my rear brake drum and raised the rear axle mount and fender strap and will be running a 6" wheel in the back on my '62, with will sit level but have that typical big n' little look that some of the other bikes of the era had too. I am using some factory chrome Fox campus hubs (so I will have chrome hubs/sprocket on painted wheel halves) for the conversion along with a modified azuza 5" brake mech so it will still look like the 1963 wheel setup when its all done (hopefully) but give me bigger brakes and a little more ground clearance for the rear sprocket. I just have to shorten the snout on the hub as the campus used a really wide snout. I Had some red mixed up last trip tot he paint store for it as well, just gotta get off my duff and do it.
