# Lawwill Pro Cruiser serial numbers needed



## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

Anybody out there have a Pro Cruiser? willing to share you serial number? Supposedly, about 600 of them were made. Our serial numbers are 8 I 316 and 8 I B 290. The other serial number I found was 80 B 160. The second digit in our serial numbers sure look like an I not a 1 but I am wondering if the are 1981 models. Might make sense if the other one is a 1980 and 160 where ours might be 1981 models which works if the serial numbers are sequential? 2 of them have B in the serial as well. Wonder if that has any meaning?


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

Got a little more info from Mert. Apparently, the first 2 digits should be the year so the I in our serial numbers is likely a 1. The B frames are drum brake models. He did mention the A frame being cantilever brakes, anyone seen an "A" frame. Our other one is a caliper brake model and doesn't have a letter.


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## surfotog (Feb 27, 2013)

I have a nice Pro Cruiser. Searched all over and I can't seem to locate any serial numbers. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks


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## PiasRoller (Sep 7, 2012)

I can get some PC serial #s for the mtb's posterity sake. 
But, what's with closing the swap meet thread? Geez...I guess some of us did get a little crushed...Roll on and pretend your riding your bicycle...all your troubles will be left behind.
ANYWAY...As for; 
Rumpfy... 
"Haha! Ya, I would never put a ProCruiser up against a Ritchey/Fisher/Kelly bike. I'm not personally sure what the appeal is on that particular bike."
The appeal is speed down the hill and completely different bikes...True. 
A Ritch-Fish is XC. Those guys rode up hill.
A PC is a Bomber. Donny was and is DH. 
On to about the PC.
The first 26" frame Mert had in his hands and copied was made by Donny Koski.
He gave it to Mert when Mert told Donny he was going to build BMX bikes.
Check the Fly/SFO catalog. The red frame with Schwinn drop-outs.
Mert took the frame to his Moto frame builder Terry Knight who also built Champion BMX frames. Terry added the smaller diameter double bar as on the Champions and changed the drop-outs. ooooo...moto style.

Merts words from the article "The Godfather of Suspension". Thx to BIGWHEEL!
"My frame builder and I were talking one day and he said we should get into this bicycle thing. BMX bikes were big at the time, so I stopped into my local bicycle shop—the Cove Bicycle Shop here in Tiburon. I told the guys down there I was thinking about building some BMX bikes and they said, “Oh no, what you got to do is build a mountain bike.” I said, “What is that?’”
Don Koski, the owner of the Cove Bicycle Shop helped me early on, giving me suggestions of what I should do and what I shouldn’t do. I decided to build a complete mountain bike—not just the frame." Suggestions?-just a frame. 
For obvious reasons Donny provided the frame to Mert. Help a Hero? agh...yah! Donny is a Downhiller that is why he still rides his ski bikes. He has been building Skibikes since '73 I believe. 
I know a little bit of the story as I worked at the Cove and also grew up with JL riding dirt bikes and bicycles. 
Oh, and another muckraking story is how DK had the Cook's Brothers build a Bomber fork. Just a big BMX fork, hugh? Check out the early Breezer and Fish's nickel Klunker...I mean "Bomber" as Donny called them.
Sry for the rant.
P


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## PiasRoller (Sep 7, 2012)

*back to the subject... Serial #s*

Blue #82C451
Red #82B398
Thanks
P


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

PiasRoller said:


> Blue #82C451
> Red #82B398
> Thanks
> P


Great looking bikes. Both yours?

They sure look nice with the original seat swapped out for a Brooks. I just need to get or make new brake pads for my drum brake version.


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## surfotog (Feb 27, 2013)

*Serial numbers*

Still having a problem finding a serial number. Did they all have numbers? Here's some photos.


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

I really like the look of that procruiser in the black with chrome & gold


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## PiasRoller (Sep 7, 2012)

The Black PC w/ Drums....This I believe would be a first mass production PC.
The fork is not like the pic.s I posted (later PCs and the Blue even later than the Red with the short Champion double bar.) ...I will have to ask about this.
Here is a pic of a early Cook Bros fork (we brazed on the brake boss' back then)...only two holes at the dropout.
Maybe Terry Knight built the PC forks also?...Why did the drop-out/fork design change and when?


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## PiasRoller (Sep 7, 2012)

I mean Blue w/ short double bar.


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## stan lee (Mar 5, 2006)

surfotog said:


> Here's some photos.


WOW- that is a gem!!


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## route66 (May 22, 2006)

Scan of Lawwill Knight Pro Cruiser decals


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## route66 (May 22, 2006)

Lawwill Knight Pro Cruiser catalogs

Mountain Bike:















Street:















Trail-Blazer:


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## surfotog (Feb 27, 2013)

Still trying to find info on Black PC w/drums. Line of ownership if that helps:
Allan Seymour (1st?), Steve Ready, Bill Madigan. Were some made with no serial number? Thanks


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## oldscholar (Jul 14, 2013)

80B123 original owner, pics soon.


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## route66 (May 22, 2006)

Mine is 79 A 028, Has canti mounts, I think it is the street model.


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## Blackies Pasture (Mar 3, 2015)

First post, joined so I could share.

This bike showed up unannounced via Fed Ex from a old great friend of mine, after I sent him pics of my new Koski Bros frame.

He was the original owner in 1980, bought straight from Donny at Cove Bike Shop.

Needless to say, it has been through a few iterations. The original forks broke long ago, the original drum wheels were bent and thrown away, and then "upgraded" to Pit Bull bmx brakes.

Our arrangement is that I restore it, and never sell it. Fair enough. I will also be doing a buildup thread of my retro-style 2015 Koski Bros bike.


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## PiasRoller (Sep 7, 2012)

*Check.... "all things koski" thread*

Mark Slate, his girl (on a Schwinn w/ a CBR fork, that looks like the paint matches mark's bike) and Eric Koski on Pro-Cruisers with Cook Bros. forks.
These are early Pro-Cruisers.


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## OrigainalBMX (Jul 11, 2016)

*The lost Lawwill ?*

So do I have a story. In the early 80's I had been part of the original BMX bike racing movement for years. I was starting in High School and got a job working in a bike shop across the street. We as kids would break our bikes down and rebuild them after every race outing. So working in a bike shop was a natural fit. Cruisers were the in thing. So I was going to use my after school job money to buy a Cruiser. My future brother-in-law John George was racing for and working for Mongoose. He knew I wanted to buy a Cruiser. He told me Mongoose had a frame they used to design the prototype of the Kos Cruiser. The Kos was not out yet at that time. He said he thought he could get Mongoose to sell it to me for less than I was looking at spending. It was a frame and a fork alone so I'd have to build it out myself, but he felt I would get a better Cruiser then what I'd buy. The Fork is a Mongoose Fork. Mongoose had bought the frame from Cook Brothers. So I built this one off Cruiser with the proceeds of my first job. My dad who had done a lot of BMX bicycles helped me weld a shifter on the frame. I outfitted the back with an Atom drum brake 5 speed. My job ended in early January as a seasonal position. I had enough to pay for my bike. Over the years i rode it all over Santa Monica and Venice. At some pint I parked it and it grew dust. Around 2006 I dug it out and got it running again and offered it to my Son. "No way! I don't want to be seen on that thing, I want a mountain bike." So it has set for anther decade. I got an itch to find a matching Atom Front hub. It took a few years and $300 to buy what I could have had for $80 in the 80's, Oh well. Then another 2 years to find Arraya C7 rims to match the original. I took my wheel and bike to a great local guy here in the San Fernando valley, Paul at Atomic Cycles. He identified my frame as a Lawwill, I've been getting on the road again. Here are some pics. It's amazing never knowing the history of the actual bike. I originally put a brooks seat on, a SunTour derailleur, Shimano break lever. Very close to the original parts list. The dual Atom hubs really allow the ballon tires to ride extra smooth. I looked for my serial number, it's buried under the original paint.

:eekster:






​


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## flatblackkustoms (Oct 13, 2009)

*Lawwill serial #*

Mine is 80 B 163


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## Cycle&Surf (Sep 8, 2016)

OrigainalBMX said:


> So do I have a story. In the early 80's I had been part of the original BMX bike racing movement for years. I was starting in High School and got a job working in a bike shop across the street. We as kids would break our bikes down and rebuild them after every race outing. So working in a bike shop was a natural fit. Cruisers were the in thing. So I was going to use my after school job money to buy a Cruiser. My future brother-in-law John George was racing for and working for Mongoose. He knew I wanted to buy a Cruiser. He told me Mongoose had a frame they used to design the prototype of the Kos Cruiser. The Kos was not out yet at that time. He said he thought he could get Mongoose to sell it to me for less than I was looking at spending. It was a frame and a fork alone so I'd have to build it out myself, but he felt I would get a better Cruiser then what I'd buy. The Fork is a Mongoose Fork. Mongoose had bought the frame from Cook Brothers. So I built this one off Cruiser with the proceeds of my first job. My dad who had done a lot of BMX bicycles helped me weld a shifter on the frame. I outfitted the back with an Atom drum brake 5 speed. My job ended in early January as a seasonal position. I had enough to pay for my bike. Over the years i rode it all over Santa Monica and Venice. At some pint I parked it and it grew dust. Around 2006 I dug it out and got it running again and offered it to my Son. "No way! I don't want to be seen on that thing, I want a mountain bike." So it has set for anther decade. I got an itch to find a matching Atom Front hub. It took a few years and $300 to buy what I could have had for $80 in the 80's, Oh well. Then another 2 years to find Arraya C7 rims to match the original. I took my wheel and bike to a great local guy here in the San Fernando valley, Paul at Atomic Cycles. He identified my frame as a Lawwill, I've been getting on the road again. Here are some pics. It's amazing never knowing the history of the actual bike. I originally put a brooks seat on, a SunTour derailleur, Shimano break lever. Very close to the original parts list. The dual Atom hubs really allow the ballon tires to ride extra smooth. I looked for my serial number, it's buried under the original paint.
> 
> :eekster:
> 
> View attachment 1081218​


nice! do you still got pictures from bitd?
dig the custom rear lightning :-D

and i got:
8I B 234 (blue) and 8I B 288 (red)


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## fat tire trader (Sep 18, 2010)

I remember selling a Schwinn frame to Mark in around 1980. He responded to my ad in the classified Gazzette. I wonder if this is the frame that the girl is on....


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## Cycle&Surf (Sep 8, 2016)

come on guys, there are way more Pro Cruiser out there! 

share your stories, pictures, frame numbers etc. 
:thumbsup:

here is number 288:







all og besides the repro-tires


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## tburner (Nov 4, 2018)

*My Lawwell Pro Cruiser serial number is in a slightly different format*

The serial number on the bike I have is "B80189" in that exact format - no spaces. It is blue with gold rims. My dad bought if for my mom (and for himself too, I'm sure) about 38 years ago. It has a dealer sticker on the front of the seat post tube that reads, "COVE BIKE SHOP Tiburon, Calif. 388-0800". My mom asked me to donate it to a thrift store but I haven't had the motivation to do that yet. I still remember adventures I had with it while riding dirt trails/roads to gain access to certain desert peaks I climbed in December of 1982 after I returned from a 22-month stint in the Netherlands (where I rode many kilometers on a bicycle while there). My mom is 86 now and she has no interest in keeping the bike. So.....what to do? :???:


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## stan lee (Mar 5, 2006)

...


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## stan lee (Mar 5, 2006)

tburner said:


> The serial number on the bike I have is "B80189" in that exact format - no spaces. It is blue with gold rims. My dad bought if for my mom (and for himself too, I'm sure) about 38 years ago. It has a dealer sticker on the front of the seat post tube that reads, "COVE BIKE SHOP Tiburon, Calif. 388-0800". My mom asked me to donate it to a thrift store but I haven't had the motivation to do that yet. I still remember adventures I had with it while riding dirt trails/roads to gain access to certain desert peaks I climbed in December of 1982 after I returned from a 22-month stint in the Netherlands (where I rode many kilometers on a bicycle while there). My mom is 86 now and she has no interest in keeping the bike. So.....what to do? :???:


Cool history! I sent you a message and I'm sure you'll get others.


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## Cycle&Surf (Sep 8, 2016)

tburner said:


> The serial number on the bike I have is "B80189" in that exact format - no spaces. It is blue with gold rims. My dad bought if for my mom (and for himself too, I'm sure) about 38 years ago. It has a dealer sticker on the front of the seat post tube that reads, "COVE BIKE SHOP Tiburon, Calif. 388-0800". My mom asked me to donate it to a thrift store but I haven't had the motivation to do that yet. I still remember adventures I had with it while riding dirt trails/roads to gain access to certain desert peaks I climbed in December of 1982 after I returned from a 22-month stint in the Netherlands (where I rode many kilometers on a bicycle while there). My mom is 86 now and she has no interest in keeping the bike. So.....what to do? :???:


keep it in the Family and don't accept any low ball offers that you may receive! 
frame/fork sets easily catch 1k nowadays and an entire og bike should be in the 2.5-5k range depending on condition and specs...
As yours is a 1980 model is should still sporting a chrome Tange TX-1200 fork.

Interesting frame number as they normally had this pattern 80B189 but you never know what they did or did not back in the days.

If you post a picture on here or send me one directly I can tell you how original your/your Moms bike is :thumbsup:


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## tburner (Nov 4, 2018)

*My 86 year-old mom's Lawwell/Knight Pro Cruiser*

Thanks for the info Cycle&Surf.
Here is a photo:


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## Cycle&Surf (Sep 8, 2016)

too cool! 
looks all og besides maybe the front tire and the seat. Your Dad didn't went for the high rising Lawwill stem and got a TufNeck instead! Pretty sure these aren't the factory super wide handlebars either but most likely been like this from day one 
:thumbsup:
btw please lower the stem as it looks like the shaft is almost coming outta the fork! :eekster:


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## Cycle&Surf (Sep 8, 2016)

8I B 234 :thumbsup:


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## tburner (Nov 4, 2018)

*some non "og" parts*

the seat, front tire, ?right?brake lever don't appear to be og! the handlebars came with the bike as far as I know. The stem says "Pro Neck" instead of TufNeck" but if I understand correctly both were produced by the same company



Cycle&Surf said:


> too cool!
> looks all og besides maybe the front tire and the seat. Your Dad didn't went for the high rising Lawwill stem and got a TufNeck instead! Pretty sure these aren't the factory super wide handlebars either but most likely been like this from day one
> :thumbsup:
> btw please lower the stem as it looks like the shaft is almost coming outta the fork! :eekster:


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## marooned marinite (Jan 2, 2019)

I read the thread, signed up. contributed this post to the thread. It looks like a 80B224 stamped on the underneath side of my PC.


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## Cycle&Surf (Sep 8, 2016)

Welcome aboard *marooned marinite*! :thumbsup:
first of all you got a pretty cool modified (Cantilever brake mount, cable guides etc.) Pro Cruiser frameset.
Most likely original blue and from 1980 and the 224th frame ever made. 
The fork is a modified (Cantilever mounts) Champion fork so be aware of some people may offer good money for it 
As all Pro Cruisers had an half an inch shorter headtube than most bikes of that time the fork is probably cut down a little bit anyway.
Do you have any picture of the bike before it was stripped?
What is your plan with the frameset? bringing it back to its bone-stock beauty or pay a tribute to the early 80ties mods and build it up with Cantilever brakes etc.


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## marooned marinite (Jan 2, 2019)

Your assessment is accurate on the mods for the F/F combo. The steer tube on the fork is 6 1/2" tall with an 1' of threads. I acquired the bike in 1990. The bike was disassembled and all the non OG components were in a box. I re-assembled the bike and rode it sporadically for about 10 years. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture of it when it was in rideable condition back then. The bike was then stripped down again in the late 90's. I began acquiring parts for a re-build/restoration - but you know - that process started about 20 years ago. I have a bunch of period correct parts to put it back together, but life keeps me pretty busy these days.


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## fat tire trader (Sep 18, 2010)

Same cantilever brake cable hanger as on my red Pro Cruiser, cable guides are different. 

I think it is common these days for collectors to read too much into catalogs, like misinterpreting the bible, then making claims based upon misinterpretaions. This is stock, that isn't, this is factory, that is modified, etc.

I still have extra NOS down tube stickers and stem clamp pieces, that I got from Mert when I bought the last of the Pro Cruisers in the early 90s.


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## silverback.studio (26 d ago)

oldscholar said:


> 80B123 original owner, pics soon.


I'm do not think I am 'oldscholar', but I have owned 80B123 since I bought the frameset new in early 1980. Was the Dixieland BMX old man's class champion in 1980 & 1981.


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