Is this an original Hornet paint color scheme?

[AS-1]

I would think they would be from the 1954 model year as your catalog scans suggest. I see there are serials for 1957 for both, just wondering why you think 1957?

The serial numbers found on the frames of your WASP and your Starlet suggest they were built in either 1952 or 1957. Since there were no WASPS in 1952, that tells us the frame was built in 1957. The 1952 Starlets were still being pinstriped by hand in 1952, but were stencil painted, like yours, in 1957. According to our friend John, whose family owned and operated a Schwinn dealership in the late 1950s, and who sold a very large number of WASP bicycles to local paperboys, the WASP wasn't sold with fenderlights because they got in the way of paperboy baskets. Regarding the 1957 Starlet, and this particular point deserves additional research, we see in the available Schwinn customer handout that the Starlet had transitioned to the middleweight designation, whereas your Starlet is a ballooner (please confirm tire size). If it is true that your bikes were built in 1957, then their distinction as "Lime with Black trim" is in question.

If the speculators choose to contribute to this point, it is fair to ask them to document all of their evidence.

 

[ricobike]

The serial numbers found on the frames of your WASP and your Starlet suggest they were built in either 1952 or 1957. Since there were no WASPS in 1952, that tells us the frame was built in 1957. The 1952 Starlets were still being pinstriped by hand in 1952, but were stencil painted, like yours, in 1957. According to our friend John, whose family owned and operated a Schwinn dealership in the late 1950s, and who sold a very large number of WASP bicycles to local paperboys, the WASP wasn't sold with fenderlights because they got in the way of paperboy baskets. Regarding the 1957 Starlet, and this particular point deserves additional research, we see in the available Schwinn customer handout that the Starlet had transitioned to the middleweight designation, whereas your Starlet is a ballooner (please confirm tire size). If it is true that your bikes were built in 1957, then their distinction as "Lime with Black trim" is in question.

If the speculators choose to contribute to this point, it is fair to ask them to document all of their evidence.

Let's review the possible dates for the serials for my bikes. I missed a couple for the Starlet so I've added them here:

Chartreuse 26" Streamliner - L48696 - 06/23 to 06/28 of 1954 or 08/04 to 08/08 of 1956
Chartreuse 26" Starlet - C27898 - 05/22 to 05/29 of 1952 or 10/23 to 10/30 of 1953 or 04/23 to 04/30 of 1957
Chartreuse 26" Boys Wasp - C85728 - 11/13 to 11/25 of 1953 or 05/23 of 1957

I left off the 52 date for the Wasp here because like you said, we've ruled it out due to the model year. So we have late 1953 dates for both the Starlet and the Wasp which could have been for the 54 model year.

Not sure about the pinstriping question since I haven't heard of this and don't know how to tell the difference.

Edit: I'm curious about the headlight on the Wasp as well. It could very well have been that someone drilled holes for the headlight in the fender before I got it. Another question about it that I have is that it has Chrome rims. 54 Wasps I believe had painted rims. Yet another question, but not as big of a deal are the truss rods. The front fender doesn't have the indents in it for the truss rods but I did see there were scratches in that area that looked like truss rods had scraped on them so I added them. That was mostly just my personal preference.

 

[AS-1]

Let's review the possible dates for the serials for my bikes. I missed a couple for the Starlet so I've added them here:

Chartreuse 26" Streamliner - L48696 - 06/23 to 06/28 of 1954 or 08/04 to 08/08 of 1956
Chartreuse 26" Starlet - C27898 - 05/22 to 05/29 of 1952 or 10/23 to 10/30 of 1953 or 04/23 to 04/30 of 1957
Chartreuse 26" Boys Wasp - C85728 - 11/13 to 11/25 of 1953 or 05/23 of 1957

I left off the 52 date for the Wasp here because like you said, we've ruled it out due to the model year. So we have late 1953 dates for both the Starlet and the Wasp which could have been for the 54 model year.

Not sure about the pinstriping question since I haven't heard of this and don't know how to tell the difference.

I made a mistake by not recognizing the 1953 serial numbers. I apologize. Thank you for correcting me. You are correct. The late dating on the WASP and the Starlet strongly implies that your bikes were a part of the group of bikes painted with "Lime and Black trim."

The 1953 Starlet was also decorated with handpainted pinstriping, but the 1954 Starlet , like yours, was stencil painted.

Everything points to your bikes being 100% authentic. This is very special. To be the owner of 3 of the 4 "Lime and Black trim" Schwinn bicycles offered in the only model year those bikes were ever offered represents a significant rarity. Thank you for sharing your fabulous collection.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

@ricobike Documentation to contribute? On an open forum, wow sounds like lots of fun.

 

[ricobike]

I made a mistake by not recognizing the 1953 serial numbers. I apologize. Thank you for correcting me. You are correct. The late dating on the WASP and the Starlet strongly implies that your bikes were a part of the group of bikes painted with "Lime and Black trim."

The 1953 Starlet was also decorated with handpainted pinstriping, but the 1954 Starlet , like yours, was stencil painted.

Everything points to your bikes being 100% authentic. This is very special. To be the owner of 3 of the 4 "Lime and Black trim" Schwinn bicycles offered in the only model year those bikes were ever offered represents a significant rarity. Thank you for sharing your fabulous collection.

That's OK, I don't know how I missed the two other possible Starlet dates. It's tough to keep all of them straight! Thanks and even though I don't ride them much I do enjoy looking at them. They're currently living in my dining room .

 

[ricobike]

@ricobike Documentation to contribute? On an open forum, wow sounds like lots of fun.

Not sure what else you're looking for. It's not like we can ride our bikes together while browsing the forums .

 

[AS-1]

That's OK, I don't know how I missed the two other possible Starlet dates. It's tough to keep all of them straight! Thanks and even though I don't ride them much I do enjoy looking at them. They're currently living in my dining room .

At the risk of sounding prejudiced against other possible contenders, I will, henceforth, refer to your bikes as "The Gold Standard."

 

[AS-1]

Not sure what else you're looking for. It's not like we can ride our bikes together while browsing the forums .

Maybe it's time for somebody to open a new website where all the people who like to ride those little bicycles can get together.

 

[Uncle Shish]

Just to circle back around to the 2 bastard bikes on this thread, as promised, the serial number for my friend Curt's bike is D0 9300 rear dropout location

 

[ricobike]

Just to circle back around to the 2 bastard bikes on this thread, as promised, the serial number for my friend Curt's bike is D0 9300 rear dropout location

View attachment 1925580

Sorry, I feel like I dumped on your thread with my bikes. I have seen several Hornets in the Lime/Black color scheme around and I believe that this color kind of "bled" over into the Hornet line too. Of course that is just speculation. The serial for this bike has the following dates according to the serial reference:

07/03 1952
12/01 to 12/17 1953
05/27 1957

Given the info that we've seen in this post, I would posit that his bike was from the latter part of 1953.

Edit: Just looked again and it is a cantilever frame so could be either a Streamliner or Wasp