# AMF Roadmaster Skyrider Deluxe - need YOP



## bikemonkey

HI folks, hoping someone can help me with a date on this one.

AMF Roadmaster Skyrider Deluxe
Ser. No. U162941 on left rear dropout.
Excel Mk II coaster hub
Trelleborg 26 x 1.75 whitewalls

I am looking for a catalog date and picture or ad if someone has one archived. Also, the factory that made these for AMF would be great as well.

Someone mentioned Skyrider tanks went out in '68 and the '67 I found on here has different decal placement.

No apparent date code on hub. From info on here the U in the serial number probably rules it out as being made by Murray. Bike looks like it could be all original.

Horn and light works. If someone wants to mention a ballpark value I will not be offended....

Thanks!


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## Oilit

I'd guess AMF built that bike in Little Rock, AR. Roadmasters were first built by Cleveland Welding Company in Cleveland OH. AMF bought CWC in the early '50's and moved bicycle production to Little Rock in late '56 or early '57. I believe they went to that style chainguard in the early '60's, but I don't know the year. According to Wikipedia, they moved production again in 1962, to Olney IL, so it could have been built there. Check the head badge, the headquarters location was on the badge on earlier bikes.


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## Adamtinkerer

With that chain ring, and block letters on the decals, I'd say mid-later '60s.


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## Hugh

I'm thinking mid to later 60's as well.  The Sprocket is older than the "star" sprockets of the early 60's


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## Oilit

I saw on-line that AMF continued building bicycles in Little Rock until 1980, so it sounds like bikes built after 1962 could have been built either in Little Rock or Olney. But that's an amazingly clean bike, especially for the mid-to-late '60's.


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## Barto

Hugh said:


> I'm thinking mid to later 60's as well.  The Sprocket is older than the "star" sprockets of the early 60's



So, Star Sprockets are from he  60's!  I though they were 50's - what the heck do I know!  I built this one for my daughter a few years back...pretty far from OG...no worries - I did it for her and no one else  I re-did this one keeping all the OG parts except Tires, bars,  grips and paint.  Graphics are of course custom and done by hand.  Had the seat stitched in Indonesia with my Daughters name and cool speed strips. Have since added a taillight, saddle bags, a lock, rear view mirror and headlight.  The wheels took me over a month to do them  - by hand!!!

BART


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## bikemonkey

Barto said:


> So, Star Sprockets are from he  60's!  I though they were 50's - what the heck do I know!  I built this one for my daughter a few years back...pretty far from OG...no worries - I did it for her and no one else  I re-did this one keeping all the OG parts except Tires, bars,  grips and paint.  Graphics are of course custom and done by hand.  Had the seat stitched in Indonesia with my Daughters name and cool speed strips. Have since added a taillight, saddle bags, a lock, rear view mirror and headlight.  The wheels took me over a month to do them  - by hand!!!
> 
> BART
> 
> View attachment 738170



Good Job! I bet she loves it!


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## Oilit

@Barto , unless AMF offered the spring fork in the '60's, then I see what you mean about the star sprocket! Got any "before" pictures?


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## Barto

bikemonkey said:


> Good Job! I bet she loves it!



Yeah she loves it...her friends have made several really nice comments to me about building it for her...  Dad's...build something nice for your daughters...they will more than likely remember you doing it and will cherish it for the rest of their lives - ok, maybe not everyone but some will.

I'm now building a 50's and a 40's Columbia's for my other (youngest at 26) daughter and her Boyfriend (he's really into it). She want's it brand new looking and he wants full patina!

Your bike???   Just wow, how does something stay that nice over all of these years...This is how my oldest daughters bike looked when I got it (sorry for the poor quality photo)


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## Oilit

@bikemonkey, I don't know if you've seen this or not, it's a serial number list for CWC bikes posted in another thread - https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1938-y-frame-road-master-supreme-info.35915/page-7 - but it lists Roadmaster up until 1963. I believe the  letter listed refers to the first letter of the serial number, which changed style after 1956. The list ends with "N" in 1963, but continuing in order, "U" would mean 1969 if they didn't use "O", which I believe they may have skipped because "I" is left out, probably because it could be confused with "1". (Schwinn did the same thing) If they did use "O", then that bike would date to 1970. I know 1970 was the last year Schwinn offered a tank bike (the Panther), but I don't know about Roadmaster.


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## bikemonkey

Oilit said:


> @bikemonkey, I don't know if you've seen this or not, it's a serial number list for CWC bikes posted in another thread - https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1938-y-frame-road-master-supreme-info.35915/page-7 - but it lists Roadmaster up until 1963. I believe the  letter listed refers to the first letter of the serial number, which changed style after 1956. The list ends with "N" in 1963, but continuing in order, "U" would mean 1969 if they didn't use "O", which I believe they may have skipped because "I" is left out, probably because it could be confused with "1". (Schwinn did the same thing) If they did use "O", then that bike would date to 1970. I know 1970 was the last year Schwinn offered a tank bike (the Panther), but I don't know about Roadmaster.



Thanks so much - great info! Will check it out! Good to see ya and all of the HCers last week!


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## Adamtinkerer

I dug out my Evolution of the Bicycle Vol. 1, which has '57, '62, '63, and '65 AMF ads. The '57s show the '50s swirl chain ring, or the Shelby snowflake, the '62 ad also adds the tri spoke ring, as on the OP's Skyrider, and the star ring. The '63 ad just shows the tri spoke, and the '65 ads show the star ring as well as the snowflake! It's all pretty confusing. I think the star was first used around '59.


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## bikemonkey

Adamtinkerer said:


> I dug out my Evolution of the Bicycle Vol. 1, which has '57, '62, '63, and '65 AMF ads. The '57s show the '50s swirl chain ring, or the Shelby snowflake, the '62 ad also adds the tri spoke ring, as on the OP's Skyrider, and the star ring. The '63 ad just shows the tri spoke, and the '65 ads show the star ring as well as the snowflake! It's all pretty confusing. I think the star was first used around '59.



Thanks so much for looking up that information. Looks like a Duke's Mixture when it comes to OG chainrings...


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