# Amf Roadmaster flying falcon



## Jeff Beilke

Can anybody give me some info on this bike. Real barn find. I believe it's a mid 50s bike but I can't find any good info on it.


----------



## fordmike65

Cool bike. Looks 60's to me.


----------



## rustjunkie

I like it! I'd say late 1950s, maybe 1958-1959. Does the rear hub have a date code stamped into it?
More pics of the saddle please?


----------



## Oilit

I've got one that looks very similar to yours (Except a lot rougher) and the guy I bought it from said he thought it was 1956. The components on it look right for that period, but he wasn't certain and I'm not either. Nice bike!


----------



## HIGGINSFOREVER

I would guess early 60s and looks all complete


----------



## rhenning

Bendix manual shift 2 speed to me would mean late 1950s.  Roger


----------



## Adamtinkerer

Cantilever frame on the black bike is '58 at the earliest, when Schwinn's patent on the design ran out. Green bike is the earlier '55-7 style.


----------



## Oilit

Adamtinkerer said:


> Cantilever frame on the black bike is '58 at the earliest, when Schwinn's patent on the design ran out. Green bike is the earlier '55-7 style.



That makes sense, Thanks! Does anyone know when Weinmann went from the squared off brake lever housing to the more rounded style?


----------



## Oilit

Jeff Beilke said:


> Can anybody give me some info on this bike. Real barn find. I believe it's a mid 50s bike but I can't find any good info on it.View attachment 370699 View attachment 370700



If the rear hub is a Sturmey-Archer, there will be two numbers on it, one for the month the hub was made and the other the last two digits of the year, for instance "61    5" for May, 1961.


----------



## Scribble

That's one of the cooler middleweights I've seen, good find.


----------



## Oilit

This came up on EBay and I was the only bidder. It must be fate or something. And I was reading through the CWC Serial Number thread and they said AMF moved production from Cleveland to Little Rock in 1956. Is there an easy way to tell where this bike was made?


----------



## GTs58

Oilit said:


> That makes sense, Thanks! Does anyone know *when Weinmann went from the squared off brake lever housing to the more rounded style?*




For Schwinn I believe it was during the 1957 model year, the 58's definitely had the new Weinmann levers.


----------



## Oilit

GTs58 said:


> For Schwinn I believe it was during the 1957 model year, the 58's definitely had the new Weinmann levers.



That sounds right. I know the '54 Jaguar had the older style, so they must have changed over on the early middleweights but I haven't seen enough to know the year. 
Thanks!


----------



## Oilit

I wish this ad was clear, but the original wasn't great and then when I scanned it, it only got worse. But if you can read it, it's interesting to compare this to the pictures. And thanks to Floyd @WetDogGraphix for his help!


----------



## partsguy

Now _*that is *_a handsome AMF!

Bendix Aviation 2-Speed was out in the mid 1950's, and is definitely original to the bike.


----------



## Oilit

partsguy said:


> Now _*that is *_a handsome AMF!
> 
> Bendix Aviation 2-Speed was out in the mid 1950's, and is definitely original to the bike.



Thank you sir! 
And you're right about the two speed. I've been looking at old ads and it looks like they adopted the three speed for 1957, about the same time they moved production to Little Rock. If anyone has a 1957, I would like to see pictures!


----------



## Oilit

After two years I believe I can finally date the original poster's bike as a 1958. I picked up the identical bike this summer and the Sturmey Archer hub on mine is dated "57   10" and the serial number on the left drop out starts with "H", followed by six numbers. On Phil Marshall's chart of CWC serial numbers, he notes that AMF bought Cleveland Welding in April 1951. If you take 1951 as "A", then 1958 works out to "H". And from the ads I've seen, in 1957 they were still using the straight bar frame, and in 1959 they changed the chain guard, so this was a one year style. The original colors of the head badge were blue and red, but the red on this one has completely faded out for some reason. Also the front caliper seems big compared to the fork. I suspect it was originally bought for the balloon tire version and AMF was using up old stock.


----------



## bikerbluz

Very nice bikes, really diggin the green one!


----------



## OSCAR...N...

bikerbluz said:


> Very nice bikes, really diggin the green one!



Mr.. Beilke flip the bike over.  And next to the serial number it's to numbers stamp with the Cw. Sing and that's gonna tell you what year the bike is........


----------



## OSCAR...N...

Oilit said:


> This came up on EBay and I was the only bidder. It must be fate or something. And I was reading through the CWC Serial Number thread and they said AMF moved production from Cleveland to Little Rock in 1956. Is there an easy way to tell where this bike was made?
> 
> View attachment 441102
> 
> View attachment 441103
> 
> View attachment 441104
> 
> View attachment 441105
> 
> View attachment 441106
> 
> View attachment 441107



And that move from Here in CLEVELAND Ohio to ARKANSAS.  Was so (Bad & Sad) cause after (CwC) going down the hill.  And sold. To the Chinese but the building Complex still exists.  And it's located at (w.117 / Berea) Rd. Not to far from Me am I love everytime I drive bye.....


----------



## Oilit

Felixnegron said:


> And that move from Here in CLEVELAND Ohio to ARKANSAS.  Was so (Bad & Sad) cause after (CwC) going down the hill.  And sold. To the Chinese but the building Complex still exists.  And it's located at (w.117 / Berea) Rd. Not to far from Me am I love everytime I drive bye.....



I'm going to have to go see the building one of these days. Maybe take a picture of my bike out front.


----------



## OSCAR...N...

Oilit said:


> I'm going to have to go see the building one of these days. Maybe take a picture of my bike out front.



Mr.  Oilit you are Welcome to CLEVELAND Ohio anytime. And by the way if you Stop here in CLEVELAND Ohio don't forget call me when you Stand up front of the (CwC) complex building.  There was a great (CLEVELAND W. COMPANY) BACK IN THE OLD DAYS........


----------



## OSCAR...N...

That's is gonna be my dream come true to go with my (1937/ RMS.) And take a couple's pictures of my bike. Where the bike was built back in the good old days there in (W. 117& Berea) Rd. Cleveland Ohio that's it be a good and Beautiful moment! Hope.........


----------



## Oilit

So it's a year and a half later and I'm still trying to figure out how to tell a Cleveland-built Roadmaster from one built in Little Rock. The best original source I've found is a 4 page brochure posted on Dave's Vintage Bicycles (Thanks @Dave Stromberger) that was originally in the June 1956 issue of American Bicyclist and Motor Cyclist magazine. It has pictures of the plant in Little Rock with the heading "Open for Business! Newest in the bike industry, $1,250,000 AMF Little Rock plant won't be dedicated for 60 days, but it's already turning out bikes, and in 4 months expects to be up to 3 thousand every 24 hours!"








						1956 AMF (Roadmaster) Bicycle Plant in Little Rock - Dave's Vintage Bicycles
					

1956 AMF (Roadmaster) Bicycle Plant in Little Rock - This brochure is a reprint from the June 1956 issue of American Bicyclist and Motor Cyclist magazine. It shows the new Little Rock bicycle plant in



					www.nostalgic.net
				



A Christmas ad in the Dec. 1956 issue of Boys' Life still lists the maker as "the Cleveland Welding Division, American Machine and Foundry Company, Cleveland OH", but by June 1957 another ad lists the address as "the AMF Cycle Company, Little Rock Arkansas". None of this gives an exact date, and it looks like both operations were running at the same time for a while, which only makes sense - if you've got orders to fill, you don't want to shut down one plant before you make sure the other is up and running full speed.
So here are (2) 1957 Flying Falcons. One has a serial number starting with "A", and still  has the "Masterweld - Cleveland Welding" decal and a 1956 style badge, while the other has a serial starting with "B", and has the "Masterweld - AMF Wheel Goods" decal and a slightly different head badge (both have a "G" to the right of the serial on the bottom bracket). But I'm guessing the decals have nothing to do with where they were made, because I can't see any difference between the frames. You would think that if you were going to set up a new factory, you would take the opportunity to make some adjustments while you were at it, but there's nothing I can see. I'm starting to wonder if the Little Rock plant didn't start with the cantilever frames that were introduced for 1958, but I don't know.
It would have been nice if the different decals indicated where they were made, but I guess that would have been too easy.


----------



## tylerwarner488412

Jeff Beilke said:


> Can anybody give me some info on this bike. Real barn find. I believe it's a mid 50s bike but I can't find any good info on it.View attachment 370699 View attachment 370700



i have the same bike im looking for another one like this cuz it has childe hud memriose so how much you want for it i payed $200 for mine ill do the same thing its a 1959 amf roda master amf wasmade buy harily davsion


----------



## tylerwarner488412

Oilit said:


> Thank you sir!
> And you're right about the two speed. I've been looking at old ads and it looks like they adopted the three speed for 1957, about the same time they moved production to Little Rock. If anyone has a 1957, I would like to see pictures!



alrigth you seem to be the go to guy for things do you know anything about the 1959 amf roadmaster bike i just sold mine to a guyand i kinda regret it so im looking ito it more im only 15 but i like old school bikes


----------



## Oilit

tylerwarner488412 said:


> alrigth you seem to be the go to guy for things do you know anything about the 1959 amf roadmaster bike i just sold mine to a guyand i kinda regret it so im looking ito it more im only 15 but i like old school bikes



I take it your name is Tyler? If you check the date on the original post, it was four years ago, and the poster hasn't been back in the last three years. As for the 1959, I haven't seen one in person but from the catalog pictures it looks very close to the 1960 version. I have a 1960, but the only picture I have handy is posted toward the bottom of page 23 in this thread:








						Cleveland Welding S/N Project...See Page 58 Post 576 for chart | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965
					

Again another CWC serial number decipher that I'm guessing at. Owner said this was a 1936.   Serial is J95284 ...no suffix stamping.   I've got the same exact bike/frame in a western flyer, cept my serial numbers don't even make sense. Regardless, it's based on a frame modification in 1938...




					thecabe.com
				



If you want a thumbnail history, Roadmaster bicycles were introduced by the Cleveland Welding Company sometime in 1935. In 1951 CWC was bought by the American Machine and Foundry Corporation, better known as AMF. In 1956 or 57 AMF moved production from Cleveland Ohio to Little Rock Arkansas, which is where your bike was probably built. The Flying Falcon was introduced as a three speed balloon tire bike in mid-1953, but Schwinn introduced the middleweights in mid-1954 and they quickly took over the market. The redesigned  middleweight F.F. was introduced early in 1955, with a Bendix 2 speed hub. In 1957 they went back to the three speed hub and kept it until the end of the line, and as far as I can tell, the Flying Falcon was the only AMF middleweight to ever use the three speed. By the mid-'60's the 10 speeds and muscle bikes were taking over the market and I think 1966 was the last year for the Flying Falcon. Harley-Davidson was also owned by AMF for a while, but that's the only connection between the two companies. I think Harley was bought sometime in the '60's and sold in the early '80's, but I would have to look up the dates to be sure.
In 1959 AMF still had decent quality, but they never had Schwinn's distribution system and never sold as many bikes as Schwinn did. In the '60's they sold mostly through department stores, and since department stores don't specialize in bicycles, they tend not to carry high-end models but more general purpose models, often aimed at children. By the late '60's AMF was facing stiff competition from manufacturers in Asia, and their quality really started to slide. AMF sold Roadmaster about the same time they sold H.D, as they were in trouble and losing money by that time, and I think they folded not long after.


----------



## Oilit

Here's some ads that may be interesting. The first was in the July 1956 issue of Boy's Life and shows the 1956 version of the Flying Falcon, with a two-speed (Bendix) hub and a generator light set (Miller), and the address still listed as Cleveland. The second is from May 1957 and shows the new version with three speeds (Sturmey-Archer TCW), no rear rack, a front rack instead of truss rods and some kind of ball light (which did not survive on either of mine), and the address is now Little Rock.
The third is the most interesting. It still lists the Cleveland address and shows a bike that looks like the 1956 version except it specifies three speeds, but this one came from the Aug. 1957 issue of Robin Hood Tales (D.C. Comics), three months after the ad in Boy's Life! There are all kinds of possible explanations, but all I can do is speculate. Make of it what you will.


----------



## OZ1972

Once again some very nice bikes from the 60 ' s , most people pass on tthem , i have as well passed on a lot of them i should have snatched up , may be a new years resolution for me to stop letting these cool bikes get away , thanks for sharing !!!!!!!


----------



## Oilit

Here's another example, this one from 1960. By the catalog, it should have a Delta Falcon headlight, so that's been replaced, and I'm not sure about the rear reflector, and the kickstand's a little short, but otherwise it looks original. The date on the Sturmey-Archer Hub is "60   4". I tried to get a picture, but mostly got glare.


----------



## Oilit

I picked up a set of early '60's AMF Roadmaster catalogs, and they have shed new light on some details, at least for me. I thought AMF might have carried the Flying Falcon through 1966, but according to the catalogs, 1963 was the last year. In 1964 AMF seems to have pinned their hopes on the new "Amflite" line and while they continued to offer some cantilever frame bikes, they were all single speeds. Their numbering system also changed - from 1953 until 1962 the model numbers in a catalog all started with a letter that depended on the year, "C" in 1953, "D" in 1954 and on through "K" (1960), "L" (1961) and "M" (1962). But in the 1963 catalog, the model numbers start with "P", and the 1964 numbers all start with "R". Starting in 1958 the numerical part of the serial was six digits long, which would allow production of up to 999,999 bikes in a year before you needed a new letter. I can only guess that from 1962 production passed a million bikes a year, but that's just a guess.
In any case, AMF would use whatever was at hand to keep production going regardless of the catalog. I've included pictures of a 1961 Flying Falcon ("L" serial number and Sturmey-Archer hub stamped "60   4"), and while the seat, racks and chain guard decal match the catalog, the chain guard and chain wheel don't. All manufacturers do this to some extent, but AMF seems to have been more flexible than most. Maybe they weren't big enough (or too cheap) to get first priority from their suppliers.
I posted some pictures (Amflite models) from the 1964 catalog in this thread:








						Roadmaster Shark? | Middleweight Bicycles
					

I forgot I had this. Somebody listed a complete set of AMF Roadmaster catalogs from 1956 to 1968 on Ebay a while back, but by the time I saw them, they were already sold. But the seller had pictures of all the covers, so I saved them. The AMFlite first appears on the cover of the 1964 catalog...




					thecabe.com
				








From the 1961 catalog.




Catalog from 1962.




And the last year, 1963.


----------



## Schwinny

In pursuit of the trivial....
Did you know a Falcon always craps right before taking off?

Maybe that's why this is a Flying Falcon.... unencumbered and ready to go.
A good reminder before a bike ride... 

... I think I'll take the Falcon out today..... you know.... I'll be right back...

Animal kingdom aside, I like those.
I like another AMF frame style also.... the Amflite?
Nice bikes.
My Mom worked at AMF in DesMoines in the early 70's. I think they were making Lawn Mowers. Since then I often tried AMF stuff because of the connection but have never been struck by their products...
They nearly ruined the Harley name....
Maybe their bowling lanes, yeah, they're pretty good.


----------



## Oilit

Schwinny said:


> In pursuit of the trivial....
> Did you know a Falcon always craps right before taking off?
> 
> Maybe that's why this is a Flying Falcon.... unencumbered and ready to go.
> A good reminder before a bike ride...
> 
> ... I think I'll take the Falcon out today..... you know.... I'll be right back...
> 
> Animal kingdom aside, I like those.
> I like another AMF frame style also.... the Amflite?
> Nice bikes.
> My Mom worked at AMF in DesMoines in the early 70's. I think they were making Lawn Mowers. Since then I often tried AMF stuff because of the connection but have never been struck by their products...
> They nearly ruined the Harley name....
> Maybe their bowling lanes, yeah, they're pretty good.



Looking at their bikes, there's a reason they're out of business. I think they bought CWC and Shelby with the intention of being a real competitor - the 1953 Flying Falcon was the first balloon tire bike to get a three speed hub as far as I can tell - but to sell higher-end bikes you need people who can explain the advantages to customers. I think they realized pretty quick that Schwinn's dealer network gave Schwinn the upper hand in that market so then they shifted focus to department store bikes. By the '60's they seemed to be putting all their efforts into styling and they were satisfied to copy technical innovations when somebody else did the ground work and proved it would sell. In the mean time, their quality was subject to meeting the competition's prices and when bicycles started coming in from the far east it went down hill fast. Comparing AMF to Schwinn, Schwinn was a bicycle company and AMF was a big conglomerate with a sideline in bicycles. You can concentrate on being really good at one thing or you can be a jack of all trades and master of none. That last part should have been the AMF motto.


----------



## Oilit

Here's some pictures of another Flying Falcon that was on Ebay a while back. It was for sale by the original owner, who said it was a 1963 model, which looks right. Notice the change in the front rack. Except for the 1957 models which had Wald front racks (at least mine do), all the later F.F.'s used Persons racks as far as I can tell. The chain guard on this one has no trace of paint or a decal, but I've seen one chain guard with the white decal applied directly over chrome, no red paint to be seen, and it didn't look like it would take much to take the decal off completely so that may have been what was originally on this one.


----------



## Slowrider

I have a 1955 CWC AMF Roadmaster but I don't know the exact model it is, seems like they made many versions of Roadmasters. Looks to be pretty much original I did grease everything and had to weld the seat tube back to the lower bracket and clean it up and put new tires on it, Still have to do something with the seat. Plan to ride it and enjoy it unless someone makes me a good offer to buy it.


----------



## Freqman1

Slowrider said:


> I have a 1955 CWC AMF Roadmaster but I don't know the exact model it is, seems like they made many versions of Roadmasters. Looks to be pretty much original I did grease everything and had to weld the seat tube back to the lower bracket and clean it up and put new tires on it, Still have to do something with the seat. Plan to ride it and enjoy it unless someone makes me a good offer to buy it.
> 
> View attachment 1670926
> 
> View attachment 1670927
> 
> View attachment 1670928
> 
> View attachment 1670929
> 
> View attachment 1670932
> 
> View attachment 1670933
> 
> View attachment 1670934
> 
> View attachment 1670935
> 
> View attachment 1670936



List it in the for sale section or DOND if you are looking for a buyer.


----------



## Oilit

Slowrider said:


> I have a 1955 CWC AMF Roadmaster but I don't know the exact model it is, seems like they made many versions of Roadmasters. Looks to be pretty much original I did grease everything and had to weld the seat tube back to the lower bracket and clean it up and put new tires on it, Still have to do something with the seat. Plan to ride it and enjoy it unless someone makes me a good offer to buy it.
> 
> View attachment 1670926
> 
> View attachment 1670927
> 
> View attachment 1670928
> 
> View attachment 1670929
> 
> View attachment 1670932
> 
> View attachment 1670933
> 
> View attachment 1670934
> 
> View attachment 1670935
> 
> View attachment 1670936



I'm going to guess that yours would have been called a Flying Falcon also. In the 1955 catalog there are three versions, the Deluxe (two-speed Bendix and caliper front brake), the Special (two speeds but no front brake) and the Standard (coaster brake). Your chainguard isn't the same as the one shown in the catalog, but that's not unknown for AMF. I'd guess the chainguard on your bike is original in spite of the catalog.
And I think only the Deluxe had "Flying Falcon" on the chainguard. The catalog called the others "Flying Falcon" but that name probably wasn't on the actual bikes, I've got a 1957 Special and the the chainguard just says "Roadmaster" like yours.
1955 was the first year for AMF's middleweights, and they don't seem to show up as often as the '56 and '57 versions. Interesting bike, thanks for posting!


----------



## Slowrider

Oilit said:


> I'm going to guess that yours would have been called a Flying Falcon also. In the 1955 catalog there are three versions, the Deluxe (two-speed Bendix and caliper front brake), the Special (two speeds but no front brake) and the Standard (coaster brake). Your chainguard isn't the same as the one shown in the catalog, but that's not unknown for AMF. I'd guess the chainguard on your bike is original in spite of the catalog.
> And I think only the Deluxe had "Flying Falcon" on the chainguard. The catalog called the others "Flying Falcon" but that name probably wasn't on the actual bikes, I've got a 1957 Special and the the chainguard just says "Roadmaster" like yours.
> 1955 was the first year for AMF's middleweights, and they don't seem to show up as often as the '56 and '57 versions. Interesting bike, thanks for posting!
> 
> View attachment 1670988
> 
> View attachment 1670989



Thanks for the info! I have been looking on the internet but haven't seen one like mine with just the pinstripes on the fenders, most have the white tips but the one in the ad is just like mine except for the chainguard. The one in the ad might have been a prototype or they might have run out of one style and used another.


----------



## Oilit

Slowrider said:


> Thanks for the info! I have been looking on the internet but haven't seen one like mine with just the pinstripes on the fenders, most have the white tips but the one in the ad is just like mine except for the chainguard. The one in the ad might have been a prototype or they might have run out of one style and used another.



Either one sounds likely for AMF. Your chainguard was originally made by Shelby, but after AMF bought Shelby it showed up on a lot of AMF middleweights. The Shelby version had a clip mounting at the back to the seatstay but the earliest I've seen the long tab to the rear drop-out is 1954. And in another couple of years they changed the front mount, so your version was only made for a couple of years right when your bike was made, so it's probably original.


----------

