saladshooter
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
The owner posted this a few pages back.
Post in thread '1938 Y Frame road master supreme Info' https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1938-y-frame-road-master-supreme-info.35915/post-1092357
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1938 Y Frame road master supreme Info
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The owner posted this a few pages back.
Post in thread '1938 Y Frame road master supreme Info' https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1938-y-frame-road-master-supreme-info.35915/post-1092357
cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
I don’t think there’s much to debate.
Out of the small handfuls of original as found bikes of either year, 37/38RMS.
Not one had been found with an originally applied Master Weld decal.
The few 37’s to date have the winged CWC decal on the fender, but not all the originals have this feature.
Of the ones that do, some are high on the fender, and some are low on the fender.
The 38 literature makes a strong statement, that all of the Roadmaster line has a frame that is 100% stronger, and to be sure to look for the Master Weld decal on the seat mast/tube.
It makes sense, that they would want the decal on the frame, since that is the part in question, and that it is the one part of the bicycle that’s not going anywhere during its lifetime.
Are the 38 Roadmaster Supreme’s considered to be part of the Roadmaster line in 1938?
It sure seems like they would be.
Especially since they were the flagship models for that year.
When I had the frame stripped, it definitely showed fillet brazing for cosmetic purposes, but those were not enough to hold the frame together.
I can’t say for certain that the 38 RMS’s were constructed using the new Master Weld technique, but I suspect that they may have been in part, with some brazing for cosmetic reasons.
The safe bet, was to leave the decal off, and that’s what I would recommend, but in my case, I wanted to use it, mainly because the company was so proud of it, it looks so cool, and it was such a defining feature of the 1938 Roadmaster model year.
And for fantasy sake, if you were going to use it on a 1938 Roadmaster Supreme, the literature clearly states, to look for that symbol on the seat tube.
That’s my two cents.
Out of the small handfuls of original as found bikes of either year, 37/38RMS.
Not one had been found with an originally applied Master Weld decal.
The few 37’s to date have the winged CWC decal on the fender, but not all the originals have this feature.
Of the ones that do, some are high on the fender, and some are low on the fender.
The 38 literature makes a strong statement, that all of the Roadmaster line has a frame that is 100% stronger, and to be sure to look for the Master Weld decal on the seat mast/tube.
It makes sense, that they would want the decal on the frame, since that is the part in question, and that it is the one part of the bicycle that’s not going anywhere during its lifetime.
Are the 38 Roadmaster Supreme’s considered to be part of the Roadmaster line in 1938?
It sure seems like they would be.
Especially since they were the flagship models for that year.
When I had the frame stripped, it definitely showed fillet brazing for cosmetic purposes, but those were not enough to hold the frame together.
I can’t say for certain that the 38 RMS’s were constructed using the new Master Weld technique, but I suspect that they may have been in part, with some brazing for cosmetic reasons.
The safe bet, was to leave the decal off, and that’s what I would recommend, but in my case, I wanted to use it, mainly because the company was so proud of it, it looks so cool, and it was such a defining feature of the 1938 Roadmaster model year.
And for fantasy sake, if you were going to use it on a 1938 Roadmaster Supreme, the literature clearly states, to look for that symbol on the seat tube.
That’s my two cents.
Last edited:
cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
I think what needs to happen, is that the next guy to turn up with a bona fide, D prefix Y frame, needs to take one for the team, and dissect it with a Sawzall, to see if it has those knurled inserts in the ends of the tubes.
That would definitely put the whole issue to rest once and for all.
I use to think, that the 38 Y frame was just a surplus hold over from the 37 model year, and that all the frames were the same.
Now, I’m not so sure.
The letter D prefix on the serial number shows, that they were definitely manufacturing these models well up to if not spilling over, into 1939.
The big question is, were the 1938 model Y frames constructed using Master Weld technique, with the knurled inserts in the ends of the tubes?
That would make a big difference between the 1937 models, and the 1938 models.
It would also make the likelihood of fabricating frames for the 38 models less feasible.
At least from an internal point of view.
That would definitely put the whole issue to rest once and for all.
I use to think, that the 38 Y frame was just a surplus hold over from the 37 model year, and that all the frames were the same.
Now, I’m not so sure.
The letter D prefix on the serial number shows, that they were definitely manufacturing these models well up to if not spilling over, into 1939.
The big question is, were the 1938 model Y frames constructed using Master Weld technique, with the knurled inserts in the ends of the tubes?
That would make a big difference between the 1937 models, and the 1938 models.
It would also make the likelihood of fabricating frames for the 38 models less feasible.
At least from an internal point of view.
39zep
Wore out three sets of tires already!
Marty has it nailed. Haven’t seen enough examples especially on the early high end bikes. Seemed more prevalent on later models.
Btw. Tried to message you with no luck. Thanks.
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