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1957 Roadmaster Pleasure Liner

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Oilit

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I like these '50's AMFs, sometimes against my better judgement. I think 1958 was the last year for either the Pleasure Liner or the Luxury Liner, so this was getting towards the end. 1957 was the last year for the kickstand plate, I've seen it on some of the early cantilever frames, but it didn't last long before it was replaced by a generic clamp-on stand. Sometimes AMF cost cutting was reasonable but dropping this plate was just cheap and AMF didn't stop there. But this example was early enough to miss the worst and survived pretty well. I might have to see how it looks with some bigger tires.

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Just for reference, this is a 1958 parts bike (no tank, one pedal welded to the crank and the wrong wheels) that came with the one above, with some pictures of the new kickstand arrangement. It's also got the odd serial number on the bottom bracket, with a "J" serial (off center) and no mark to the right. I'm dating this as a 1958 by the head badge. These "J" serials occasionally show up on late '50's AMF's, but I've never heard what the story was. The cantilever frames from 1958 had an "H" serial on the left drop-out.

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That J number could be early 1959. I saw another bike with a higher J number a week or two ago that was verified as 1959 and jotted it down in my serial number book. The J was still being stamped on the BB in 1959.
 
That J number could be early 1959. I saw another bike with a higher J number a week or two ago that was verified as 1959 and jotted it down in my serial number book. The J was still being stamped on the BB in 1959.
That could be. Most AMF's from 1958 on had the serial on the left drop-out, but I've seen a couple with a "J" serial under the bottom bracket. @Oldude13
posted one (bottom of page 23) of the Cleveland Welding Serial Number thread:
And the head badge on his looks like a 1959. I've only seen the "J" serials on the straight-bar frames, the cantilever frames all had the serial on the left drop out. And @Mitt25 posted a nice 1958 Luxury Liner (straight-bar frame) at the end of this thread with the serial on the left drop-out:
To make it more confusing, a "J" serial with a six digit number on the left drop-out would be a 1959 (assuming that AMF skipped "I" to avoid confusion with "1") and that's correct from what I've seen, but I don't believe the 1959 catalog showed any straight-bar frames. It looks like the Sky King replaced the Luxury Liner and the Sky King had a cantilever frame. From an ad on Facebook Marketplace (Chicago) -
If somebody knows what was going on with these "J" serials under the bottom bracket, let me know!

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@Scout Evans, it looks like you're right. I asked the guy selling the Sky King about his bike and he sent me a picture of the serial number, and it proves AMF built at least one cantilever frame with the serial number on the bottom bracket. My mind isn't blown, but maybe stretched a little.

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Love all the variations on these old middleweight bikes , so many different racks , tanks etc. , they are very cool , i need to stop spending so much money on high dollar balloon tire bikes & go back to having fun & just enjoying the hobby like me & my dad did for years together , i really do believe less is more , i the world we live in today we all just need to enjoy the simple things in life that we have all forgotten , GREAT BIKE THANKS FOR SHARING !
 
I like these '50's AMFs, sometimes against my better judgement. I think 1958 was the last year for either the Pleasure Liner or the Luxury Liner, so this was getting towards the end. 1957 was the last year for the kickstand plate, I've seen it on some of the early cantilever frames, but it didn't last long before it was replaced by a generic clamp-on stand. Sometimes AMF cost cutting was reasonable but dropping this plate was just cheap and AMF didn't stop there. But this example was early enough to miss the worst and survived pretty well. I might have to see how it looks with some bigger tires.

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Just picked up a pair of 26x2.125 Kenda white wall ribs from craigslist and these might look good on your Pleasure Liner. Looking good. Razin.
 
Just picked up a pair of 26x2.125 Kenda white wall ribs from craigslist and these might look good on your Pleasure Liner. Looking good. Razin.
I think the the CWC bikes always had nicer lines. My Roadmaster Shark bike is one of the COOLEST bikes I've seen or owned. Very rare and unusual bike. I'm not sure if they had their own styling department but they were thinking out side of the box that's for sure. Enjoy and Ride On. Razin.

Speaking of good looking bikes, when are we going to see your Shark? If it's rare and unusual, that's all the more reason to post it!
 
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