Amf Roadmaster flying falcon

[Oilit]

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...]

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...]

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

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]

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]

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]

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.