Oilit
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
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:
From the 1961 catalog.
Catalog from 1962.
And the last year, 1963.
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.
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