Bike Barn Roadmaster

[Greystoke]

I had posted a picture of this when I got it this summer. I have been working on it and had some questions. Here are some before and after pics. First off, it had been painted with a brush and under the frame and rear rack it was just rusted so I wasn't going to try for any original patina. I have other bikes that have that. I wanted it to look good but not too good. I have looked at old ads and it's hard to tell the year. Other Luxury Liners have the square headbadge and the crash bars in the rear sometimes are different. One 1953 ad looks similar. The serial number seems to be low (if that means anything): A20002 A and just the CW mark with no other number. I haven't found anywhere that lists Roadmaster numbers online. I got the chain guard from BigBlockthing (thanks!) and I have the correct seat with the crash bar I'm working on. How do you know which if either decal goes on the guard? I'm keeping my eyes open for the tank and light and I have a lead on new fenders, tires are old Fongs and somewhat dryrotted but are holding air. I basically tore the whole thing apart a little at a time so I could remember how to reassemble it. I did have the local shop check the rear hub because I'm working my way up to that tech stuff. Sanded frame, forks and rack, primed, painted, clearcoated. Lots of WD to clean chrome. I was happy how much the wheels and springer cleaned up. Thanks for any information on the year and decal stuff. Brian PS. Moderators, if you want this moved to Build Builds, I will.

 

[rms37]

Nice job on the cleanup!

Here are a few quick answers for you:

First, the ACw serial numbers are the third series of numbers used on post WW2 Cleveland Welding bicycles. The A at the beginning of the serial number places the bike near the beginning of this sequence and based on my CWC serial number modeling and the features on your bike I would place its build in early 1950.

The fancy cast square headbadge is a 1953 only feature so you have the correct headbadge on your bike. From my research the chain guard decals were not added until 1952 so your bike is correct without one (many people restored these bikes when less knowledge was available about them so there are a lot of “restored” bikes out there with an amalgamation of features and parts from various years.)

To the best of my knowledge the tank and the head light are two things that did not change over the production run (although late bikes have an AMF decal placed on the tank) so the things you have left to find can be sourced broadly with out fear of getting the wrong year part.

Chrome fenders usually deteriorate faster than the chrome on other parts of a bike. While yours are flakey I thing they look good and are correct for the bike. Earlier and later LL fenders differ from these so if you find replacements they should have the same ribs pressed in the back of both the front and rear fender to be year correct for your bike.

Good luck with the continued revitalization of your LL!

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Wow man, that thing looks like it came back from the grave! Nice work on the cleanup!

 

[ratina]

Nice job!!

 

[Tailwinds]

That's a great illustration of what I think we'd all like to start with and end with.

 

[jaydub]

Nice Job on the bike...Looks great :wink:

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Great job, nice bike 8)

 

[Road Master]

Wow dude! That is looking really good - nice work. The bad news is an original tank is pretty costly and an original headlight in decent condition is even worse. The good news is headlights from the 1998 repop Luxury Liner do show up every once in awhile in really good shape but are still pretty competitive. Originals do pop up occasionally also but you need deep pockets. The least expensive part to acquire would be a repop LL Tank from Maple Island. It's all chrome like the original and you just mask and paint the rest and with the embossed letters there's no additional cost for decals. Here's the link and be sure to post pics as you go - great job.

http://www.mapleislandsales.com/product ... php?ID=118

 

[dogdart]

Looking good . I'm still in the parts collecting stage on mine .I was lucky my bike came with the light already . The last tank I saw , went for $ 152 ., but I didn't have the loot! I also am currently working on refinishing the seat .

My bike is slightly older and has the straight truss bars . Does anyone know what the originals wore for tires ? I have Lightning Darts on mine .

 

[Greystoke]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and for the work so far. I just got into this old bike stuff last summer so everything has been a learning experience. Rms37 (it's Phil, right?), I was hoping you would chime in on this. Thanks for all the background information. I have a lead on some ribbed fenders, though I'm not sure if they are from the repro LL. I don't really mind the crusty look either. Looks authentic I guess. I have noticed in ads and other LL's for sale that they differ in slight ways, so the 1950 date helps me be aware what to look for. Road Master, thanks for the tips. Yeah, I saw a tank on Ebay last week go for that, and npence had one awhile back he sold on RRB. I have some sources I am checking for a tank and light too. I might just get a standard old style bullet light to get by for awhile. Dogdart, looks good! Notice the difference in our rack crash bars. Lucky you with the original light too. I like how we both have the creamer white walls. White white just doesn't look the same on these. Thanks again all. Next project: Bike Barn Hiawatha St. Croix. Brian

 

[BeardsandBikes]

Call me crazy but I liked it just the way you got it originally...a little cleaning...greasing....classic