'61 Murray (Flightliner?) - Ladie's 26" Middleweight

[80'sDetroiter]

This is the fourth bike I wanted to show you guys. I like it the most out of the four because of the fancy seat, chrome fenders, purple color, and space-age tank. It is a Murray with serial number MOT 27 457337. The rear hub is a Komet Super. The bike nearly matches the nice one pictured ('59?, NOT MINE). The chain guard clearly says Strato Flite, but the tank matches Meteor Flite pics I have seen! The seat and rear rack also match the Strato Flite pic. What is the story with this bike? Thanks for your input! 8)

 

[dogdart]

Re: '61 Murray Strato Flite?

It's basically the same as a Flightliner , or Spaceliner , as Murray made those for sale at Sears stores , and there own badged bikes were -flites . I'd say the last bike is later than a '59 , judging by the chainguard & the stem

 

[Rustinkerer]

I have some Murray codes, which say out of MOT, 'T' is 1961. Though there's been debate on whether they used more than one letter per year. But it's definitely from that era, though the second bike has a different headlight setup. As Dogdart said, most of their models had minor differences. AMF, Huffy, and even Schwinn did essentially the same thing in that era. Makes it tough if you have a bare frame and want to know what modle it was! -Adam

 

[80'sDetroiter]

That's why I'm documenting my finds with photographs. This bike appears to be all original. I would hate to part out a bike that could be more valuable if left completely intact. This will probably be sold as seen with these original parts. The handle bars and rear rack are missing. Check out the crusty old pedals! One really interesting feature is the chrome chain guard. Hopefully, someone might be able identify this model and explain its history before I sell it. This bike is 50 years old! That's pretty cool, anyway. Thanks for the info. 8)