What can you tell me about this Road King?

[VintageJason]

All I really know about it is that it has a skip-tooth (26 teeth) drive train and is fun to ride. Unfortunately the stem as been welded and the forks are bent back (probably from a crash). The frame seems fine. I suspect it had fenders at one time. I would very much like to know who made it, where it was made, and the year. Well, actually, any education or guidance would be awesome! I'd be happy to take more pictures of specific areas of the bike for closer inspection

 

[Mark Davo]

I'm no expert. But I might suggest that a good starting point might be to compare your frame, fork, chainguard, and sprocket against some photos of prewar Huffman bikes, and compare your tank against some photos of postwar Murray built Higgins tanks.

 

[dougfisk]

I think Mave Darko is very close, but I would guess 46-48ish on the frame. Look hard at the crown area of the fork as some Huffmans of this era have the year stamped on them.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

wel i got a very little info on this for you.
road king were made by eaton and were imported to Canada from Hungary.
the article i read references the name Csepel “Superla so i would look into those names as well.
they were also known as schwinn-csespal. and were produced by Schwinn until 2003 when they stopped building bikes.
the rear hub,if original should be a Granat coaster hub as these seem to be what were stock to these bikes.
im assuming yours is maybe ww2 era by the skip tooth drive line,but i cannot be sure. but the article i read states the road king was a 69 model year. so i would go with that
so that's about all i got on this bike
it appears to be a limited production with about 281,355 for the 69 year.
and all the pictures of the eaton bikes i saw were a lot like yours so i think we are on the right track here.
again im just going by reference,but hopefully it helps.
if you need a value on this one, i would say anywhere from 200-500 for the right buyer.
but again just a guess and what i would ask for such a bike in my shop.
hope my 2 cents helps
sean

 

[dlf58]

I concur with Dave and Doug. I have a late 40's Huffman, 46-48. The serial numbers on these are a little hard to run down. Fork and chain guard, frame and dropouts look the same as mine. Mine is badged as a flying ace. The chain guard, if original, was rather unique. David

 

[Rustinkerer]

I think Mave Darko is very close, but I would guess 46-48ish on the frame. Look hard at the crown area of the fork as some Huffmans of this era have the year stamped on them.

'Mave Darko'!

 

[VintageJason]

You guys are awesome! I knew it as soon as I found this place. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I think you're right about it being a Huffman. And as Mark pointed out, the tank seems out of place. I think it came from a challenger as I found this...http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/184411
Which looks the same to me. I couldn't find a stamp on the fork and I'll have to remove paint to read the stamp on the frame. Thanks again!

 

[dougfisk]

I couldn't find a stamp on the fork and I'll have to remove paint to read the stamp on the frame.

When it exists, it is on the backside of the crown.

 

[Mark Davo]

Info only:
I don't want to get into trouble by saying the Challenger tank WILL fit a JC Higgins with the same frame style, but the Challenger in the photos is also a Murray built bicycle. Typical Murray chainring and note the bulge where the tank, top tube ad seat stays meet at the seat tube, typical Murray built.
Here's what I just learned from okozzy who learned it from '37fleetwood' as far as month and year identification number for the Huffman fork. I hope that I'm interpreting this correctly.
the first number would be the month (1=January), and the second number is the year (1=1941)
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?57186-Pace-maker&highlight=back fork