Look what I bought

[Restorer32]

Real question is why? HPOF?

[Restorer32]

1979 AMF 49cc. A whopping 1 hp.

[46 woodie]

Well, at least you won't get any speeding tickets!

[keiser31]

I say, "Why NOT?"

[Restorer32]

Only bought it because it is in such nice original condition. 279 miles. Found it at a yard sale for $200. I'll get at least that much fun out of it. Might actually show it in HPOF next year just for kicks.

[benjamin j]

does it run? how many miles are on it? those were the colors of doom for HD.

[Restorer32]

Has no spark but parts are readily available. 279 miles. I am the second owner. Told my Son I bought a Harley....boy was he disappointed.

[benjamin j]

23 minutes ago, Restorer32 said:

Has no spark but parts are readily available. 279 miles. I am the second owner. Told my Son I bought a Harley....boy was he disappointed.

Everyone was disappointed” HD had gotten an awful reputation for quality and it only got worse when AMF bought them out. HD has survived for many years with poor quality and still does today. They just are not on par with the jap bikes. There was a book out with some great history and a cool story about the history and quality issues called the motorcycle millionaire.  

[Restorer32]

The Harley assembly plant in York, PA is on the same property, possibly the same building, that AMF occupied back in the day. I as at the auction when AMF ceased operation.

[Restorer32]

AMF/Harley's hay days were in the 1970s when their bomb line worked 7/24 producing ordnance for the Viet Nam war. Friend of mine worked on the bomb line 7 days a week for 2 years under mandatory overtime before he quit.

[MCHinson]

"HPOF?" 

 

If you want to try that I suggest you bring your documentation that it was "specifically designed and manufactured for transportation use on public roadways and highways". If I was the team captain, I would ask for that documentation. You and I both know that some vehicles that don't meet that rule have managed to get into judging in the past, but the team captains are being instructed to try to eliminate that from happening any more. I have no idea if that one meets that rule or not, but would ask for documentation. 

 

 

[Rusty_OToole]

It's for riding around at swap meets. Good score

[TerryB]

Really great find!  My son brought home a 49cc moped this past Christmas that belonged to the family of a friend of his from college. It too was in nice shape for the year, I believe it's a 1977 model.  Paid $150 for it.  Italian made Morrosi or something like that.  He told his friend that we would get it running in a couple of hours as they were not able to get it running when they sold it to him.  We had it running, or making lots of two stroke smoke anyway, in about 3 hours.  During the next day or two we had it to where he was doing loops around the block with just the right amount of two stroke smoke in the air!

 

They are fun and still in demand by the motor home crowd.  Enjoy!

 

Terry

[Spinneyhill]

A few years ago, mopeds like that became fashionable in NZ amoung old car nuts. "Blue Smoke and Pedals" was our branch (Wellington) event for them. Then they were doing it in Hamilton when I moved there in 2000. I haven't seen so much interest here in Tauranga. Basically they use a paddock or a park and play silly games, as well as a road run for the intrepid. Until fairly recently there was a 90-year old woman in Tauranga who got around on one, legally, on the road.

[cahartley]

The beauty of a 49CC engine is you can buy it and run it.

No special driver endorsement required.......  

[capngrog]

10 hours ago, Restorer32 said:

Has no spark but parts are readily available. 279 miles. I am the second owner. Told my Son I bought a Harley....boy was he disappointed.

That's a Harley?  Just because it's AMF doesn't mean it's a Harley ... does it?  I don't know, I'm just asking.  I've heard of some of the "peripheral" Harleys such as the "Topper" and the H-D Shortster (Moto Italia), but I've not heard of that one.  Of course, I'm no Harley expert, so I welcome additional information.

 

Puzzled, I am,

Grog

[CarlLaFong]

10 hours ago, MCHinson said:

"HPOF?" 

 

If you want to try that I suggest you bring your documentation that it was "specifically designed and manufactured for transportation use on public roadways and highways". If I was the team captain, I would ask for that documentation. You and I both know that some vehicles that don't meet that rule have managed to get into judging in the past, but the team captains are being instructed to try to eliminate that from happening any more. I have no idea if that one meets that rule or not, but would ask for documentation. 

 

 

That is absolutely what it was designed and built for. It is a fully road legal motorcycle, 49 ccs or not. It has all of the equipment that was required at the time of it's manufacture to be operated on public roads. The license plate bracket should be the big tip off. I often saw them, licensed and running, here in SoCal. I still have fully legal 49cc Benelli moped that I bought new in 79. All original, down to the tires and spark plug. Has about 600 miles on it. Any team captain that asked me for such documentation would be asked, "What the heck do you think they were built for? To hang above your mantle?"

[CarlLaFong]

2 hours ago, capngrog said:

That's a Harley?  Just because it's AMF doesn't mean it's a Harley ... does it?  I don't know, I'm just asking.  I've heard of some of the "peripheral" Harleys such as the "Topper" and the H-D Shortster (Moto Italia), but I've not heard of that one.  Of course, I'm no Harley expert, so I welcome additional information.

 

Puzzled, I am,

Grog

The Topper, along with the Hummer and it's variants, the Bobcat, the aptly named Scat and others, were true Harley Davidsons, built in Milwaukee. The Aermacchi HDs, like the Sprint were Italian, like the Shortster and were "periperal HDs". Not sure about the Roadmaster moped, though I'm nearly 100% certain the were build off shore

[mercer09]

we all tend to regress as we get older- first it's wanting a 396 big block and before you know it, we're riding mopeds..............!

 

[Restorer32]

15 hours ago, MCHinson said:

"HPOF?" 

 

If you want to try that I suggest you bring your documentation that it was "specifically designed and manufactured for transportation use on public roadways and highways". If I was the team captain, I would ask for that documentation. You and I both know that some vehicles that don't meet that rule have managed to get into judging in the past, but the team captains are being instructed to try to eliminate that from happening any more. I have no idea if that one meets that rule or not, but would ask for documentation. 

 

 

 

Class 5d "Motorized bicycles & mopeds" per the Official Judging Guidelines.

[Restorer32]

7 hours ago, capngrog said:

That's a Harley?  Just because it's AMF doesn't mean it's a Harley ... does it?  I don't know, I'm just asking.  I've heard of some of the "peripheral" Harleys such as the "Topper" and the H-D Shortster (Moto Italia), but I've not heard of that one.  Of course, I'm no Harley expert, so I welcome additional information.

 

Puzzled, I am,

Grog

 

I was joking. It was manufactured by AMF while they owned Harley.

[MCHinson]

5 minutes ago, Restorer32 said:

 

Class 5d "Motorized bicycles & mopeds" per the Official Judging Guidelines.

 

I was not questioning the class. I am aware of the class. I am not familar with that particular make and model of moped. I suspect I am not the only one. 

 

There have been some problems with some that were not designed for road use that have managed to get into that class in the past. I am suggesting that you make sure you have your factory documentation that the particular model was designed for road use and not off road use. There have been some that were not originally designed for road use that have had headlights and license plate brackets added after the factory. Just because there is a class for motorized bicycles and mopeds don't mean that every motorized bicycle or moped fits in that class. Factory documentation is the key to answering the question if it were to come up.

[Restorer32]

The Owner's Manual clearly shows headlight, taillight, horn etc. I agree that AACA should not be judging off road vehicles but this moped was clearly designed for on road use. The original purchaser bought it for that purpose.

[MCHinson]

The owner's manual would be the appropriate documentation to answer the question. One reason that I asked is that in your photo, the headlight appears to be a different shade of yellow than the body. Probably came that way as it was probably not painted with the frame but might cause someone to question if it were added later.

[8E45E]

45 minutes ago, Restorer32 said:

 

I was joking. It was manufactured by AMF while they owned Harley.

Of course you were only joking!!  There's no oil spots on the floor under it!

 

Craig

[Restorer32]

It's just a trick of the lighting. The plastic engine cover is actually the same light tan color as the frame and headlight but looks white with the flash.

[Restorer32]

AMF is still in business. They own a string of bowling alleys, or to be pc, "bowling establishments". Interesting company, over the years they have made everything from bombs and bowling pin setters to mopeds and nuclear power plants. They used to be a big employer here in York, PA.

[Restorer32]

2 hours ago, mercer09 said:

we all tend to regress as we get older- first it's wanting a 396 big block and before you know it, we're riding mopeds..............!

 

 

In my case this moped may be my last ride before a Hoveround.

[Phillip Cole]

Look in the Owner's Manual for the page (usually all by itself) stating it meets US Department of Transportation regulations.

[Restorer32]

I guess this will do.

[TerryB]

The mopeds were very popular during the gas shortages of the late 1970s.  Many were purchased for commuter use in areas where the 25mph top speed was not an issue.  Even J C Penny sold one.  They are indeed road legal and in no way made just for off highway use.  The one my son brought home still had its PA moped license plate attached.   Not sure I would ever want to ride one outside the city limits given its limited top speed.

 

Terry

[Scooter Guy]

Interesting to see this. There were several models of AMF Roadmaster mopeds available in the late 1970s to early 1980s. I have several mopeds among my collection of "stuff" including two of these in orange (I also have JC Penney Pinto -made by Puch, as mentioned by another member). What is interesting about the AMF Roadmaster is the unusual design - a rear mounted engine with a friction drive for the rear wheel. The popular (famous?) French Velo-Solex was also a friction drive moped, but it was mounted on the front wheel. Several add-to-your-bicycle kits were available, too, and they all used front wheel friction drive. 

 

These were about the cheapest moped you could buy at the time, but I believe these were the ONLY American made moped during the height of the moped craze in the late 1970s. They were marketed as an alternative for folks that wanted a moped but couldn't afford the European import brands like Puch, Kreidler, or Vespa. Parts that would be metal on a Puch are plastic on the AMF, same goes for finish: plated parts on a Puch are plastic on an AMF. They used a McColloch engines, so engine parts are fairly easy to come by. The moped specific parts were cheaply made and mostly plastic, so they have not survived the test of time very well...they are difficult to find. The best way to get those is to buy another bike to use for parts.  

 

There is zero connection to Harley Davidson except that these were made by AMF while they, as the parent company, owned Harley-Davidson. 

[Restorer32]

Thanks, good info. I knew it had no connection with Harley other than AMF was the parent company, a fact most Harley people would like to forget. I would not have bothered with it if it weren't in such nice original shape.  Ordered a new ignition module. Hope to fire it up soon.

[TerryB]

My son brought home a Minarelli moped.  I knew it was something Italian, just wasn't sure of the spelling.  Gold frame with chrome fenders and baskets on the back.  Interesting little contraption.  He's 6' 5" so it does not fit him too well!

Edited September 15, 2016 by TerryB (see edit history)

[John348]

9 hours ago, MCHinson said:

 

I was not questioning the class. I am aware of the class. I am not familar with that particular make and model of moped. I suspect I am not the only one. 

 

There have been some problems with some that were not designed for road use that have managed to get into that class in the past. I am suggesting that you make sure you have your factory documentation that the particular model was designed for road use and not off road use. There have been some that were not originally designed for road use that have had headlights and license plate brackets added after the factory. Just because there is a class for motorized bicycles and mopeds don't mean that every motorized bicycle or moped fits in that class. Factory documentation is the key to answering the question if it were to come up.

 

A few years ago at Hershey I recall seeing a pair of mini-bikes in class 5D, they were in no way designed for road use. They were cute looked like something a circus clown would ride

[Scooter Guy]

The one you have, by the way, is the higher-end model: it has telescopic front forks. 

 

It appears that the lever to raise and lower the engine might be missing. It sticks out from the top of the plastic cowl on the back and lays flat against the top of it. The lever itself was...you guessed it...plastic, so lots of them broke. Otherwise, you seem to have a really nice one on your hands. Definitely worth a little tinkering to get it up and running. They are very slow (like 15mph) but they're fun to ride around on.   

[Restorer32]

Happily the engine lever is intact and in good shape. I didn't realize it was supposed to come thru that plastic cover until I looked closely at it.

 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Interesting thread.  Restorer, perhaps we could drag race - I will bring my late father in law's 1977 Puch, I believe comparable in gobs of power..  

 

Terry B's comment is interesting, as I understand it the Puch was bought as a result of the energy crisis.  He parked his pick up and used it for a 15 mile commute for around a year in decent weather - moving up to a small motorcycle afterwards & parking the Puch.  somehow it ended up in our possession years ago, escaping clean up efforts over the years.  We added a third garage this summer and I moved it for probably the third time since we have owned it - taking all of ten minutes to wash and check it out.  Will be fun to see if we can't get it running next year, cosmetically nice, seems no worse for the wear after spending decades in a basement and sheds.   I never thought of it as an "antique" but we have simply had it too long to discard now... might be good for terrorizing the wild turkeys on our street that are becoming more of a nuisance than a novelty these days..  

Edited September 16, 2016 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

I was heading home from the shop and saw the AMF being rolled out of a garage in preparation for a yard sale. Knew nothing about it but found it interesting. It's a 1979 which is the same year we started in business so hard to view it as an antique.  If you want to drag race show up at space RWO 8 at Hershey. Bring your pink slip. Wild turkeys are soon becoming a nuisance here as well.

[Restorer32]

There was a group of conservative elderly gentlemen who rode around town with their mopeds back in the 1980s. We called them "Heck's Angels".