Murray Bicycle Serial Number Chart

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HOW OLD IS MY BICYCLE?

Murray Bicycle' Murray Bicycle Murray Bicycle do not go as quick as the modern bike. And they are hefty. Along with out suspension, they can easily tire the arms and hand much faster than typical on uneven roads. An old bike is a lot better matched for leisurely rides on flat, even roads along with little web traffic or along bike streets. Vintage MURRAY BICYCLE RACK & FENDER RED WINGS RED & WHITE Delta Light. $61.10 shipping. Ending Dec 6 at 3:31PM PST 5d 11h. Vintage Murray Bicycle Hat Cap Bike. Ending Dec 10 at 4:38PM PST 9d 12h. OEM Sears Spaceliner Murray Astro-Flite & OTHERS Chrome 26' Front Rear Fender. During the 1980s, Murray bicycles varied in style and quality. One of the rarer models was the Murray cruiser bike with a 26-inch frame, made for only a short period of time during the early 1980s. Murray also manufactured budget BMX bikes on 20- to 24-inch frames during the early years of the decade. We began collecting serial number information in the 1950s and we have our own proprietary charts that document each model and serial era for many bicycles. We acquired factory serial number and model number information directly from many defunct bicycle companies such as murray and monark-silver king while they were still in business.

‘How old is my bicycle?’ is a question I get asked a lot, nearly as much as: ‘I have a bicycle that looks like one of yours; if I send you pictures please can you identify it for me?’

The answer, in short, is that I do not have time to tell you either. I’m not being callous about this. With an estimated 15,000 bicycle manufacturers, the odds are stacked against me recognizing yours; in any case, I do not claim to be an expert, just an assiduous recorder of information. To sift through information to try and find similar pictures to your unidentified bicycle would take me months, and I’m already doing similar research on my own bikes. Not only do I have a full-time job (I run my own business restoring and selling vintage vehicles) and am a hands-on parent of a young child, but I spend a minimum 30 hours every week building, updating and maintaining these free websites to help you do your own research. My hobby usually takes a backseat. Insomnia is my saving grace, otherwise there would be no time for any of this.

My purpose for creating these databases is simple. In the ‘old days’ (a time which seems to have ended in the past twenty five years or so), a youngster became an apprentice in a chosen field and learned its history from the older employees. Thus, for example, an apprentice mechanic was handed down an invaluable unwritten guide to repairing vehicles that could not be learned at college nor from books, because, as well as specific information about various models, it helped a youngster understand the way they were designed and built.

Similarly, to learn about vintage bicycles, we ask questions of our elders in the hobby. The key point here is that the elders who were around while our favourite vintage machines were still on the road are no longer with us, the last of them having passed on in the past thirty years or so. Now we must depend on those who gleaned that first-hand knowledge from them; these chaps were the ‘youngsters’ then, but now they’re getting older themselves, most in their seventies and eighties. They don’t usually use computers, so much of their knowledge is stored in their heads. By the time we learn from them, it’s second-generation information. My contemporaries and I are in a younger age group – forties to sixties – and we’re busy learning and recording what we can before it’s lost forever. We study 100-year-old magazines to see when certain new innovations were first reviewed (it helps us date bicycles with similar features), read correspondence of the time to try to understand contemporary views and opinions, research old catalogues, meet fellow enthusiasts, help each other with restorations, ride our old bikes as much as possible, and work with our elders to pick up tips and wisdom.

If you can help in any way by contributing to this research, please get in touch. My email is embedded in the picture below.

By recording and sharing this knowledge while it’s still as fresh as possible, our fabulous vintage hobbies will continue for centuries to come.

TO FIND OUT HOW OLD YOUR BIKE IS – JOIN THE VETERAN CYCLE CLUB!

Although we are in the so-called ‘Information Age’ and the internet provides a surplus of it – some of it accurate, much of it misleading – there is nowhere near enough information on vintage bicycles. This surprises many people. Sometimes, folks with no experience of the vintage hobby who may have recently unearthed an old bicycle contact me and demand that I immediately tell them what it is, how old it is and what it’s worth. I try to explain as politely as possible that such a service does not exist, and they are often abusive as a result. Usually they want me to identify it so they can sell it on ebay. Luckily, I remembered an old Sufi saying, ‘Only explain things to people in a language they understand.’ So now I answer that such a service, which will obviously increase the value of their unidentified machine, will cost them £50 + VAT. It’s still not a service I actually offer – but at least they are less abusive.

The question remains: ‘How old is my bicycle?’ Also, ‘I have a bicycle that looks like one of yours; if I send you pictures please can you identify it for me?’

The answer is simple. The Veteran Cycle Club (V-CC) has a system of ‘marque enthusiasts’ – volunteers who compile what information they can about particular manufacturers. By joining the V-CC you can access whatever information is available. If that doesn’t help, if it is interesting enough, you might be able to send pictures of it to the the V-CC magazine, or take it to vintage shows and ask exhibitors, or keep an eye on ebay to see if something similar ever comes up. Identifying an unknown bicycle is hard work. You may be lucky, but more than likely it will remain a mystery.

As I have stated before, the V-CC archives and Ray Miller’s Encyclopaedia are invaluable resources: these ongoing projects are becoming the world’s primary source of information on vintage bicycles. The V-CC’s system of marque specialists is unrivalled throughout the world. I recommend every vintage bicycle enthusiast to join the V-CC to access these (and many other) excellent facilities.

FRAME NUMBER DATING

Bicycles that can be dated with 100% accuracy are the exception. Marque enthusiasts use records of shop ledgers that recorded dates sold and frame numbers, and then calculate the ages of other bicycles by comparing them with known frame numbers. Sometimes the date sold does not reflect when a bicycle was actually manufactured (for example, Dursley Pedersens were very expensive, badly marketed and often took a long time to sell). Only certain manufacturers’ frame number sequencing is known. Many did not use chronoligical sequences.

Many manufacturers used ‘bought-in’ bikes at different times, ie made by a different company. This happened in particular in the 1890s when frame styles changed every few years. Frames made by top companies with the old designs were sold off through the trade, so smaller companies then sold bicycles using the old frames with different parts years after!

The records of the majority of the smaller companies no longer exist: you’d be surprised how fast the entire history of a company disappears once the factory closes. There were also a lot of ‘dodgy practices’ within the bicycle trade, with companies regularly liquidating and starting up again and spurious production claims often made for advertising purposes and to inflate a company’s worth. Few published their true production figures. It’s a nightmare trying to make sense of it a hundred years later.

A catalogue description is a good guide, though we rarely have a manufacturer’s catalogue for every year, so may not know for how many years a model was current. Also, though we now consider a catalogue description to be an accurate guide to a bicycle’s specification, despite the catalogue options listed a customer could choose any option whatsoever, even components sold by a competing company.

It’s possible to date Sturmey-Archer hubs, so if the rear hub is original to the bike that often helps.

Bear in mind that owners often updated their bicycles over the years; though we might like our bike to match its catalogue description, updated parts are also a valid part of its history and provenance.

Details of the following manufacturers have been published, so I hope this page can provide an easy reference point. I’ll add to it as I find more.

RALEIGH FRAME NUMBER DATING

MY NOTES:

1.The Raleigh Heron Head transfer was introduced in 1908. In the same year, mudguards received a forward extension.

2. Raleigh’s ‘R’ lamp bracket was superseded in September 1927 by the heron lamp bracket (see below). The company had been taking steps to make it harder for makers of cheap bicycles to copy Raleigh parts. The ‘R’ bracket was easy to copy, so they introduced this more complex lamp bracket instead.

Consult the list below to help remember when these companies were still ‘original’ before being taken over by Raleigh:

Bicycle Serial Number Lookup

Humber 1932

Triumph 1932

Rudge-Whitworth 1943

Three Spires 1954

BSA , New Hudson, Sunbeam 1957

Phillips 1960

Hercules 1960

Norman 1960

Sun 1960

Carlton 1960

RUDGE-WHITWORTH FRAME NUMBER DATING

Production has been attributed as follows, with frame numbers as at 31 July each year:

1898, 70,000;

1900, 118,200;

1901, 140,754;

1902, 169,739;

1903, 210,950;

1904, 223,672;

1905, 272,991;

1906, 350,235;

1907, 427,114;

1908, 488,139;

1909, 538,390;

1910, 585,010;

1911, 626,400;

1912, 663,066;

1913, 697,524;

1914, 726,731;

1915, 740,862;

1916, 745,621;

1917, 749,192;

1918, 751,213;

1919, 755,622.

SUNBEAM FRAME NUMBER DATING

1909 = 96,739 (declared)

1910 = 101,700 (calculated)

1911 = 106,700 (calculated)

1912 = 111,642 (declared)

PREMIER FRAME NUMBER DATING


BEESTON HUMBER FRAME NUMBER DATING

ELSWICK HOPPER FRAME NUMBER DATING

SINGER

The following dated bicycle frame numbers from the Singer Car Club (not guaranteed):

1903 – 142069

1903 – 172676

1905 – 184483

1908 – 225451

1909 – 232178

TRIUMPH

I started to collate frame numbers from 1890s-1920 Triumph bicycles, and will update it as I go along. You can see it at the new Triumph Bicycle Museum

GERMAN NSU BICYCLES

(translated from German)

There’s no definite official information about part numbers and corresponding registration years. This data is approximate. With an accuracy of + / – one years, but they are assumed to be relatively safe.

1900 ~ 7000
1910 ~ 18,000
1925 ~ 550,000
1929 ~ 675,000
1930 ~ 685,000
1931 ~ 692,000
1932 ~ 700,000
1933 ~ 720,000
1934 ~ 770,000
1935 ~ 920,000
1936 ~ 1,000,000

1937 ~ 1.200.000

1938 ~ 1,300,000

1939 ~ 1,450,000
1940 ~ 1,550,000
1941 ~ 1,650,000
1942 ~ 1,700,000
1943 ~ 1,750,000
1944 ~ 1,800,000

Murray Bicycle Serial Number Chart

Murray Bicycle Serial Number Chart Online

1945 ~ 1,806,000

1946 Renumbered: Prewar numbers re-used. For example, 800,000 might be 1935 or 1956.
1947 ~ 55,000
1948 ~ 100,000
1949 ~ 175,000
1950 ~ 320,000
1951 ~ 420,000
1952 ~ 570,000
1953 ~ 650,000
1954 ~ 700,000
1955 ~ 750,000
1956 ~ 800,000
1957 ~ 900.000 to about 990.000

From 1957 / 990,000 Onwards: NSU used the same numbers as prewar again, so it’s confusing.

DATING FROM TORPEDO REAR HUBS

The best bet on post-1957 machines is to check the Torpedo rear wheel hubs. Since around 1920 they used a production stamp, with which they can be dated:

“36”, therefore stands for example for the production date in 1936; later, there were also some 1-digit numbers:
“5” or “55”, built in 1955
“6” or “56”, Built in 1956
“7”, built 1957
In 1958 there were also letters:
“A”, built in 1958
“B”, built in 1959
“C”, built in 1960
“D”, built in 1961

“E”, built in 1962

(Front hubs do not have date indicators)

STURMEY ARCHER DATING GUIDE

If you want further details of Sturmey Archer hubs, buy the superb book The Sturmey Archer Story by Tony Hadland, available through the V-CC.

THE INTRODUCTION OF CHROME: 1930

The cycle industry was an early adopter of the new chrome process, and chrome was first used on bicycles in 1928.

Maurice Selbach is believed to have been the first British manufacturer to have used it in 1928 (see extract from his 1929 catalogue, below)

Shelby was one of the first US manufacturers to use chrome; their 1928 ‘Lindy’ model had a mixture of chrome and nickel.

It was offered as an option in 1930 by various British manufacturers (see extract from 1930 Raleigh catalogue, below) and by BSA in 1931 (I don’t have a copy of the BSA 1930 catalogue to check). Catalogues were generally printed the year before the season indicated in a catalogue. By 1933 it had become widely used.

If you want to date a vintage bicycle and it has chrome parts, it is generally accepted that it would have been made from 1930 onwards, or updated if made earlier.

WHEEL RIM DIMENSIONS

Here’s a handy 1911 reference guide for the rim dimensions on 26″ and 28″ wheels, both wired-edge and beaded-edge.

I’ve also reproduced the following wheel and tyre guides on the tyre page, but it may be useful to have all this reference stuff on one page.

MODERN TYRE SIZES

Bicycle tyre sizes are so confusing! Vintage motorcycle tyres are logical, those for cycles are not. Here’s a chart to help…

Some time ago, I asked John and Sue Middleton why they sold their wonderful bicycle museum in Camelford, Cornwall. They explained they’d always been upset that they received little support from fellow enthusiasts or vintage cycle clubs. But the turning point was apparently an incident when a visitor parked his car right in front of the entrance, and a big argument ensued when John tried to get him to move it. The driver insisted he had the right to park wherever he liked. I suppose ‘the great British public’ is an animal best avoided if you don’t have a thick skin, because statistically you’re eventually going to meet every sort of person in such circumstances.

I belong to many vintage clubs, but I refuse to have anything to do with their politics. Hobbyists, by definition, are eccentric (myself included): put more than one in a room together and the outcome is unpredictable. I support clubs because they help our hobby. I have wonderful friends within the hobby. I keep the two separate. I actually do spend an inordinate amount of time answering emails and phonecalls regarding obscure anomalies of our cycling and motorcycle history (I’m also a Veteran Motorcycle Club marque specialist). The questions I respond to are generally tricky ones that can’t be easily answered by the V-CC, those from fellow enthusiasts who have a similar machine to one of my own, and folks who need help with stuff left to them from enthusiast dads who have passed away. But, like other volunteers, there’s only so much time in the day to dedicate to our hobbies, and as much as I love vintage vehicles, I also have a fabulous life outside the hobby that takes priority. Good luck researching your bicycle …and I hope you continue to enjoy these websites 🙂

NSU DATING thanks to – http://www.fahrrad.nsu24.de

(Redirected from Murray (bicycles))
Murray Bicycles headbadge

Vintage Bicycle Serial Number Lookup

Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by Briggs & Stratton and Dorel Industries. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. The company went bankrupt in 2005 selling most of its assets to the current owners.[1]

History[edit]

Bicycle manufacturing[edit]

Murray Roadster
Murray Bicycle Serial Number Chart

Murray Bicycle Serial Number Chart Sheet

Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was founded in 1919 to make fenders, fuel tanks, and other automobile parts.[2] The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Cleveland factory was unionized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and AFL–CIO. In the mid-1930s, the company began production of bicycles, mostly for the youth market. Other products included pedal cars and electric fans. Until 1939, Murray manufactured all of its products for branding and sale by other manufacturers, especially Sears, Roebuck & Co. From 1939 through 1942, Murray made the body parts for the Crosley automobile.

In 1939, Murray introduced its Pacemaker Series Mercury bicycle at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Styled by the industrial artist and designer, Viktor Schreckengost, the streamlined machine, with an elaborate diecast metal headpiece, was finished in black, chrome, and polished aluminum, the deluxe version of the Mercury Pacemaker line. However, the Mercury was an expensive bicycle, and sales were few. It was produced only in limited numbers until 1942, when the war stopped consumer bicycle production.

After the war, Murray became known as a manufacturer of low-cost bicycles, and placed its own brand on some products. Since the 1930s, Murray had been producing bicycles that, while stylistically different, imitated designs by other U.S. manufacturers, including Schwinn and AMF. This occasionally brought Murray into legal conflict with competitors, as when Schwinn filed against Murray for duplicating a Schwinn knurling and machining process on its rims.[3]

Most Murray bicycles were for the youth market, often featuring one-piece steel Ashtabulacranksets and internally brazed frames using inexpensive seamed or straight-gauge steel tubing. These low-cost parts and materials undercut the prices of Murray's competition, selling millions of bicycles (often with retailer names) to department stores, hardware stores, and general retailers. Schrekengost styled more than 100 mostly youth bicycles for Sears, Western Auto, Firestone Tire, and other retailers, including the Spaceliner, Western Flyer, and Firestone. By modifying chain guards, luggage carriers, lighting, handlebars, and truss rods, Schrekengost gave each bicycle a distinctive look while retaining the same welded tube frame design.

Like its competitor, American Machine and Foundry (AMF), Murray left Cleveland in the 1950s and moved its factory and assembly plant to the American South, choosing a factory site in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, with corporate headquarters located in Brentwood, Tennessee.[4] Originally a non-union plant, the Lawrenceburg facility began operations in 1956, and over the next few decades, the complex grew to become one of the largest facilities of its type in the United States: 42.7 acres (173,000 m2) under roof. There was a failed effort by the Teamsters to win a NLRB election in March of 1965. The Teamsters charged unfair labor practices and proceeded to lead a 46-day strike that halted production. On April 12th 50 workers were arrested as the company resumed production. Police locked arms as they protected 1350 workers who drove into the facility. Two picketers were hospitalized, one struck by the car of a non-union worker, one injured by the police.[5] A court declared their pickets illegal, and Tennessee state troopers were brought to the factory to stop picketing by striking workers on April 19th. The company was unable to resume production that day because an electrical transformer was sabotaged by a sniper. The next day the state troopers were initially rebuffed by striking workers, before moving against them again and then clearing a path for the replacement workers. Nine picketers were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Two hundred marched from the factory to the jail singing 'we shall not be moved' after the arrests.[6] The next day approximately 60 workers were arrested by state troopers.[7] There were still scores of state troopers guarding the facility on May 12th when two explosions went off near the facility that reporters linked to the conflict.[8] Some of those arrested were transported to jail in a state highway department dump truck. It later became a UAW plant (1991), and produced both bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. One of its more famous former employees is former Senator Fred D. Thompson.

Youth bicycle production received a boost with the 1965 introduction of Murray's version of the small-tired, banana-seat, wheelie bike pioneered by Schwinn, the Murray Wildcat. The Wildcat was also styled by Schreckengost, who gave it his own interpretation of a chopper motorcycle, with high-rise handlebars, a tall sissy bar, and a flared rear fender. A series of models followed, including the Eliminator, Firecat and Hotshot. In 1977, again following a youth trend, Murray introduced its BMX model.

During the 1980s, in an attempt to overcome declining sales, Murray began selling its bicycle line in lower-cost mass market stores and discount chains such as Target, K-Mart, Woolworth, and Wal-Mart. While the practice enabled the company to increase sales of overall units, profits failed to meet expectations as a result of reduced margins imposed by mass retailers. Additionally, many independent bicycle dealers (IBDs) resented the new competition, and in retaliation some dealers refused to stock or promote Murray bicycles.

Murray 3 speed bicycle

In June 1988, the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was acquired by the British investment group Tomkins plc. In 1996, Murray Inc., the last major U.S. bicycle producers with Huffy Bicycle and Roadmaster (formerly AMF), received a major blow when U.S. courts ruled that imports from China were not a 'material threat' to U.S. companies.[9] Within three years, Huffy, Roadmaster and Murray ceased manufacture of bicycles in the United States.

In 1998, Murray moved bicycle production from Lawrenceburg to a non-union factory in Mississippi. Production of all U.S.-made bicycles halted in 1999. In 2000, the Murray brand was acquired by Pacific Cycle, a U.S. distributor of bicycles produced in Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Murray has since been used as a brand for imported Chinese bicycles sold by Pacific Cycle. Pacific Cycle was later acquired by Dorel Industries.

Lawn and garden equipment[edit]

Murray also manufactured lawn and garden equipment. In June 1988, Murray was acquired by Tomkins plc of Great Britain. In 1993, the new company purchased the Noma brand of lawn and garden equipment. It manufactured under a variety of brands, including for other companies. Murray made all '502' and '536' model prefix product that was sold under the Craftsman name at Sears. (AMF and Western Tool made '536' product as well, but they were absorbed by Murray). Murray licensed the Stanley brand and produced lawn and garden mowers and snow blowers sold at Wal-Mart and other retailers.[10] The machines were built at the former bicycle facility in Lawrenceburg.

The Murray brand was acquired by Briggs & Stratton in 2004. On August 30, 2005, Lawrenceburg produced its last lawnmower, closing on September 30, 2005.[11]

Brands owned by Murray[edit]

Murray Bicycles All Years

  • AMF (American Machine & Foundry)[12]
  • Dynamark[12]
    • Dynamark Plus[12]
  • Murray[12]
    • Murray Classic[12]
    • Murray Performance (Sold at Mills Fleet Farm and AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service))[12]
    • Murray Pro[12]
    • Murray Select[12]
    • Murray Ultra[12]
    • Murray 2000[12]
  • Noma[12]
    • Noma Cady Plus[12]
    • Noma Performance[12]
    • Noma Signature Series[12]
  • Sentinel (sold in Europe)[13]
  • Stanley (under license)[12]
  • TurfMaster (sold in Meijer stores)[12]
  • Ultra[12]
  • Yard King[12]
    • Yard King Elite[12]
    • Yard King Performance[12]

Brands built by Murray[edit]

  • Agway[14]
  • AL-KO[15]
  • Bertsche[12]
  • Bestgreen[12]
  • Cast[12]
  • Dynastar[12]
  • Eaglestar[12]
  • Ering[12]
  • Eumot[12]
  • Flandria[12]
  • Granja[12]
  • Hako[16]
  • JardiPro[12]
  • JC Penney[12]
  • Lawn General[12]
  • Lowe's[12]
  • Masport[12]
  • NESI[12]
  • PowerPro (for Kmart)[12]
  • Quality (for Quality Farm & Fleet)[12]
    • Quality Pro[12]
  • Ronz[12]
  • Scott's (sold at Home Depot)[12]
  • Sentar (for Univert)[12]
  • Statesman (for Southern States Cooperative)[12]
  • Tempo-Trac[12]
  • Texas[17]
  • TTI[12]
  • Turbogreen[12]
  • Unilux[12]
  • Uniropa[12]
  • Victa[18]
  • Wizard (for Western Auto)[12]

Financial status[edit]

  • 1986: Murray was purchased by Tomkins PLC of Great Britain.[citation needed]
  • 2000: purchased by Summersong Investment, a Chinese-backed company.[2]
  • 2004: Filed bankruptcy, whereupon engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton acquired the Murray brand name for use on lawn equipment. Briggs & Stratton also owns Simplicity Outdoor.[19][20]

References[edit]

  1. ^https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/business/company-news-briggs-stratton-buys-murray-maker-of-lawn-mowers.html
  2. ^ abhttp://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/03/07/36646191.shtml?Element_ID=36646191
  3. ^Schwinn Bicycle Co. v. Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co., U.S. Court of Appeals (6th Cir.), 470 F.2d 957 (24 November 1972)
  4. ^Mr. William Hannon Dies, The Brunswick Times, 26 September 2005
  5. ^'POLICE SEIZE PICKETS AT BICYCLE FACTORY'. New York Times. Apr 13, 1965.
  6. ^'Nine Arrested In Tenn. Strike'. The Washington Post. Apr 21, 1965.
  7. ^'60 SEIZED IN STRIKE AT BICYCLE PLANT'. The New York Times. Apr 22, 1965.
  8. ^'Blasts Set Off Near Bike Plant'. The Washington Post. May 13, 1965.
  9. ^Sands, David R., Chinese Bikes Ruled No Threat To U.S. Makes, The Washington Times, 5 June 1996
  10. ^Stanley
  11. ^Murray Inc. - Closes 9/30/05, Article
  12. ^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoapaqarasatauavBrands: Lawn & Garden Tractors by Murray. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  13. ^'Velkommen til HASTRAC A/S'. murray.dk. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  14. ^Agway
  15. ^AL-KO
  16. ^Hako
  17. ^Texas
  18. ^Victa
  19. ^http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/04/11/61190363.shtml
  20. ^Murray, IncArchived 2007-07-08 at the Wayback Machine

External links[edit]

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