blee

Hey folks! I recently came across a blue Schwinn Bantam in very good condition. I know the previous owner very well; it was almost never ridden before it was put up for storage, all but hermetically sealed. The chrome is slightly pitted but everything else, including the convertible top tube, looks great.

The date code on the metal nameplate is 0094, and the serial number just below it is KU543227. From what I've read online, that puts the manufacture of this bike somewhere between October 1983 and January 1984.

Now, also from consulting Dr. Google, I've learned that Schwinn's Chicago factory shut down somewhere in 1982 or 1983. It looks like they were also operating a second factory in Greenville at the time. Did the serial numbering convention stay consistent between these two plants? In other words, is there any way to know whether this Bantam was one of the last to leave the Chicago factory, or if it came out of Greenville (or somewhere else)?

Scooper

According to All Hands, "in September 1982, Schwinn contracted with mass-market competitor Murray Ohio to produce about a third of its bikes - mostly the unprofitable 16-inch and 20-inch kids' models, but also the venerable Varsity - at Murray's plant near Nashville, TN. Schwinn also assigned its mountain bike to Murray, much to the dismay of product manager Fred Teeman, since the factory couldn't produce the chrome-moly frame he needed. Schwinn moved its welding equipment to Tennessee in order to make the bikes at a lower cost and improve profitability."

Your Bantam was made in Tennessee by Murray under contract with Schwinn, using welding equipment that had been used to build electro-forged frames in Chicago.

Here's the 1984 catalog page featuring the Bantam.

Lascauxcaveman 

My first bike was a Bantam. Would have been either a '66 or '67 model, in metallic gold with white graphics. Still remember the day my dad took the training wheels off and gave me a little push start, and I still remember about two years after that, that day I got my Sting-Ray, helping dad take off the Bantam's top tube so my little sister could take over my old bike.

My first wrenching!

cb400bill

I had no idea about the Schwinn/Murray collaboration. This is the kind of info that I love to learn in here.

blee

I thought I'd get a good answer here, but I certainly didn't expect that much detail. Many thanks for helping me out!

Yes, mine is the blue version of the bike in that catalog. From what I can tell, these bikes aren't super valuable, but I'd really like to keep it out of the scrap heap. My older daughter just got her first "real" bike, a 24-incher, so she's too big to use it; my little one isn't quite ready to pedal yet, but maybe I could convince her to give this a shot.

The Golden Boy 

Neither did I.

For everything you think you know...

Thanks Stan!