American Machine and Foundry was founded in 1900 by Rufus L. Patterson, inventor of the first automated cigarette rolling machine. In the course of time AMF bought many companies and manufactured many items, including Harley Davidson, Roadmaster Bikes, Alcort Sailboats, and AMF Atomics. Yes. AMF made small atomic reactors for the US Military.
Fast forward to 1976. The gas crisis was truly a full blown crisis, Americans were buying small cars, light motorcycles and mopeds in record numbers. AMF decided they needed to cash in on this trend and tasked Roadmaster with design and implementation. Since Roadmaster had no engine experience they teamed with McCullough, a legendary small engine manufacturer.
The design was turned out to be slightly problematic. There was no clutch of any sort, the motor ran on a pivot driving the rear wheel by friction and stopping meant turning around on the seat and raising the motor with a lever. AMF had a good reputation still, and they sold several thousand units.
Though they are often referred to as Harley Davidson Mopeds, Harley had nothing to do with design or sales.
The 1978 AMF Roadmaster Moped used a 49 CC air cooled single cylinder two stroke McCullough motor that made 1 HP and a top speed of near 20 MPH. The single speed friction drive motor and Roadmaster bicycle suspension with a rear drum brake completed the package. They do have the distinction of being the only ‘all American built’ moped. The others of the time used imported power plants.
These three 1978 AMF Roadmaster Mopeds are in Upland, California and are listed as ‘3 1978 AMF Harley Roadmaster Mopeds. All in great condition, all ran when parked in storage.’ There is no other information. The bikes have a Buy It Now price of $1,500
Sources:
Collectors Weekly
Myron’s Mopeds
Moped Army
Wikipedia AMF