# grey ghost question



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 12, 2013)

I don't know jack about rays. just noticed three different shifter types lol.. Anyways, why was the grey ghost only sold for one year and the cotton picker for two?... Didn't realize so many variants existed!. No fenders, one year ww slick ect...


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## volksboy57 (Dec 12, 2013)

ha, I collect stingrays and have no clue. I just know (now) that if you find a shifter that is smooth on the arm, it is worth more.


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## oskisan (Dec 13, 2013)

*Me too*

I also have collected a mass of stingrays and am not a purist when it comes to these things. 71 is the year for grey ghost, and I believe you may be right about the 2 year run on the cotton. 


check out this site for more information:  http://schwinncruisers.com/bikes/krates/

Ken-


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## Freqman1 (Dec 13, 2013)

The Cotton was 70-71 only. It's the only Stingray I own. V/r Shawn


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## CAT341 (Dec 13, 2013)

Freqman1 said:


> The Cotton was 70-71 only. It's the only Stingray I own. V/r Shawn



Cool pic.....cotton field in background.


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## oskisan (Dec 13, 2013)

*Nice cotton pic, but....*

Shawn,

Nice cotton picker pics by cotton, but what would you have done if you had a grey ghost???



Freqman1 said:


> The Cotton was 70-71 only. It's the only Stingray I own. V/r Shawn


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## volksboy57 (Dec 13, 2013)

Here is my cotton. It is a resprayed bike, so who knows if it is even correct!  This is a "coaster Krate" meaning it doesn't have gears.


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## Freqman1 (Dec 13, 2013)

oskisan said:


> Shawn,
> 
> Nice cotton picker pics by cotton, but what would you have done if you had a grey ghost???




Would probably try to find a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost to take a pic with! BTW my bike is dead original to include tires and seat. Someone back in the day did attempt some rather crude touchups which I intend to fix one day. V/r Shawn


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## oskisan (Dec 13, 2013)

*The ghost revisited...*

Hahaha... I thought you might head to a haunted house with a can of silver spray paint! Now that would be over the top!

BTW: nice Krate! I wish I spent my money back in the day buying up prewar bikes instead of mass collecting these things... especially since they repoped them.  Lost my shirt on krate and phatom parts (hate thinking about it, but I remember when phantom tanks were hard to come by).

-Ken-




Freqman1 said:


> Would probably try to find a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost to take a pic with! BTW my bike is dead original to include tires and seat. Someone back in the day did attempt some rather crude touchups which I intend to fix one day. V/r Shawn


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## bricycle (Dec 13, 2013)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> I don't know jack about rays. just noticed three different shifter types lol.. Anyways, why was the grey ghost only sold for one year and the cotton picker for two?... Didn't realize so many variants existed!. No fenders, one year ww slick ect...




Why isn't the Ghost white? Cotton is often dirty anyway (grey), especially after I have worn it.


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## Dan the bike man (Dec 13, 2013)

I own a single speed 1971 Grey Ghost. There were only 400 made most were 5 speeds. It's all original even the seat.


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## Rear Facing Drop Out (Dec 14, 2013)

*400 grey ghosts?*

Sorry but that isn't true.  I have never heard an official number count on any schwinns.  Only rumours. I have owned a half dozen our so. There were about 40 of the Iowa state patrol coaster grey ghosts that were used to educate kids about bike safety.  Great bike but not one of 400


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## Dan the bike man (Dec 14, 2013)

Yes it's known for sure how many total of all grey ghosts were made, however I've heard it from a lot of different people over the past 20 years. the "400" was SINGLE SPEEDS ONLY, *not* for ALL Grey Ghosts.
 On the topic of Krates, does anyone know of a product, if any that would be good to put on the seats to keep them nice? I know what do do for leather seats, but not these. Thanks


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## Freqman1 (Dec 14, 2013)

Dan the bike man said:


> Yes it's known for sure how many total of all grey ghosts were made, however I've heard it from a lot of different people over the past 20 years. the "400" was SINGLE SPEEDS ONLY, *not* for ALL Grey Ghosts.
> On the topic of Krates, does anyone know of a product, if any that would be good to put on the seats to keep them nice? I know what do do for leather seats, but not these. Thanks




I sure would like to know the source of that information. I have never seen any _verifiable_ published numbers for a particular Schwinn model except for maybe the anniversary bikes (Phantoms). I have asked the Bicycle Museum of America (BMA) if I could view any of the Schwinn archives and was flatly refused. I'm not sure where else such information, if it exists, would be. If you have a source many of us would be interested. V/r Shawn


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## GTs58 (Dec 14, 2013)

Dan the bike man said:


> Yes it's known for sure how many total of all grey ghosts were made, however I've heard it from a lot of different people over the past 20 years. the "400" was SINGLE SPEEDS ONLY, *not* for ALL Grey Ghosts.
> On the topic of Krates, does anyone know of a product, if any that would be good to put on the seats to keep them nice? I know what do do for leather seats, but not these. Thanks




There is no record of how many of any particular model bike Schwinn produced. when the company was owned by Schwinn other than the repop Phantom. You are referring to the repops of the late 1990's early 2000's, not the originals, which were supposedly made in a known limited number.


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## invesions (Jan 3, 2014)

Members - thanks for sharing your pics of the Ghost and Cotton Pickers... I'm jealous 

A lot of Grey Ghost / Cotton Pickers are advertised as restored. Many of these used a more common krate frame (apple, organge, lemon) that had been repainted to look like the limited color. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as most of those restorations have the bikes better than new. Just something to be aware of.  If you are looking at buying, you may want to ask if they have any documentation of it being an original "grey ghost"... especially if the paint looks to good to be true. I always inside the seat / head tube to see if I can pickup an original color.  Last word of advice, they had made newer reproductions as well.


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