Just got a 2 Owner Grey Ghost - October 71 frame!

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

replace and save the original tires with new rubber if I plan on riding it?

I would , nice bike

Nice original!
Sounds like you are going to appreciate it just as much as the second owner.
Best of Luck

 

[schwinnbikebobb]

Maybe a seat also.

 

[nick tures]

yeah i would, get another pan and send it to joe crawford

 

[Gimletbikes]

View attachment 1677003

Best reaction gif evahhhh

 

[Alan Brase]

Extra points for photo of you doing a wheelie. A slightly younger friend I mentored 50 years back just posted his wheelie photos on his Stingray on his 68th (?) birthday.

 

[Grey Ghost]

Can’t wait to get it cleaned, adjusted and ride it.

Does anybody ride their original krates?
I should maybe replace and save the original tires with new rubber if I plan on riding it?

I plan on riding mine when it’s done.
I put some stiffer springs in the shocks and got a longer seatpost to hopefully raise the banana enough to extend my legs to the proper riding position.

Don’t remember Sting-Rays being so small......

I must resist the urge to do a wheelie though since a crash could cost me more in hospital bills than the nicest original Krate on planet earth.

Never learned how to do good wheelies anyway.
I could ride a unicycle though.

Weird, I know.

I think I have the original front tire on mine.
Took some 404 to it and it seems pretty supple.

My rear orangeline Slik is new, so I’m not worried about it.
I plan on doing so many white, smokey burnouts on my awesome Krate that the rubber probably won’t last longer than your average Dodge Demon rears.

I haven’t had a bike with recommended tire pressure this low, (35psi), in 50 years.
Heck, I haven’t owned a bike that took less than 100psi in over 30 years.

I could inflate these Krate tires with my mouth.

But enough about racing slick, dragster tires.

The Ghost was about the prettiest Krate IMO. Sort of grown up and matured.

Enjoy your new find!

 

[Grey Ghost]

Can’t wait to get it cleaned, adjusted and ride it.

Does anybody ride their original krates?
I should maybe replace and save the original tires with new rubber if I plan on riding it?

You got me to thinking.

My front tire is an original. It’s in pretty good shape but has a few very small cracks on one sidewall. I really had to look for them they were so small.
However, I started to wonder about the integrity of the nylon underneath.

I had taken it off the rim to work on the front brake and noticed that the beads, although still intact, were pretty dry, discolored and a bit crumbly in spots.

I went ahead and bought a NOS Kenda front tire.

I would really hate to have my old tire blow out a sidewall or disintegrate while riding at any speed.

I had replaced my knobby rear with a correct color line Slik so I thought it made sense to install new rubber on both ends.

 

[DonChristie]

A bicycle’s first reason of existence is to be ridden! Ride on!