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Vintage 1978 KLUNKER 5

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Xlobsterman

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
So in my quest to find a Cruiser bike from the old Schwinn shop I worked at back in the day in Manhattan Beach California, I finally found this KLUNKER 5 from Aviation Cyclery in Kansas of all places........LOL You have to love the power of the WWW for this type of stuff.

The bike is pretty thrashed, and not in the condition that I normally buy bikes in. But the chances of finding a bike I built 40 years ago in California, when I am now living in the North East is pretty slim, let alone finding one of the rarest Cruiser bikes from that era a KLUNKER 5.

The bike is now striped down to the frame, and I need to start sourcing some parts to bring it back to life again.

The bike is missing the original front wheel, does anyone have a complete front wheel from a 78 or 79 Spitfire they would want to sell????

Here are a few pics:

K5.jpg


K5x.jpg


IMG_0603 (1).jpg


schwinncert.jpg
 
Great find with the bike shop decal !

I knew Karl who owned that shop and Beach Cities Cycles before he moved to Australia.
I am also in the hunt for bikes with local shop decals such as yours.
Thanks for sharing your find.

sarmis luters
 
Great find with the bike shop decal !

I knew Karl who owned that shop and Beach Cities Cycles before he moved to Australia.
I am also in the hunt for bikes with local shop decals such as yours.
Thanks for sharing your find.

sarmis luters

I worked for the original owner of the shop from 77 to 82. He sold the shop in 82, and it went through a few owners after that, and closed for good in October 2017 after 50+ years in business.

https://www.hermosacyclery.com/aviation-cyclery/

aviation cyclery.jpg
 
78 Klunker 5.. NICE!!! congrats on your great find!
Have the same decal from Aviation Cyclery on my 81 Cruiser 5 project that I found up in Acton

schwinn side 109.jpg
 
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I have a Schwinn Twinn from '78. It had a sticker from a local bike shop in Mount Clemens Mi. I just went to snap a pic and noticed the sticker is gone. Only thing left is the glue. It must have fallen off last time we rode it last summer. Oh well,all of the old Schwinn shops are history now.
 
Congrats on finding your piece of history! And a Klunker 5 to boot. The spokes do look like 105's on the front wheel in the pictures, what makes it not original?
 
Congrats on finding your piece of history! And a Klunker 5 to boot. The spokes do look like 105's on the front wheel in the pictures, what makes it not original?

Yes, it looked like the correct wheel in the pic, that is why I didn't give it a second guess. But when I got it yesterday it was a cheap ass 26x1.75 rim, 80ga spokes, and cheap steel small flange hub.
 
78 Klunker 5.. NICE!!! congrats on your great find!
Have the same decal from Aviation Cyclery on my 81 Cruiser 5 project that I found up in Acton

View attachment 1026867

Yea, I am sure there are still a few around in California. We sold lots of them back in the day. Please let me know if you ever want to sell that bike? Chances are I assembled it when it came out of the box!
 
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