I had /have my first new bike still, a Schwin Typhoon. Candy apple red and a single speed rear. I rode the hell out of that bike, my dad clocked me at 50 mph once. Its probly the reason my knees ache today! Felony I`m only three yrs older than you. I was gonna say did you ever have the slicks on you bike?
The "shop" that geared the Stingray for me was actually in the garage of the house next door. The dad there was a WWII vet like my dad. He did some light car mechanical for the neighbors, but he also worked on bikes and sold all the popular accessories. Not only sissy bars and springer fronts, but those die-cast Maltese crosses you bolted between the sissy bar's uprights, metalflake vinyl handlebar wrap, every banana seat know to man...
He did very good business. The problem with the slicks is they could not turn corners for shit because of the stiff, right angle edges. I stuck with the lighter, knobby style tires.
Back to the Charger; that beast had a high gear that literally made a growling noise when engaged. The uphill to school became an Olympic event going home. LAPD pulled me over when I was 12 or 13 for speeding, and let me off with a warning. Much like later years, it was a warning I ignored. I would give mucho bucks to get that that bike back.
Does anyone manufacture a realistic retro Stingray-style bike in grown-up size today?
P.S. This just popped into my head after all these years. The bike dad had one of those car wheel balancers that slid under a tire and motored it to speed. The idea was that it took the brake drum/disc into account, and gave a more accurate reading. Anyone know what I'm talking about?