Schwinn Gray Ghost Coaster Brake Bike "Mike the Talking Bike" .

In the early 1970's the Iowa State Patrol Maintained a fleet of 13 Schwinn Gray Ghosts bikes, complete with public address system, siren, revolving red light and battery operated tape recorder.

This bike was called "Make the Talking Bike" Mike was kind of a puppet show in which a pre-recorded script between the bike (Mike) and the Iowa State Trooper was played though the onboard public address system. The Trooper used Mike and a film strip to promote bicycle safety to elementary schools through out the State of Iowa.  Many along time Iowa natives will recognize that the voice of Mike the Talking Bike was that of the late Duane Elliott of the long running WHO-13 (NBC) TV Show "The Floppy Show"   I have included a WMA audio file from Mike who is explaining photos that the Trooper would show on a flip chart. Windows Media File from Mike The Talking Bike  

 Mike was also used at health fairs and was on display at the Iowa State Fair Hall of Justice for many years.  After complaints of back injuries among the Troopers when loading and unloading their Mikes in to patrol cars, all 13 Mikes were retired from service in the 1980's. and replaced with smaller, lighter, non-talking Schwinn Bikes.

In 1992 a total of 12 of the 13 Mikes were dismantled, but with the Patrol's permission one and only one Mike was preserved.  Mike was on display at Barr Bike for many years but has been in storage for the last few years. This bike has been featured in "Stingrays II"  and is a highly collectible. In 2002 Mike was listed on E-bay with a reserve surpassing $12,000 but a deal was never made.   Mike is 100% original and includes the battery charger, four cassettes audio tapes and a framed Iowa State Patrol Certificate of Appreciation signed by the Colonel of the Iowa State Patrol at the time. If you are seriously interested in owning his part of American bicycle history for your collection or for a museum please call Dave or Garen at 515-223-6111

Please serious offers only.

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Baby Blue with a chrome fork. This bike is in great shape. The tires still have the molding knobs on them. 100% Original Bike. If you are looking for a classic bike that is like new, this bike would be one to the few left. It has some very,very small pits in the chrome and a small scratch on the top tube.

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