Wheelie bike of motorcycles customized in the Bobber or Chopper style. Inspired, he designed a mass-production bike for the youth market as "Project J-38", and the result was introduced to the public as the Schwinn "Sting-Ray" in 1963. Sales were initially slow, but eventually took off. By 1965, several other American and foreign manufacturers were offering their own version of the Sting-Ray. BMX bikes began to supersede wheelie bikes in the 1970s, though Schwinn continued to offer them until 1982 and Raleigh until 1984. Original wheelie bikes are popular collectors' items now, and some manufacturers have reintroduced updated versions. The seating position
Centurion (bicycle company) Centurion (bicycle company) Centurion was a brand of bicycles created in 1969 by Mitchell (Mitch) M. Weiner and Junya (Cozy) Yamakoshi, who co-founded "Western States Import Co. (WSI)" in Canoga Park, California (initially Wil-Go Imports) to design, specify, distribute and market the bicycles. The bikes themselves were manufactured initially in Japan by companies including "H. Tano Company" of Kobe and later in Taiwan by companies including Merida. The Centurion brand was consolidated with WSI's mountain bike brand "Diamond Back" in 1990. WSI ceased operations in 2000. Centurion and WSI competed in the U.S. against domestic and European bicycle manufacturers including