Before I quit racing BMX in the late 80's my last bike was a 1986 GT Pro Series frame that I bought from another rider - it was the only blue one I had known about besides seeing them in BMX Plus! He'd mothballed it and I remember going around to his place and digging it out of a closet sometime in 1987. I'd had a chrome GT Pro Series that I'd sold to fellow racer as I'd grown tired of chrome race bikes having had a Hutch & March Pro and wanted something colourful & trendy...
The last time I rode the bike was around 89/90 when I sold it after a second knee operation - up to that point I'd turned it into a permanent freestyle bike with Performer bars, Dyno drainpipe, GT fork standers and rear pegs. I used to ride it on dirt trails, flatland and on ramps as I'd pretty much become more & more of a freestyler/skateboarder as I had no-one to ride BMX with anymore as they'd "all grown up" when we hit uni age...I'd also bought my first mountain bike and hit up a few races.
Interestingly I have no photographs of this particular bike or riding it - which is even stranger as at that time in my life I was starting to get into photography also, developing my own pics in the school darkroom. Who knows maybe some will materialise from some 'lost' box of negatives.
As I've progressed through building various replicas of my bikes I've looked forward to doing this one but needed a suitable frame & fork worth painting - it took a while to find the correct fork after having sourced a frame some time before.
The frame is a January 1986 Japanese Koizumi frame which I sourced here in the UK if I recall - maybe the USA...
The forks came from France and took a heck of a long time to source because I wanted the correct dropouts and something needing repaint:
Then I sent it off to SBD for the correct blue paint job and started to amass the parts:
...and apply the stickers:
At this point I was pretty stoked! I loved what I was seeing.
Looking back at old pics of my chrome GT I know I would have transferred certain parts over from it to the blue frame - one of the items was a blue Suntour seat clamp which for some reason I've had laying about for who knows how long. I have a collection of stickers and trophies and stuff from bitd and I actually can't recall if that seat clamp was in there or not but it seemed fitting that this used part would make it onto the build amongst all the other nos stuff.
Kind of a survivor tribute I guess - it just seems to be a good fit though and kind of completes the bike for me & gives it some "soul".
More and more months passed but then for crimbo I finally got myself a saddle and finished it off - the first completed project for the new year. Cheesy I know but I'm happy with the outcome!
1986 GT Pro Series frame & fork repowdered in correct GT blue by SBD
GT bars, seatpost, mallet stem and seat clamp
GT Superlace wheelset with NOS UKAI rims, Asashi spokes
SR Crmolite cranks with polished Tuff neck spider & GT chainwheel
Viscount Beartrap pedals
AME Tri bubble font grips
Viscount Dyna saddle
SUntour clamp
Dia Compe MX901 calliper, cable and Tech 4 lever
Tioga Comp III tyres
