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RADBMX.CO.UK  |  Technical & Reference Section  |  Tech and Restoration  |  1985 GJS Freestyler
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Author Topic: 1985 GJS Freestyler  (Read 25266 times)

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Offline dancetothedrummersbeat

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1985 GJS Freestyler
« on: July 15, 2016, 12:34 AM »
I'd never heard of GJS until I saw Kappy's '85 Freestyler at MK a few years ago. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to find one, although I didn't start looking seriously until last year as I had other builds on the go.

Although there were an estimated 12 prototypes made, the general production framesets were only made for 2 years, 1984 and 85. The 1984 model has round chainstay tubing, but I was drawn to the 1985 model as the chainstays are square. '84's are more common than '85's, although both are very rare. Exact production numbers are unknown, but it's generally accepted/estimated that only about 200-300 freestylers were made over the two years before GJS went out of business sometime in 1985. There are only 2 other square chainstay freestylers (apart from mine) on bmxmuseum.com, and a few others on the GJS facebook owners group. I think there are about 6-7 documented worldwide. After putting wanted ads up on here and bmx museum with no luck, and missing out on one on ebay over a year ago, I put a wanted ad up on the facebook GJS owners group. Unbelievably within an hour, someone in Philadelphia contacted me and said he had an '85 frame & fork that he would consider selling. The deal was done, and here's how the frame & forks arrived.


I was pretty sure the paint/powder job wasn't the original finish, plus it had a few chips and the frame had a few dings and wear to the dropouts that needed sorting out. I therefore cracked open the hard stuff and got to work stripping the frameset




I then took the frameset to Geoff Haslam in Warrington who did a superb job of sorting out the dings in the frame and building up the chewed dropouts. I then gave the whole thing a good sanding down, ready to go to Superbike Dan for paint








F = Freestyle
I believe the serial numbers started at 100, so in reality would be frame number 221. Numbers were sequential with no date code.

Details on what colour options were available for these framesets is lacking, but there is a pink one (an '84) on bmx museum. 1984/1985 was the start of pinks/oranges/greens and lavender being used, especially with the explosion in freestyle. I happened to see a can of pink spray in Wilkinsons, and thought the colour looked pretty good.

I wanted the colour to be darker than Hutch pink, as I felt like doing this build in the same colour would make it too similar to a Hutch Trickstar, of which there are already a few amazing examples in pink (Benno and Adam) to name but two  :4_17_5:
Although Joff and myself talked about spraying the frame ourselves, I had the prize of a free paint/powder job from Superbike Dan following my VDC Changa winning a prize sponsored by SBD at MK last year. I've used Dan before, knew his work was second to none, and was interested to meet the man himself and see where the magic happens. Myself and Ant factory pilot therefore decided to do a crazy 512 mile round trip to drop the frames off. Me with the GJS and Ant with his SE Quad...
Here's the thread for those who haven't seen it http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,186809.msg1876219.html#msg1876219

By this time, i'd collected a few parts for the build including a NOS pink shot gun II seat




other parts included pink dia compe brake cables and some NOS pink ODI Mushroom grips. The cables looked fine, but the grips were far too 'day glo' and were an obvious colour clash, so they had to go  :'(


I thought that matching pink would be fairly easy, but I quickly realised that this wasn't the case. I managed to get some bubble font A'Me tri and round grips, but both of these were different shades, and weren't a perfect match for the other components. This photo is a bit misleading - the colours are very different in the flesh


We took the seat, cables, grips and spray can to SBD's to decide on the colour. I thought that matching the colour to the spray can would give a tone somewhere between the seat and cables, to balance out the overall colour. There wasn't an off the shelf powder colour that was suitable, so Dan said he'd have to get the colour matched to the spray paint, and do it in 2k wet spray. Dan sent me some photos of the frameset and I was really pleased with his work. I couldn't wait to get the frame back





Dan's work is amazing, and although I was pleased with the colour, I was a little underwhelmed. It looked good, but didn't blow me away.




The colour seemed 'cold', and was edging towards the lavender/violet scale instead of a warm pink. My suspicions were confirmed when I put the frame next to the parts, and there was a bad clash  :'(


I took at over to Joff's to ask his honest opinion - He said it looked good...


..but good wasn't good enough. It had to be perfect.
So I got on the phone to SBD and explained the colour clash. He said that trying to get exact colour matches can be difficult, and is very subjective. I'd now realised that the colour I wanted was the colour of the seat. This was confirmed randomly when I was doing the washing up and saw the colour of my gloves - a lovely shade of pink. SBD therefore told me to go to a local car paints store and get the colour matched to the seat, and to double check it before approving it
 

The frame, forks, pedals and stand were all sent back to SBD for a re-spray. I sent the seat too, just so he could check the colour as it was going on. As soon as he sent me some photos, I knew we'd cracked it. The colour was exactly what i'd imagined  :D






Dan's communication and service was amazing. He is really passionate about what he does, and is determined to leave his customers happy. He certainly did that. The colour and finish are amazing.
**I must point out that in no way was the original colour a fault of Dan's. It was just one of those things that can happen if you've ever tried to match colours. It's a nightmare!

I wanted to go with a colour scheme of pink, chrome and hint of black, so I asked Del to do me some chrome on clear decals




Decals on. The photos really don't do the colour justice, and it looks different depending on the light. I love it.












part 2 coming soon...
« Last Edit: January 10, 2017, 01:34 AM by dancetothedrummersbeat »

Offline oldschoolace

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2016, 12:48 AM »
Gorgeous that Andy  :daumenhoch:

Deffo needed the colour change  :)
Sixteen thirty-two. What is that? A year?   No, it's your top score on Pole Position.


Offline Andyboy77

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2016, 01:14 AM »
That colour is fantastic!  :4_17_5: Great thread Andy! I enjoyed reading it  :daumenhoch: ...can't wait for part 2.

Offline McQUEEN

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2016, 06:26 AM »
Id seen earlier pictures and really didn't dig the pink at all. But it seems to come alive with the chrome decals and chrome heatdset! I love an mid eighties freestyler.
When I was born, the world was a far simpler place.
It was all just cops and robbers.
And BMX.

Offline factory pilot

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2016, 06:40 AM »
Believe me lads it's an absolute stunner in the flesh .. The chrome and pink looks incredible ... Top work Andy  :daumenhoch:
"Knowledge is the acceptance of ones own ignorance." Socrates 399BC

Offline pickle

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2016, 07:22 AM »
Wow that's a stunner Andy!  love it and love the dedication for the colour  :daumenhoch:

In2bmx

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2016, 07:39 AM »
Looks ace Andy  :4_17_5:

Offline Retrodan72

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2016, 07:41 AM »
Wow, what a thread, loving this so far.

Are you sure Dan just didn't paint the seat with the original paint he had left over, add new decals and throw it back in the box and send it straight back to you.  :LolLolLolLol:
« Last Edit: July 15, 2016, 09:08 AM by Retrodan72 »


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griff

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2016, 09:04 AM »
very nice Andy, looks ace  :4_17_5:

I used to have a car that colour :) a mini called floyd (obviously)

Offline oldscool

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2016, 09:16 AM »
very nice  :daumenhoch:
If in doubt flat out.

Offline NORTY40

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #10 on: July 15, 2016, 09:45 AM »
Wow, what a thread, loving this so far.

Are you sure Dan just didn't paint the seat with the original paint he had left over, add new decals and throw it back in the box and send it straight back to you.  :LolLolLolLol:

 ;D  I can vouch for it being a totally different shade now Dan , the first shade was a nice colour but it wasn't right in both Andy's and my opinions .  I don't think how different the shades were comes across in the pics tbh .

Im glad you got there in the end Andy and admire your commitment and dedication to this  8)

It's going to be a stunner and im not really a freestyle fan  :4_17_5:
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Offline stu27

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #11 on: July 15, 2016, 09:46 AM »
Very nice Andy  :smitten:
negativity is for chumps,positivity is for champs

Offline CustardLips

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #12 on: July 15, 2016, 09:53 AM »
Looks like another quality build in the making Andy.  :daumenhoch:
"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time"

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Offline donnydresser

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #13 on: July 15, 2016, 10:31 AM »
that's a beauty mate  proper 80s colours  :slayer:

Offline MartyC

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #14 on: July 15, 2016, 10:47 AM »
Bloody nice that, I've always like the GJS frames and this one is no exception!


Better to crash and burn than fade away

Offline pickle

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #15 on: July 15, 2016, 10:50 AM »
i love it in pink but how gorgeous was it naked when you stripped it!   "wantit"

Offline fischflo

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #16 on: July 15, 2016, 03:52 PM »
good wasn't good enough, so he cracked open the hard stuff ........dig your perfectionism 8)

Offline McQUEEN

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #17 on: July 15, 2016, 04:07 PM »
do you have a parts list to whet our appetite?
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It was all just cops and robbers.
And BMX.

Offline dancetothedrummersbeat

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #18 on: July 15, 2016, 04:36 PM »
Part 2.
Now for some of the other parts...

I already have a few sets of Hutch beartraps on my VDC and my Skyway, so I wanted something different. I didn't actually own a set of Shimano DX's, and thought they would be spot on era and looking wise. I put a wanted ad up, and Steve69 kindly sold me a set for a good price - end caps included  :D Thanks Steve  :daumenhoch:
The only slight problem was that they were 1/2 inch spindles and I needed 9/16th's  :( I know that many pedals use DX style spindles and are technically a direct replacement, but the genuine spindles have a collar at one end, whereas the copies generally don't. Finding a set of good condition spindles wasn't easy, and in the end I had to get some NOS ones off bmx museum. I paid almost as much for the spindles as I did the pedals. Madness.


Again, I wanted the pedals to be a bit different, so SBD painted them the same colour as the frameset. I followed Terry's guide in the tech section to fit the new spindles. All in and ready to go




SBD also painted the stand in the same colour. This had previously been done by Joff using one of the cans of the original colour. Sorry to waste your time Joff!  :-[


Joff had given me a pair of Araya 1.75 rims as part payment for some Hutch parts I sold to him when I split and sold my Hutch Pro Racer 2 years ago. The original plan was to get them chromed and put them on my VDC Changa build last year, but they didn't make it back from the chromers in time. I therefore took the black tuffs off my Skyway T/A, put them on the VDC and instantly loved the look of it. I was therefore left with a lovely set of chrome Arayas that I knew would be perfect for this bike (if I ever found one!).


I wanted to keep it simple, so hubs are NOS Suzue polished/chrome
 



Tyres - we all have certain parts that we obsess a bit over, and tyres are one of mine. I knew I wanted Mitsuboshi comp ST's, and they had to be the correct labels for era correctness. I paid silly money for the set that are on my VDC, but another set came up for sale on bmx museum about a year ago. They were a bargain (relatively speaking). These tyres are era correct for an '84-86 build.  Here's Terry's excellent guide and timeline to Mitsuboshi/Tioga tyres. Top work Terry  :daumenhoch:
 http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php'topic=170279.0





Other parts included a Tange 303 headset with original chrome/decals, that I bought from Vanmanjimmer last year - thanks Jim. I decided to add a NOS lock nut too





For bars, I was torn between VDC Monkey Bars (I've never liked VDC freestyle bars), and Hutch Mike Buff bars. I decided on Mike Buffs to mix it up a bit, as I have Monkeys on my VDC. Someone kindly made me aware of a set that were for sale on facebook - i'm sorry I can't remember who you were, but thanks  :daumenhoch:
They were in good condition but not mint, so I got them re-chromed at my usual place Leigh Metal Polishers. As usual, the quality of the finish is excellent. I also got an original? Hutch Buff decal from Ian MacArthur

 





part 3 to follow
« Last Edit: July 18, 2016, 12:18 AM by dancetothedrummersbeat »

Offline Retrodan72

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #19 on: July 15, 2016, 04:43 PM »
That's spafftastic so far Andrew, a real showstopper.  explosion


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Offline pickle

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #20 on: July 15, 2016, 04:48 PM »
could've made the effort with the parts Andy  ;)

Offline Andyboy77

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #21 on: July 15, 2016, 07:23 PM »
Part twoooo!  :bow:  The more I see it growing, the more I love it. I bet, this will be a fantastic bike. Great effort on all the tiny details Andy!  :daumenhoch:

Offline oldschoolace

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #22 on: July 15, 2016, 08:00 PM »
Those bars are stunning!!! Really need to get my ultra over there  :)
Sixteen thirty-two. What is that? A year?   No, it's your top score on Pole Position.


Offline dancetothedrummersbeat

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #23 on: July 15, 2016, 08:12 PM »
Those bars are stunning!!! Really need to get my ultra over there  :)

Their work is absolutely spot on Clint. My old Hutch pro racer (now Dan's) was done by them, and is probably the best chrome job I've ever seen.

Offline Gashead

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Re: 1985 GJS Freestyler
« Reply #24 on: July 15, 2016, 08:24 PM »
 :4_17_5:


WOW

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