HOW MANY GOLD AND CHROME TANK GTO OUT THERE

[reed]

How many gold and chrome tank gto out there.
And what year did Bridgestone first produce the GTO!
Thanks.
Reed.

[moonpup]

Apparently not enough! 

[paul]

This web site has a GTO road test from 1970. I think thats the first model year here in the states.

[reed]

Paul
I wonder what the Bridgestone 350 GTO was like on the dirt!
Thanks.
Reed.

[moonpup]

BTW, the production numbers have been discussed here before.....

http://bridgestonemotorcycleparts.com/index.php?topic=152.0

Plus, I think there was an additional thread about both GTR & GTO numbers, I just can't find it at the moment.

[reed]

Moonpup
What is the best about the GTO is it the exhausts!
Thanks.
Reed.

[moonpup]

Moonpup
What is the best about the GTO is it the exhausts!
Thanks.
Reed.

Reed,

Best as compared to what..... the GTR?

Some would argue that the GTR was the better of the two as it was rated a faster version plus they made far more of them. The GTO on the other hand was marketed to be a scrambler, kinda both a street & (somewhat) off the beaten path bike. It didn't get very many good reviews for it's capabilities on the 2nd part and many thought the upswept pipes were a pain. (literally)

For me, it's more a matter of nostalgia. I owned a brand spankin' new one in 1971 and loved it. I didn't know there was a GTR version.... heck, I'd never even heard of Bridgestone making bikes.

At the time, I owned a used Honda 90 my Dad brought home one day and had it for maybe 6-8 months. Then one day he said he thought I was ready for something bigger and that he'd bought a 350 for me. I asked if it was a Honda CL or a SL

He said neither...it's a Bridgestone.  Huh? WTF!  I was speechless. He said it was still at the dealer getting prepped and we'd go get it later that afternoon. Of course in 1971 I couldn't "google" anything to check what this thing looked like, so for 2-3 hours I could only imagine how hideous my new bike was going to be!

When we got to the dealer and I saw that beautiful Gold & Chrome vision, I was hooked. (it also helped later when I beat every other 350 and even some 500's that I came across!)

So that's kinda what's best about the GTO..... at least for me.

[reed]

Moonpup
That happend to me but it was not a Bridgestone it was a silver TS 250 Suzuki and i went every were on that bike
So when i came to live over here there . were two bikes i wanted a Bridgestone 350 gtr and a silver TS 250 Suzuki and now
I have both! So i hope you get your Bridgestone GTO.
All the best.
Reed.

[Mike Anderson]

Hey Moonpup,
Are you sure the tank had chrome on your gto? I did not ever see one with a chrome tank. I thought by the 70's all the bikes had painted tanks. Maybe the dealer installed a tank left over from a gtr. Just curious, do you happen to have any pictures of the bike. Thanks Mike

[moonpup]

Hey Moonpup,
Are you sure the tank had chrome on your gto? I did not ever see one with a chrome tank. I thought by the 70's all the bikes had painted tanks. Maybe the dealer installed a tank left over from a gtr. Just curious, do you happen to have any pictures of the bike. Thanks Mike

Hi Mike,

I guess you could have called it a NOS bike at the time. See, that's the other thing that kinda bummed me out when my Dad first told me about it. He said that while it was a "new" bike, it was actually a year or so old and was the dealers "Display" model. I thought.....Great, a bike nobody else wanted!  

Here's a picture of it right after we brought it home.  I posted it in the 350 Gallery a while back, but I'll attach it here to make things easier.

[moonpup]

Here's another great picture I found. Yours truly is at the controls as my Aunt Ida climbs on for a snapshot.

In the background, my 2 younger brothers are cleaning our new 71 Maverick Grabber in the neighbors driveway. ( I think they were really trying to hit on the neighbors daughters, standing at the back of the car.  )

[deisher6]

Reed:  The tank on the 350 with high exhausts that I am trying to get running looks much like the one in the picture.  I thought that all BS tanks were red and chrome as my 175 and 350 GTR were in the '60's and that this one was just faded.  Interesting.  After reading several of the latest blogs I see that I have much to learn about getting the bike running well.
regards charlie
deisher6

[moonpup]

Hi Charlie...

Read your introduction on your other post and see you're livin' in Big Sky country! Welcome to the site.

I wish I had neighbors like you that have Bridgestones stashed away, you're a lucky guy.

The bike in the picture was mine when I lived in Rapid City, SD. We'd been there for about 2 years when I got it. Before that, we'd lived in Great Falls, MT for 3 years. Beautiful country up there!

Have fun with your GTO, you'll find a lot of helpful information here on Richards site.

Mike

Edit: Almost forgot......let's see some pics!