What do we know about the different models?

[dcr]

I am still new to the Bridgestone world. I have read a ton of stuff on this site as well as some other stuff that is out there on the net. I think i have a handle on the history of the company and their marketing methods as well as what bikes they produced. What I cant seem to determine is the details of the product line. For example, I bought BS 90 Sport that was beat half to death with no title or any paperwork whatsoever. I found the article on VIN numbers on this site and have determined the 18 E 004672 means it was manufactured in May of an even year which could be 64, 66 or 68. With a low number, can i assume it was 64? All the pictures i find have the sport with a painted and chrome tank. Mine is all chrome, no paint. Was there different tanks styles on different bikes? How about the seats? Did some come with single seats and others with a double seat?

Whats the difference between the Deluxe and the Sport? Other than the sport has BS stickers on the tank and the Deluxe has the screwed in BS emblems. 

I have been at car shows and heard guys say "that isnt an authentic GTO, its a Tempest - you can tell by the window trim". Are the Bridgestone bikes similar?

All my rambling above is intended to spark some discussion of what you guys know about the details of the bike models and their history and isn't exclusive to the 90's.

[old smokey]

I'm wondering if the bike being in rough shape is making it hard to tell where the chrome ends and where the paint used to be?

[disc_valve]

Hi,
 Welcome to the world of Bridgestone.  Your 90 Sport is is May 66. The Oil Injection 90s weren't imtroduced until 1966. There were 90s around from 1964, but they were petroil mix bikes (no oil pump system).

The 90 Sport was a development of the 90 DeLuxe, with a tuned engine (larger 17mm carn and a chromed alloy cylinder) and a different fuel tank. The 90 Deluxe tank (also used on the BS50 Sport and BS60 Sport) had screw-on badges, but the longer 90 Sport tank either had no badges at all or had "BRIDGESTONE" script stickers on each side. I think gthe stickers were only used on the early petroil-mix 90s. The same tank was also used on all the 100cc bikes. Check out the pictures in the gallery section of this site.

Hiope that helps,

Graham Weeks

[dcr]

Old Smokey - some areas of the tank are in better shape than others. But there seems to be patches of chrome all over the tank which leads me to believe it was an all chrome tank. Although, i could still be wrong.

Graham - Thanks you for taking the time to reply. What got me started on this was the search for replacement parts and my restoration plan. I was going back and forth on the tank and whether to go with the paint and chrome or just chrome. I looked at tons of pictures and kept seeing different styles of "factory" finishes. There seemed to be little or no consistency. Then i started to wonder if the pictures i was looking at were correct with the model, year and type of bike. I actually started to look for a list of bikes by year and what was on each bike as far as chrome this, painted that and other items specific to each model.

Your info definitely helps me a lot. I actually have a bike 2 years older than i previously thought.

While we are doing BS 90 trivia - whats the difference between the 90 trail and the 90 mountain?

[moonpup]

From the 1965 Dealer brochure......

[disc_valve]

The 90 Traiol and Mountain were both based on the 90 Deluxe. The 90 Trail had an abbreviated front mudguard and double rear sprocket. (the large rear sprocket could be unbolted and re-fixed to cover tha smaller road sprocket, and the chain re-joined with a short extension piece of a few links to give a lowrer ratio).

The 90 Mountain had a single seat and heavy rear carrier rack, along with a high-level exhaust system and braced handlebars. Later models had folding footpegs as well. The larger of the two rear sprockets on the 90 Mountain was dinner plate size, giving an even lower ratio. Presumably useful for climbing the side of a mountain with a deer carcass strapped to the rear rack!

On the subject of tanks, all Bridgestone tanks were chromed all over in the factory, before being painted. On the 90 deluxe, Trail and Mountain the paint was applied to the centre section of the4 tank, leaving just the sides of the tank showing as chrome. On the 90 Sport, the paint was applied to the upper part of the tank and to the "tunnel"  underneath, the dividing line being the top section of the rubber knee grip, and running forward along the crease line.



Graham