Bridgestone joy.

[mybridgestones]

Hi everyone,

I don't know if any of you are like me, but I get a real thrill when I manage to locate a very rare part for my Bridgestone's. (Am I sad?)

Anyway, I recently finished my Bridgestone GP 100 which was just a bare frame and half a rusty engine when I bought it.

Now some of the parts for this model are extremely hard to find, particularly the exhaust silencer/muffler. I'd been trying to find one for years and couldn't even locate a secondhand one. In the end, I got someone to modify a TMX silencer, reducing in length by 100 mm, grinding off the threads for the guards and welding on new brackets. It did the trick, but it looked a bit of a mess and spoilt the look of the bike.

One day recently, I casually asked Brian Mcdonough in UK if he had a silencer for this model - expecting him to say "no chance."

Can you imagine my reaction when he said "I have one of those NOS?"

Now, I thought this item was totally unobtainable and I never expected to find one.

I bought it straight away before he sold it, bolted it on and it looks fantastic.

Stuart

[moonpup]

Congratulations Stuart, I know the feeling well.  Spent the last 3 years looking for an nos oil tank for my GTO and it was pure ecstasy when I found not one but three of them last month!

[mybridgestones]

Yeah it's like that sometimes isn't it?

I got so excited about this silencer, I asked Brian if he had another one. He said yes, so I bought that as well in case anything ever happened to this one.

He's got another one apparently, but I'm not having that. The wife allowed me to buy two, but I wouldn't be able to justify three.

Stu

[slawsonb]

Stuart, the bike does look fantastic. I've found that not asking the banker (wife) is the best policy when it come to parts acquisition.

...bert

[mybridgestones]

Hey Bert,

I never reveal the true figure to her of how much I'm spending!

[BRT-GTR]

Hi Stuart,
              Great looking restoration. Are you in the UK, I'm only going by how green the garden looks.

  Brian the Brit ( Can carry on using my title after Scottish vote to stay with us)

[ziggy stardust]

Brian, Stuart's profile does show he's in the U.K.

Z

[RayK]

Ziggy/Stuart
Would that be the same Stuart P.... who appeared in the March 2011 Edition of Classic Bike magazine. Great article detailing Bridgestone bikes etc. I especially liked the photo of Stuart's 'Tardis' like workshop.

RayK

[mybridgestones]

Hi, Yeah, that's right - I'm in Leicester.

[mybridgestones]

Hello RayK,

That was me in the classic bike mag - you remembered that.

The tardis is a bit tightly packed I must admit, but I still manage to fit two BS bikes in there with another TMX frame hanging on the wall.

Stu

[RayK]

Stu

I still have that magazine - I was directed to it by a mate in Canberra who is a Bultaco (Metralla) addict. He has every model of Metralla. I'm afraid I am similarly addicted to Bridgestones. There is no cure for the addiction. My wife just accepts it.

Cheers
Ray

[mybridgestones]

Hi Ray,

We are part of small, but elite group of people, so it's ok to be addicted. Those that have never owned a Bridgestone wouldn't understand it.

Stu