G'day all... greetings from sunny Queensland!
Just bought my first Bridgestone after having lusted for one for ages. It was very much an impulse buy. I'd resigned myself to the fact that I'd never, ever, not-even-within-the-vaguest-realms-of-possibility own one, and when I saw one for sale, well, my wallet jumped outta my daks and emptied itself all over the seller, all by itself!
It's a '67 in original and unrestored condition, 5,700 miles on the clock and hasn't turned a wheel in anger since, I think, 1983. Only about 50 GTRs were sold new in Australia, and this isn't one of them. It was imported from the US in 1995 and I'm the third owner in Oz. First bloke had the engine fully rebuilt as it had chewed a ring, including getting the barrels re-chromed. Second owner bought it about 3 years ago with good intentions, but about a week after the purchase one of his mates was killed on a bike. He lost heart in the whole idea and left it in his garage. I'm intending to get it back on the road for the occasional gentle ride with the local Hysterical Club (sorry, that should probably be Historical, ah well, close enough) where the blue smoke will no doubt cause much
from the BSA and Triumph riding masses... even more so when they can't catch it!
I'm still tossing up whether to leave it unrestored or to get the chrome and paint redone. On the one hand, original is original, but on the other, well, they were such a pretty bike in factory-spec condition. Dunno.
I've gotta thank Richard for supplying all the engine parts during the protracted rebuild two owners ago (all faithfully recorded in the large dossier of reciepts and correspondence that came with the bike).
Also - does anybody know if there is a suitable Bridgestone rear tyre to fit the GTR? They make a selection of fronts, but I'd really like to keep things in the family (so to speak). I've sent an email off to Bridgestone Australia HQ, but they don't seem to be answering. Maybe they don't know what a 350 GTR is?
Looking forward to getting (and maybe giving, who knows?) lots of helpful advice!
-Steve.