Should I restore this "P.K. Ripper"?

[BHW]

I never had a brand name BMX as a kid. I read the BMX magazines for years, and rode around on whatever Santa brought me for Christmas. I'd deck it out with checkerboard pads, new grips, etc....but never could have a GT, Redline, Diamondback, Hutch, etc. I even begged my parents one Christmas for a $189 Diamondback....one of the cheapest BMX bikes in the bike shop at the time, and still got up Christmas morning to find a department store special! By the time I was making money working part time, I was into things with engines.

So, I'm getting mine now!

I should try and scan an old pic I have on my riding a circa 1980 Huffy.

[whitham_wannabe]

Damn right you should repair it! I redid my 1st gen Hoffman Condor a couple of years ago. Funnily enough, I still suck at riding it.

[HOT DAMN!]

Originally Posted by BHW

I never had a brand name BMX as a kid.

You see that Schwinn cantilever with mini ape-hangers and mix matched rims above, right. That bike brought home some hardware, but it still took me 3 years of paper delivering to move up from that heap.

This was my ride before that, and I might have had a matching cape.

[BHW]

My first bike had the curved frame like that one. I don't know what brand it was though, and don't think I have any pics of it. But I think it was orange with a black banana seat and ape hangers. My 2nd bike was probably a Murray or Huffy, red framed BMX with yellow mag wheels.

[Venteuri]

Originally Posted by Stretch67

My 1981-vintage Redline ProLine II. Hutch bars, Tuf-Neck, 190mm Mongoose cranks, DX pedals, Tuff Wheel II's.

Those cranks rule!!!!!! .. I don't remember the size, but I had a friend that I could never catch ... Until I found his crank sizes

[z-man99]

Originally Posted by HOT DAMN!

Nice DG's man, I know the 26" looptails are a hot commodity, are those 20's hard to come by?



Is it built up?

I know Schwinn serial numbers but not JMC, would this be the 677 one made then? It is a long standard.

Jim Melton (the JM of JMC) kept excellent records of nearly everything he built. He'd tell you exactly, but my guess is yours was built sometime around August of 1979. Not including a few bikes for factory sponsored dudes, yours is the 677th made.
Mine's just a frameset right now too, but I'm close to having everything I need to put it together.

[WARRIORPRINCEJJ]

Originally Posted by HOT DAMN!

...This was my ride before that, and I might have had a matching cape. ...

Huffys Rule!!!

[WARRIORPRINCEJJ]

Since before I started this thread, I have been obsessed with finding a certain pic of the P.K.

My Dad and Mom (or my buddy Rod's parents) would take us to River City BMX, almost every week, for practice night. During that time, my Dad was becoming a bit of a camera buff. So, he always seemed to have one handy. Because of that, I knew there was (at one time) a decent "pre-theft" pic of the P.K.: one that I could use to assist me with the restore (decals, finish, etc.) For the past few weeks, I have torn my mother's house a new mudhole, looking for that pic. In fact, the above "Huffy" pic was a direct result of that madness.



Gettin' back to the P.K. pic: Last night, that madness hit pay-dirt...





As you get older, you realize that your memory is, usually, over-glorified. How many times have you heard of folks findind a clean copy of their first motorcycle, buying it, restoring it, and then realizing that they actually hated it the second time around? Well, my memory (of this particular pic) is a lot like that.

I thought I was gonna' be able to gather valuable historic data from this pic. Pffft, my old-ass eyes can barely make-out the "P.K. Ripper" decal.

Oh well, my magic carpet ride, through time, just lost altitude and crashed...


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[BHW]

Don't give up. Even if you find the idea of riding a BMX to be awful after building it up, it will still look great hanging over your mantel!

I keep asking myself if I want to try my hand at the local BMX track, and I keep answering "NO". Doesn't mean I don't enjoy the bike. I'm just a 40 year old kid!

[WARRIORPRINCEJJ]

Originally Posted by BHW

Don't give up. Even if you find the idea of riding a BMX to be awful after building it up, it will still look great hanging over your mantel!

I keep asking myself if I want to try my hand at the local BMX track, and I keep answering "NO". Doesn't mean I don't enjoy the bike. I'm just a 40 year old kid!

I agree: me, too.


However, in regard to my over-glorious memory, I was talking about the pic (not the restoration). I thought the pic was gonna' be some wonderful, well-shot masterpiece. As it turns-out, it's under-exposed, and kinda' dark.


In regard to the bike, I'm really looking forward to the rebuild, the finished product, and riding it for the first time (again). I am, however, realizing that this will not be a quick process. However, at my age and level of wisdom, that is not always such a bad thing.



P.S.- In regard to you acquiring your BMX dreambike, I hope that it's everything you always thought it would be. Good luck.


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[WARRIORPRINCEJJ]

These arrived, today...






I also got the decals ordered (Thank you, z-man99.)

By some strange luck, I ran-into my buddy, the other night, who owns a machine shop. I've been telling myself that I was gonna' take the frame to him, so that he could take a look at the dropouts, for the last five years. Long story short, he offered to put the frame on one of his machines (in about two weeks) and smooth-out the inner radiuses of the dropouts.

I contacted one of those vehicle "wrap" places, and inquired about them installing the new decals (I don't trust myself.) The lady I spoke to seemed very confident in their abilities to get them applied just right. We'll see...


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[HOT DAMN!]

Not sure what your plans are for the frame finish but THIS is a pretty good read, which also spins some links off on anodizing and how to remove it.

[RichBeBe]

Originally Posted by Off the grid

They were rare, I think I was the only guy who had one on my local circuit.
Me on the end in blue.


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Looks like Bellemore...I've raced there though I mostly raced ABA

[Off the grid]

Originally Posted by RichBeBe

Looks like Bellemore...I've raced there though I mostly raced ABA

Good call, Rich.

And seeing as we are close in age, you prolly smoked me a few times as well.

[RichBeBe]

Originally Posted by Off the grid

Good call, Rich.

And seeing as we are close in age, you prolly smoked me a few times as well.

LOL or vis-a-versa. I never loved that track but I won a few Wed. night ( I think it was Wed.) events in maybe 14 or 15x.
I used to race a rare bike as well. I rode Navajo's.