Well as some of you know, I've been whining about getting a Turbo for a very long time, and today that whining has come to an end. I've had no less than 5 deals for complete turbo's in every different state of condition go south, after about 4 years of collecting this one finally showed up.... but I have to say it was well worth the wait...
Don't get me wrong it certainly isn't without it many surface blemish's but the strange thing is, I can't see any evidence that it has been ridden! There is absolutely zero wear on the tires, pedals, cranks, brake pads etc...there are many many scratches in the smoked finish, but they appear to be from poor storage...it is nice to finally to get a good look at the original smoked finish, which shows an inconsistency of thickness and has a definite purple haze to it...beautiful with the silver decals...The rear tire is very perished on 1 side only, which seems like it has been sitting in the sun on one side for many years....the decals are O/G...actually every last thing is totally OG...right down to the DB Turbo suede saddle! This thing is my 2nd favorite right behind my childhood Profile. I'll get some better shots later, just thought I'd share this will you guys for now...
1982 Diamond Back Turbo
(IMG:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f174/mervyk/005-15.jpg)
(IMG:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f174/mervyk/013-9.jpg)
With it's little brother...(Senior Pro)
(IMG:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f174/mervyk/016-8.jpg)
After further study of the Turbo I've noticed an interesting detail..the F1 grips...I think they are very early Oakleys but I really can't tell...in one of the BMXA tests they talk about generic (fake) F1's being used on the Turbo and then they changed there mind and used the really deal...Well I don't know what date F1 grips came out but the bike was built in 1982, and these are obviously original too the bike (read they are fairly trashed) and they are very soft (unlike the fake versions).
The grips say made in the USA and have patent pending on them but they don't show Oakley on them??
So it would seem that unless you were Oakley you couldn't put a patent on them (doesn't seem like that worked well, considering the numbers of fakes out there)...unless they didn't stamp the grips that they supplied Diamond Back? A little strange detail that I find intriguing, perhaps I should get a life!
Does anyone know the background of Oakley F'1's?
This post has been edited by 84profile: Sep 16 2009, 05:59 PM
Sep 16 2009, 05:47 PM
