I found a 1984 Skyway TA XL and wanted to know if at all how rare it is ???? Any history on the bike would be nice....

Thanks
Rick

What color is it???

[ July 08, 2006, 06:56 PM: Message edited by: Thumperpilot ]

Email me some pics and I will post them for you. Oh ya you scored fat.
Firebird
pruittrick12@sbcglobal.net

It is chrome and not too bad a shape......I think it has the wrong forks and definately the wrong rims.....but I am a Mongoose collector so I don't know to much about Skyway bikes....I'll send pics soon....

Thanks for the help...
Rick

Exactly what I wish to find and how I wish to find it someday. You give me hope, oh master

So what is the history on the bike?

Rick

1" longer than a regular TA. I had one TA and Two TA XL's BITD. Nice rides.

[ July 08, 2006, 08:45 PM: Message edited by: Thumperpilot ]

I sent pictures to Firebird to post but nothing yet.

Rick

Heres the pic

Sweet firebird....

Thank you

Rick

Oh, so is this a good find?
Is it a rare Frame?
What components came on this bike?

Rick

Hope that kickstand did`nt crush the chainstays. Funny that it has cruiser forks on it too.

That frame set never came as a complete speced out ride. You bought the frame and fork and built it up how you wanted it.

On second thought, send it to me and all take care of the parts. LOL!!!!!

I still have mine from 83 or 84, it is a sweet ride. Hopefully save up some money to build it back up when I'm done mith my hutch.

Nice score , It looks like it was reasonably well fitted out when it was new. I'm not to keen on keeping the kickstand on it , if you intend to bunny hop curbs or anything higher when riding it......

I have an 84 XL TA in the stable , those GT forks are really out of place , not sure what year they are but if they were made in Santa Ana they should re-sell well or be good to trade with , look for either some of the TA Aero Forks , bladed tubing like JMC's or fit some Bottema's to it like I did to mine.
Bottema was the preferred afternmarket fixall fork & the ones that a lot Pro's including the Skyway sponsored guys ran them back then. Unfortunately all we could get back then here were Tange TRX's , which were pretty strong in their own right anyways , but they severely lacked the Bottema cool factor.

JB

Thanks for the posts. I took off the kick stand and there was no damage to the frame. The chrome does appear to be worn off in certain areas.There is no damage to the frame or drop outs. They are perfect with little or no marks.

If I were to restore it would it be better to rechrome or paint it?

Rick

Rechrome? Wait! Try this first.

http://www.vintagebmx.com/cgi-bin/ultimate...ic;f=4;t=004702

Consider Tange ARX forks if you can't find the Skyway's. Similar aero look & dropouts, and they're still not too hard to find. Could probably more than cover your cost if you sold the GT forks. Nice score!

Looks like those 91/92 GT Sprockets too. I like the kick-stand. That actually is a good sign of a bike that was rode by a little kid and not hard....

Stephen

A co-worker friend of mine told me that he had a T/A XL when I mentioned that i was building my Patterson , he brought it over & the F/F are in good condition , still looks good after I put the polish on it(chrome frame . His frame is dated 6-83 ser # 002???(can't remember the rest only I know it started W/ 002) He's now juiced up & wants to fix it up once he saw my Patterson . Didn't these come out around '82-'83 ? I checked some completed auctions & it seems decent chrome bikes fetched between $250-$350 . What are they worth ?

I think the frame is going to need a new chrome job or a nice white painting.....The date code on this frame is 8/84 serial number starts with 001xxxxx.
I may just put out for sale to fund my Mongoose collection.

Rick

.
Sweet Find! Good Luck on the re-build.

I tend to stay away from giving the VBMX bikes we restore & ride a brand new chrome plating job ,(imho) the dechroming process (sulphuric acid bath) & subsequent re-plating of the frame again with copper , nickel & chromium does not really enhance the structural integrity of the frame.
You will get pretty good results restoring old 1980's Japanese chrome using the "oxy acid" method _properly_.
Besides plating in the 1980's was a lot different to the way it's done now.
Leave it as , is or polish it up for the new owner if you are going to sell it.At least that way the buyer knows that it hasn't been tampered with over the years.

My XL TA is stamped 10-84 , SN 0016393 (last 3 numbers may be dislexic) , that seems to clash with the 1983 one mentioned above that is in the 20,000 range ????

I bought mine as a frame only on ebay , paid over $200 for it less than $250 , had to wait a long time to get it too. TA's seemed to turn up a lot , but XL TA's are not so common to find for sale on ebay.
Don't take my statement to be true _now_ tho , Ebay is mighty unpredictable for selling & buying prices sometimes...
You shouldn't have too much trouble selling it , tho you may kick yourself later on , an XL TA is one of the frames people often kick themselves for selling on this forum , try a search

JB

Not REALLY rare, I wouldn't say, but still quite valuable, you'd do pretty well if you decided to sell it. T/A's have always gotten pretty good money.

What kind of neck did that bike happen to come with?

Yeah just talked to my Co-worker & asked about the ser# . date 6-83 ser # 0002608 . He wants to buy some white Tuff II & chrome bars & stem (current bars , stem , sprocket & tires are white )

The Bike came with GT components.

GT 45 tooth sprocket,GT bars, GT Viscount seat, GT 4130 Long Forks, and I think a GT Crank one piece. The stem is "Dura Post" & screw cr-mo MX2 by maybe Nitto??? Sounds strange to me....

Serial number 8/84 0015366
Thanks for all the info.
I am taking notes...

''Nice Score''

is that a 24" fork?

The fork measures 13 inches from the center of the axle to the top of the inside of the tube where the wheel would top out....is that a 24" ?????

Rick

Rick, it looks to be a 24", and if it is let me know, as I need one for my 85' GT Cruiser, and would be happy to buy it off you. The fork I have now, has cracked dropouts. Let me know.

Mike

I guess I would be interested to sell off the GT forks since they are the wrong size for the TA frame. How can we be sure they are the size you need. Can you give me measurements of your forks to compare.

Make me an offer.
Rick