Hi I have been lurking here for years but never joined because they wanted a fee years ago and I did not have paypal. I am 35 and have been doing flatland and vert since age 12. I recently restored my 1988 Haro Master to almost like new condition, and have been riding flatland again religiously for about 3 years. I just started back a few weeks ago seriously. I have the black/white/blue Master, and I put some newer parts on it. It still has most of its original parts that I restored. I only had to repaint the top tubes some and the seat post. I sanded them all down so it looked better, as opposed to touching up a whole bunch of nicks.

The original decals are still pretty great considering how much I rode it. I replaced the top tube ones with another type that has matching colors that still looks great, as the original ones peeled off mostly over the years. I decided to restore it after seeing it start to rust and sitting all dusty in the corner. I got the bug again after watching my old VHS tapes Team Haro, Freestylin' USA, BMX Plus! 101 Freestyle Tricks, and some by Bobby Carter. I also got even more motivated when seeing Matt Wilhelm's great new DVD "Ground Rules." I used to ride 14 hours a day in the 80's and 90's, and I won 4 straight flatland championships locally.

So I am now back with a vengeance. No one in my whole area was ever near my ability because most of the kids got lazy and quit. I am still the only one riding in my area, especially at my age. I am still in great shape though from 28 years of martial arts and P90X, so that helps a lot. Most kids around here just ride around or do basic ramp at the skate park. I am still the only flatlandler. (PA)

I will take some pics of my master outside soon when I get my new seat. I have a brand new Dave Mirra Haro seat that I got at the Bike shop that I shopped at since 1987, and it seems to be very rare now. I love how it feels and looks but it is too heavy for and too slippery for what I do. So I ordered a retro white dominator for it off eBay. I might put the seat on eBay if anyone is interested. I also ordered some classic A'me blue grips and Lizard skin donuts that I always used. So maybe I will wait until it is complete to take pics. Since I ride a lot I decided not to keep small pegs, and still use the bigger Trek pegs I got years ago. I also got 3-piece Voxom cranks which I love and were a great deal. I also got brand new Haro kneesavers, and I still have the old bars in storage, which rusted some and I painted black. But I like the kneesavers for many tricks like Hang 5's, and the old ones for bar riding tricks.

I am very lucky to have a retro bike shop still open near me, and the owner still has all these parts from the 80's brand new in dusty bags lol. I could make a fortune on eBay if I wanted to by buying him out. I just got a pair Haro Shin Guards from back in the 90's. So yeah it is mixture of newer parts and still has the original headset, Dia-compe locking levels, seat post, fork standers etc. I just happen to go to his shop again to see if he had any donuts, and he told me that he has a GT Performer in the back that has been there about a year. I could not believe it because I know how rare they are today along with all the others. So I went back and looked at it and I was very surprised to see how good of shape it was in. My mouth watered. I am not sure of the year, but after researching pics here and a lot of other places, it looks like a 1987.

I will have to post pics so maybe some others who know can tell me what year it is. But it has all the same parts as all the 87 ones I seen. It is the blue one with the blue bars, white tires, white mags, white seat, blue/pink stickers, some which are almost new like! It has spot rust on the frame and bars here and there, but the overall paint job of the bike is fantastic overall considering how old it is. The rust is in small patches throughout. I will be replacing all the rusty cables anyway, and any other part that I can with new. I am not sure though about the frame and how to fix it. I know paint jobs look better if you sand it all down and then repaint it. But I also do not know the exact blue color or code. Anyone happen to know the color? It appears to be baby or sky blue. But the problem is that most of the paint is pretty good and I would hate to take off the original color. So I am not sure what to do?

I also want to restore the original parts, but I want it to be fit for riding today, so I am probably going to buy new parts for it just to be safe, but trying to stay as close to the original look as possible. I might restore the parts and save them though in case I ever sell it, that way someone can do a full retro restore. I hate riding flatland with mags so I am going to add rims. So I was wondering if anyone had any restoration tips? I am used to restoring Haro's but never had a GT. When I was a kid I wanted A Haro Master badly and or a GT Pro Tour Team Model. I first had a Haro FSX, the white and light blue one; which got stolen. I can't believe my 88 Master is 22 years old and looks like I just took it out of a bike shop lol. It took me about 6 months to complete and about $400. I wanted to restore it with all old school parts, but those little pegs always killed my toes. So I guess I have the best of both worlds.

I grew up idolizing Moliterno, McCoy, Itson, Blyther, Voelker, Hoffman, Nourie, Aparijo, Jones, etc. Especially Moliterno, he is still my favorite ever. So that is a little bit about me. Also I was wondering if anyone could list all the original parts on a 1987 GT, assuming that is what it is, so I can decide what to put on it? I want to go 3-piece cranks though for riding, most likely chrome, unless I can find white or blue. I am going by the pictures I have seen as well. The paint on my Haro is still good and all I did was use Walmart Krylon black I think with no primer. At first it peeled but I added a few coats and clear coats later on and let it cure like a year. So far so good. I am new to painting bikes so I did not know then you need primer etc. Plus I never had anywhere to paint.

No one I know of in my area does powder coats. But like I said most of my frame's paint was still great, and most of the decals are still great. So I did not want to scrap them all. So should I just use rust jelly to get the spot rust off the GT, and then somehow touch it up? Maybe cover some with sticks? What color paint? I emailed GT as well asking them what color paint to get but have yet to hear a response. I could also paint it hot pink, but like I said I would like to keep the original paint if possible and decals.

I will take some before pics of the GT though to be sure what year it is. I can tell it was not used that much, especially not for freestyle as it has the reflectors still on it, and has no major stress marks or scuffs associated with crashes. It looks like it was lightly used, and maybe left outside in the rain some and just started rusting. I am going to get white GT tires and grips as well, and all new Gyros and white cables/brake shoes etc. Although I know some had Rotors but I like Gyros and I think it has one.

The back brake is also on top of the tire, which I dislike. I did not see any mounts on the top of the bottom tube, but maybe there are some to put a bracket underneath as I seen on some GT's? I will have to check being I prefer my brake down there for more power. But yeah overall it was a great score. The owner found it at a yard sale and I have seen it go for about 10 times what I paid for it on eBay. He does not know what they are worth but I do. But I am not interested in restoring it and selling it because it has been my long-time hobby for so long, and I enjoy restoration projects.

After I restore it I will finally have both of my dream bikes from the 80's. I also would not mind a hot pink one and a turquoise Master one day lol. Also how would I go about painting the mags? Could I use Krylon white paint and clear coat? They might just be dirty, I am not sure yet. But I would like to get them looking new again being they are the original GT ones. So if anyone has any tips on painting/restoring, or can give me a list of parts that come stock on a 1987 I would appreciate it. Like I said I will try to get some before pics up in about a week or two. Glad to finally be an active member here! Thanks, ride on.

Holy Wall of Text Batman!!! Anyways welcome aboard. Would love to see some pics of the Haro and the GT. Sorry i dont have any real info on it for ya other than keep digging around here there is a ton of info to be gleaned.

I've seen a few different techniques for cleaning mags. If they haven't been painted, you can generally make pretty good headway with those Magic Eraser pads. If the brake pad buildup is too thick, get some ScotchBrite pads and go after them with that. I've even seen people using sandpaper, but I'd be pretty darn careful about that. If there is paint on them, I've found that brake fluid works really well at loosening it up without getting nasty on the plastic. A good tip is to search the Tech and Restoration section--it comes up fairly regularly.

Welcome aboard!

Man, I hope you type fast, otherwise that must have taken DAYS.

Welcome!

Thanks guys. Yeah I am known to be a very prolific poster/ essay writer on other forms as well, and I am an author of my own book on another subject; so writing long-winded posts just comes naturally I guess. I like to be sure to provide all the details and not leave anything out, and sometimes my questions get lost in the mix. Thanks for the replies so far I will try those things and get back to those who responded. I took some quick pics for now to give everyone an idea, so maybe you can tell what year it is. I am still looking at the thousands of bikes in the Museum and I am currently on 1986. Wow lots of sweet rides in there!

I will get some better pics in the sun in a few days, and take some of my Haro as well as soon as I get my grips and Dominator seat on it. Let me know if you can tell anything by these pics. It is a low-end camera but it works really well in good lighting and up close, and the batteries last 3 years not 5 minutes lol. There is slightly more rust spots than visible in the poor indoor lighting, but it does look pretty great, almost as great as the pics indicate. I am sure more details will seen outdoors. I will also take some with a disposable so I can get them on disk, and perhaps some during the restoration process.

I may just keep the paint for now and possible repaint next spring, as the paint is in pretty good survivor mode still. Anyone know the color yet? I read \\\"Dayglo\\\" a lot on here but I did not see that paint anywhere. The closest paint I have seen judging by the cap is Krylon \\\"Sailor Blue.\\\" But I would have to test it out to be sure. Some of the decals on the bike are like new! Especially the cro-mo main tubes 4130 seat tube sticker. I will try to keep this shorter this time. Yeah I type about 80 WPM so I am good. Here are some quick pics. I also found an old Haro Road Champs that I found at the shop which I wanted 10 years ago! It is mint in package. Way cool. Here some pics, let me know if you know the year and where I can find replacement original parts and decals.

I know ebay has some and AJS\\\'s Bikes I think. But I am going to make this for riding so it will be \\\"Mid School\\\" I guess, as I do not want to ride single piece cranks and tiny pegs lol. I am also getting a cool chrome GT sprocket with the black GT logo and probably chrome 3-piece cranks. Unless I can find white. I will have to see as I go. It could be 86-89 but I am still not sure. The tires are not original but I am getting afer-market GT white ones also. Also anyone know where I ccan get white gyro cables?

I want that GT Tour too.

It looks like it could also be a 1990. The serial number starts with G 9003... I think I remember the decals looking like that in 1990. I have some old GT catalogs somewhere too along tons of freestylin' and BMX Plus! maybe I can find them sometime and check.

Cool GT. I bought one about two months ago that is VERY similiar. Although mine is black and nowhere near as good as condition as yours. I'll try to throw up a few pics sometime this weekend. I would say they are early 90's off the top of my head.

Cool I would love to see it. I remember them in black too. I found one other pic in the museum with the same stickers listed as a 1990. I might re-decal them with the pink/blue/white pro performer stickers like the one on the seat post. But the yellow is nice too. So may options, blue mags white tires, white mags blue tires etc. I am going to try to stay as close to the original as possible and spread the colors of white, blue, and chrome through out. White grips, blue donuts, chrome rims, cranks, sprocket etc. I Also found rims with black GT hubs that should match the sprocket and cranks well being they have some black on them and the GT symbol on the sprocket.

I also need to find a white back gyro cable, upper and lower and white brake shoes. I may fix the Dia-Compe Bull Dog brakes touching them up with paint or look for new ones. But they are not that bad of shape. May also get a newer pair of white GT pedals. I hope to have this all done by no later than July and maybe sooner. This hobby still gets expensive though even more so these days!

As promised, here are my GT pics....and you thought you had a big restore!!!!

Looks pretty good, I was expecting worse lol. Doesn't look bad at all though. Are going to repaint or keep the paint on it? Are going to stick with black? Any idea when you will get it done? I like how mags look but I am going for rims for actual flatland. I would love to find another sometime to do a retro restore for display and one for riding. Does your serial number also start with G900? I am currently applying rust jelly on mine trying to get off all of the rust, especially on the nuts and bolts so I can loosen them easier.

Pictures always look better! I have the front wheel too, it was just off for shipping. Lot of rust on the cranks and rims. I don't think the wheels are worth anything saving. I will check on the serial number. As for when it will be done, I have no idea. I have a ton of other projects in line. I need to stop buying the projects and just get one finished!

Just got back from powder coating and man is it sweet! They forgot my seat post though, but should have that soon. I went for how neon pink looks in some pics, or florescent red/orange. This thing is so bright it glows in the dark! Will add pics soon during the whole process.

Looks more orange like the neon pink does in pics due to the lighting, but it is actually a bright red/orange. But just to give an idea. Camera is too low-end to give accurate colors farther away. Also got the white mags washed up and ready to sell possibly. They are still in excellent condition too. Will get more pics with another camera later as well and when complete. The darker red pics are the more accurate ones.

Pics 2 and 7 above of the handle bars and forks are the closest to the accurate color. the others the sun and flash in myhouse make it seem orange. But this thing glows hot red and it is going to be rad indeed. I also have White Ame grips, and the comoom color schemes are going to be this color, white, and a little bit of black, being some white parts I can't get get. Although a black and red look would have been great too. I going back tires even though I want white GT tires, but they will be black in a day around here anyway.

I am hoping to get the proper white brakes and cables too. My white Gyro is a little scuffed so I will be getting a black one most likely to keep the bike looking new and clean. I also got cool looking white donuts with black trim NOS from my bike shop, never seen anything like them online. White eastern pedals, white kmc chain, chrome/black GT sprocket, Black GT hubs with Chrome rims, Voxom chrome 3-piece cranks, which give me the option of silver matching brakes too if I can't get white. Just can't wait to get this complete and start riding. My 88 Master needs a rest lol.

My motivation for this was how the day-glo pink looked in pics like these.










That is almost exactly the colr mine is, especially the last 2 which I know are actually day-glo pink but look florescent red/orange. I am going to get as close to the last one as possible but still add my own touches being it is not a team model. I love the black tire look too. White is great but for riding they would be black anyweay very quickly as I said. My white GT seat is also in great condition as well as the logos.

Well this is about a week or two from being complete finally. I just finished up decals for the first time ever and they turned out great for the most part, had a small air pocket in the big one on the frame that would not come out even after using water and soap and reapplying it etc, but it is good enough as it is going to be my rider anyway. I always wanted this type of GT so I made a 1990 one into this and you can see pics of the old look in the links. This is a florescent neon orange/red with white underneath with is a day-glow orange. Would have been done by now but I have to keep sanding everything down so the parts will fit. I had a heck of time getting the levers to fit and seatpost, not got to sand down the top of the seat tube so the clamp will fit. I tried to get all old-school parts but had to go some new school because I could not find anymore or always got outbid. So it is a mix. As I said it will be my daily rider anyway so that is cool. Will get better pics outdoors when complete.

The old look was pretty good too and it was a great survivor but I always wanted a GT this color so I made it happen. Can't wait for it be all together. Thanks to all who helped out with questions also to make this possible.

That looks great! I always loved that color on the GT's bitd. Can't wait to see it all built up!

Well I got it done finally and it is great overall. I took some pics towards night where the paint seems to start to glow, although it is a little over-exaggerated since it was getting dark out. I will take more with sun for hopefully a more accurate color. But as you can see it not pink although I would not mind it. Some small issues are the handlebars moved when pretty tight which is probably from both the stem and the handlebars being painted, although I tried to sand the handlebar down as much as possible and even tried to scrape it off. Some was left though as I have limited tools and no work area really. I might try some paint thinner to get all the paint off so the grooves show more. I lubed the bolts up and they went tighter and the bars have not moved so far but I want to be sure they won't.

I also hate side pull brakes because eventually they always start rubbing on the weaker side, or stay pulled in. Any remedies for that? I used to tighten the calibers more but then the brakes would not work right or stay closed on the rim. They also get messed up if I step on the cable raised up near the seat. But I made sure that there was only minimum slack and I know they stretch eventually. Another issue too is that I like the stem all the way down and the seat medium height, and my hand will get caught if I do not keep it hugging the grip toward the brakes. I have the bar going just above the seat so that I can catch it with the seat. I also have the seat as far back as the guts will go and that made it really hard to tighten it and to get a wrench into the bolts. I had to use a screw driver to bend the seat out being I have only a small adjustable and not sure if I have any flat little wrenches anywhere.

But I now the Dominator seat went back further and I will be using that for riding because it is bigger and more comfortable. Cushion seats feel great to ride but I don't like the lack of grip and weight of them. But overall it turned out great and I love it. I just took it to the bike shop for the cranks being I have no grease, and wanted to be sure they were done right being that I never installed 3-piece cranks, and it looks like they did not even need the adapter and said the one that came with the set worked. So I got the adapter here and there is no play at all, they are solid. Strange. Some people did tell me though that a 22MM would work on its own. So far it seems to be. I hate a lot of brake issues with my Haro over the years also, but the back brakes were better because I had 990 mounts on the bottom. But these brakes work great so far with no slip, only problem is keeping the pads from rubbing which I had with my other bikes too. I run them pretty close to the rim so maybe that is why?

I only took 3 quick pics, tomorrow will be polishing up the chrome and cleaning it up. I hate how all the white gets dirty so fast. You should have heard all the compliments I got and a lot of hot chicks saying "we love your bike color" lol. Also people asking where they can get the same exact bike, they have no idea lol. Took me over a year to get all the right parts and now I can live my dream of owning it 27 years later. I got used to it pretty quickly and I like the curve in the bottom tube better for more room, and I am glad those frame stands like on my Haro are not there. I need to add the seat post sticker now and will be taking more pics tomorrow in the sunlight. Was a fun, expensive, and frustrating project, and well worth it.

I did not have time to get pics today plus I noticed my back tire was flat, not sure how that happened. The GT tired say 35lbs and I am used to 50 but I only put in 40 and the front was alright, weird. I took a few at night with flash for fun, looks slightly more orange than it is, it is actually neon red/orange more. At least I don't need reflectors at night lol. Will get day pics all around soon.

Took some pics around 11 am in the sun, background still is throwing the color off slightly, not quite that orange but close, a little more red. Might try against a fence later. Only thing that sucks about all that white is it greases up and gets dirty fast, and powder coat seems to not be as tough as I said before. But I always wanted this as a rider so that is going to happen. Just sucks when it is so nice new and then gets scuffed and dirty after all that time and money. One day I might have to do one for display only but these are meant to be ridden! I will be switching the seat to a new white dominator too as it is longer and easier to sit back to spin the bars around. That seat is killer enough on the butt let alone this little GT one. The guts also go back further on the Dominator as it is longer. The soft seats are great for riding but I don't like the lack of grip and they can tear easily and are a lot heavier. I loved how my old Mirra looked on my Haro though.

Took some more pics at the park today for my first time out riding flatland, and with my new dominator seat which is a lot easier on the back then that little GT one. Rides great too.

That looks really cool, I bet people can see you coming from a mile away. I still don't know what color it is, red, orange, pink? lol. Something bright and in the middle I'm guessing. I know it's hard to get accurate photos of certain colors. Great job of turning an OK looking Performer into something that really stands out of the crowd.

Thanks. It is a florescent red/orange.

Your GT looks great.....Keep up the good work!

Wow what a transformation!

Very cool - that neon pink/orange is always a difficult color to photograph. Great job on the transformation. That style GT frame was probably one of the best/most popular frames made.

Jeff