ROYGBIV - the 1985 Haro Freestyler Master.

Something a little different to the usual...!
Not so much a car as it is.. a bike? It's a bike. But hey, it's colourful, its 80's.. and just a bit of fun.

After months of gathering parts, and a solid weekend of putting all together; a replica of one of the most iconic bikes in early Freestyle BMX - the 1985 Haro Freestyler Master in Neon Green.

2015 being the 30th anniversary of the 1985 range of Haro Freestylers, saw Haro re-release a very limited run of the FST, Sport, and Master framesets. ~50-100 of each was available worldwide.
Fortunately for me, the Australian distributor was allocated a handful of these; so off I went to the bike store to get myself one! Was genuinely stoked to be able to wander into a bike store and see the Sport and Master sitting on a shelf behind the counter.. added an extra original 1985-vibe of sorts!


Trying to resist going into too much detail on this here.. but, a little from the brochure quickly..:

1985-specific brochure showing the 1985-specific bikes.

A couple period advertisements, borrowed from here.

..and the 2015, 1985-tribute framesets.

The blue sport is so very tempting, but as mentioned above.. the green Master is bloody iconic.

SO; off to the bike store.. and fortunately got my hands on one of two the store had been allocated!

...Went in the AW11 as I'm not the brightest; but too chuffed with myself to care.

Success.
Just has such a fantastic frame. Those full-length twin top tubes, rear standing platforms integrated with the chain-stays, fork-standers... and the bright green paint...

Decided to go with a bright blue/red combo to tie in the with the decals. Knew it would be fairly ridiculous compared to the otherwise-very-pretty colourway in the brochure.. but ehh... worth a laugh!
Ended up causing me a fair bit of pain, as I had to wait a good 4months to get the teal Skyway II's I'd ordered. No dice in the end, and at the last minute changed to the dark blue anyway.
Otherwise everything (bar one or two pieces I didn't have much choice) I bought the nicest bits I could get. Most of the parts are reproductions of period originals; not just because it makes the finished product more 'correct', but as its a 100% reproduction of an original frame, you're forced to continue on with old tech/parts that have LONG been otherwise phased out. 

Bike going together - this took a somewhat embarrassing amount of time. Seriously the best part of a weekend..

But done! Painfully resisted the urge to jump right on.. nope, it was only going to be perfect once. So wiped it down, and carried it to the closest "that'll do" location. 20minuted of pics, then FINALLY got to ride it..!

The pics.

More than a little happy with how this all turned out. Seriously chuffed..!




Anyway.. what else?


The previous ride-around bike was then retired...

1987 Haro FST.
Pulled apart and packed away for another day. I just don't have the room (..or need) to have them all set up unfortunately..

..leaving just the Master above, and this.. an unrestored (or 'survivor') '87 Sport. I REALLY like this. Will do a nicer photoset of it another time..




Done.
There you go. Educational and fun..

WWJD? The JC Cosmo...

A triple-rotor 90's dream-machine.

"but Ross" I hear you saying.. "A 1990 introduction date for the JC generation Cosmo means it's not 80's at all.."

..but no.

If we look as the number '10' as 1-through-10.. then 90 is the end of the decade. Similarly, if we look at 1985-1995 as the 80's, the same way we look at 1976-1983 as the 60's.. then - following this same logic - it makes perfect sense that 1987 backwards through 1981 (ignoring 1982) are clearly the early 2000's.

It's obvious!

1990 JC Eunos Cosmo 20B Type-S.
Absolute top of the market at the moment, currently for sale in Japan (Saitama, not far out of Tokyo) at CARSHOP LEAD for ~3.3million yen.

A September 1990 build for this car makes it quite early production for the fourth generation Cosmo, introduced some time that year.
Available in both Type-E and Type-S trim, and powered by either a 13B twin-turbo twin-rotor, or a 20B twin-turbo triple-rotor - both mated to a 4spd auto only. Variants ending in 'CCS' had the 'Car Communication System' (identifiable by an antenna unit above the rear windscreen).. and later in its 6 year production run there was also a Type-SX variant..
..But no, lets keep it simple here. Early cars.. essentially Type E | Type S. This particular car being a 20B Type-S, non CCS.

Gran Turismo in the late 90's was my first introduction to these, and I'm  genuinely still VERY fond of them. I think they look absolutely fantastic, the 20B makes them king of all Rotors, and an (unintentional?) short, limited production run, makes them something very special to see.
I remember driving across the other side of town ~early 2006, to look at a tired 20B Type-E CCS one that was for sale. Was 6 or 8 grand from memory - painfully cheap - and probably ended up being parted for the 20B. Let's hope not.

This car - not simply a perfect stock example - takes the appeal up a notch in a different way: as a 90's era modified high-speed machine. Its just SO damn lush...

Large exhausts and an absolutely spot-on set of OZ Pegasus wheels are the only exterior modifications..

..but a look through the window would start to tell a different story.
The auto has made way for a manual, there's a bolt-in cage, a confetti Recaro SR and a pair of harnesses, a Nardi wheel, and a plethora of gauges, computers, and controllers - all as if pulled straight from a 90's HyperREV.

..all supporting what's under that bonnet. The desirable 20B car has lost its 'Sequential Twin Turbo' setup, replaced by a very large single. A classic yellow Trust AIRNIX stands out amongst a sea of blue colour-matching; and then there's those cooler hardpipes - I think I could fit my leg in that cold side!
All looks to be done very neatly. It looks quality. It looks fast. 

Sadly I haven't got the $50,000-or-so needed to get my hands on this Cosmo, but argh, I can dream..

...

1. Import
2. To a tuner for a check up.
3. To the Hume Fwy.
4. To Jail. 

..righto.. maybe it's best left out of my hands..!