1993 GT RTS-1. A project is born.

Having been around these parts for a fair old while and having owned most of what I wanted bitd I had found my retro mojo lacking. I do have bikes I'd love to own (Yo Eddy, WTR, Klein, etc) but since I don't tend to use my retro stuff very much and the bikes in my sights are VERY expensive I'd come to the realisation that I'll never commit the funds required to buy what would in effect be an expensive garage decoration.

One of the bikes that was always on my list was the original GT RTS-1. It had to be original, had to be a '1' and had to be from the first year of production. This is because of the article below and the memories I have of repeatedly going back to the review. As a young lad this thing was exotica with a list price in the thousands, the Pro's clamoring to ride it and the bike being front and center of the full suspension assault that was to come. In late 1992 there was very little to touch it.

Re:

I've seen a few of the originals pop up on here but most seem to be the less interesting (To me) later models. My interest was pricked when Minifreak posted up that he'd bagged one from a badly listed ebay add. Probably full of wine I made an off the cuff comment that I'd be interested in the frame if he didn't want it.

Due to Tim being a great bloke a deal was struck and now I have this!
I must admit I get a real buzz just looking at it in my garage. It's safe to say the retro juices are flowing again! It's dated as a Decembe 1992 frame and is in great condition. The small dent on the top tube looks much worse in the picture, it's nothing more than a slight handle bar strike. The frame is great.

This will be a slow burner as I plan to do a proper job on it and rebuild it like the article. I may deviate in to some Syncros/Control Tech or the like to replace some GT parts but we'll see. It will have M900 and RS Mags, just as it should.

I'm looking forward to this.

She looks even better in the sun against the grass. Looking forward to updates on this one

..hope you made him haggle.

Re:

Thanks chaps. The haggle was brief!

The rear triangle needs a repaint but I think I'll wait to see if I need to refinish some other parts at the same time. The main frame will be polished again but nothing more. I need to contact Gil to see if he has repro decals for the rear.

I have some NOS Mavic 281 wheels which will be rebuilt on M900 hubs. They will be perfect. I had worried that it might be too small to ride but a quick measure shows the ett is actually longer than the 89 Saracen I tend to use for retro duty so it should be fine.

I'm a big fan of the rts, a few have been through my hands but I've kept a nos team version dated 93. Not one for the catalogue purists as it's built with m952, control tech and sports modern crossmax wheels and fox forks (though it looked awesome with Judy fsx, may go back to those).

What rear decals do you need as I may have some.

Wish I'd kept the rts-1 I had, as that was to be an m900 spec build, but the garage was brimming and something had to give.

Look forward to your build. After reading the review you posted I have to say it's spot on. I still think it's the best looking full suspension bike made as well (though amps were up there).

I'm pulling up a chair for this ..

For me I would 100% repaint the rear, even at the cost of the stickers. font end is too tidy to have the tatty rear hanging on it.

i assume gold rs mags? or another fork repainted in gold.

Thanks all. Yes, gold mags will be the order of the day. In fact, that reminds me, I need to contact a member.

As for the decals, I will just need the original rear triangle ones as it defo needs a repaint. Any help with that would be great!

Don't expect this to be a quick one as the M900 parts will need to be acquired over time, one at a time in secret.

The "thermonuclear protection" sticker is an Oakley one and is rarer than the XTR ones that were on the main frame