1998 GT Backwoods frame confusion

[KermitGKona88]

Every Backwoods or Avalanche I’ve had has always been stamped with alloy grade. If it was stamped 6061 then you would know for sure but it seems they never are stamped when folk are claiming to be something better.

Lots , and I mean lots of people buy stickers to make their bikes look or appear better than they are. The amount of mis stickered bikes I buy is uncanny.

I bought a “Zaskar” last year which the person was adamant they purchased new. It was a Avalanche in a frock.

I don’t doubt that manufacturers upgrade items when they run out of material. It’s cheaper than stopping production. Ford up-spec cars all the time in various ways if they run out of a item but it doesn’t mean the car is has gone up a level.

Please read my earlier statement he only bought the frame off his boss because it came directly from the supplier with a 6061 sticker on the frame and if I recall correctly his was not stamped either... Just because there is no Zaskar type stamp on the dropout doesn't mean it is not 6061, they probably didn't stamp them as they didn't want people trying to pass them off as Zaskars which were produced in the U.S. at the time. These are definately Tiawanese frames but stickered with 6061...

 

[d8mok]

Please read my earlier statement he only bought the frame off his boss because it came directly from the supplier with a 6061 sticker on the frame and if I recall correctly his was not stamped either... Just because there is no Zaskar type stamp on the dropout doesn't mean it is not 6061, they probably didn't stamp them as they didn't want people trying to pass them off as Zaskars which were produced in the U.S. at the time. These are definately Tiawanese frames but stickered with 6061...

I did read your statement and said in my post I know this could happen. It happens in car production all the time.

Whether it’s 6061 or 7005 it won’t affect the value really but it would be interesting to know. I’m not convinced though.

7005 frames are stamped too though remember. And if GT went to the trouble of stickering them as 6061 on this huge production line , why not stamp them?

However there isnt any actual proof is there? Stickers are easy to swap and heresay is just that.

6061 is lighter than 7005 so strip it to a bare frame , and weigh it on some calibrated scales and compare that to a frame of the same size. Only way to know really that I’m aware of …

Edited to add- Did Taiwanese factory’s make any 6061 frames ? I thought 6061 frames were USA built so would they even have “spare” tubing around in 6061

 

[KermitGKona88]

It is weird and I know this thing happens a lot in all sorts of production, I know it is easy to stick a different sticker on a frame even from a manufacturer, I just don't know why it would happen if the frame was not actually made from the said material. Also as I said Zaskars were fabricated in the U.S. at the time so why would a Taiwanese factory have 6061 stickers ?

 

[d8mok]

I don’t think for 1 second that the factory stuck the 6061 on. The first bike in the OP has a wonky sticker for starters. Stickers were the thing in the 90s. Maybe the distributor stuck it on as the 7005 got damaged or something silly. Who knows

I could stick a RS badge on a Focus Zetec and give the keys to the first owner. He could then tell everyone it came from Ford like that , but he would be mistaken. And it wouldn’t be a RS.

 

[KermitGKona88]

Yes you could but, if you charged him the price of a normal Focus he would have to be a fool to believe it was an RS, if you charged him for an RS it would be misrepresentation and you would be opening yourself up to a law suit...

 

[d8mok]

I never said he believed it was a RS. Just that he would tell everyone it came from Ford factory with a RS badge fitted as he purchased it new. Little does he know how many hands a new car passes through before reaching its first owner. And that’s a 20k car. Let alone a few hundred quids worth of bike.

What I’m saying , is that unless that frame is stamped or weighs less than a 7005 frame we have literally a wonky sticker / and a sticker for proof. Which could of been applied for any reason , by anyone , in the last 25 years.

 

[MADJEZ]

98 Backwoods was definitely 7005. The Avalanche and Terramoto/Pantera were 6061 that year and the only 6061 triple-triangle frames with curved endcaps that year. There is a vague possibility it's one of those that was somehow decalled as a Backwoods but I'd think that unlikely as there would be thousands of 7005 frames in the factory and only a very few 6061. The Avalanche had integral seatclamp that year which the Backwoods didn't. Other than that I think the only difference between the Backwoods and Terramoto/Pantera would be a slight weight difference.

 

[Tedgey]

mine has a intergrated seat clamp

 

[KermitGKona88]

mine has a intergrated seat clamp

Pretty sure my mates did too...

 

[d8mok]

So just to add further info to backup what I said prior

Picked up a avalanche which has the 6061 sticker , but also has it stamped on the inside LH dropout too.

I’m still firmly of the opinion that all 6061 frames are stamped as such.