S-BIKE full suspension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raging_Bulls]

what was your max bid on it?

My max bid was 282 EUR (never go for nice round numbers), and apparently that was only just enough.
With 3 seconds to go, someone pushed the price from 96 to 120 EUR.
Then in the final second, one of the early bidders put down a final bid for 222 EUR.

If I had compared the proto with that 828 before the auction ended, I would have gone close to the 4-digit range.
However at that point in time I still thought that it was most likely not a genuine Sbike, so I was only prepared to bid up to a point where I could recuperate most of my expenses by selling the headset and fork.
I guess I was just lucky.

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This is only the second step on my road to bankruptcy (the first one being my membership here). This won't be a cheap build.

I'm going to need a good framebuilder to correct the headset angle and finish the frame.
The headset needs to be removed and welded back on, there's the issue with the cable stops, brake bosses and the support bar on top of the swingarm.
That sounds like £1K to me, and it might be even more if the swingarm pivot in the main frame needs work done to it. For all I know, it might simply be a hole drilled through the frame, or a tube with a bolt through it.

Then there's the components. I've been looking at the price for NOS XTR M900 parts, and my bank account is having a heart attack already.
XTR came out in 1992, so if it's a 92 or 93 frame I could probably use that. If it's a 1990 or 91 frame however, I'm not sure what I'd need to look for.
I'll have to dig deep in the Shimano timeline to identify the top groupsets of each year.
There's no way I'll use second-hand or refurbished parts on this one. It just has to be NOS wherever possible.

I know Yeti had some involvement with the Quinn prototypes and early Sbike prototypes, so I'll probably get in touch with Frank The Welder. If he had something to do with this frame BITD, he's the only logical choice.
If it was not a Yeti-built frame, it's probably a Verlicchi one, so I might have to get in touch with them too.
If I can get it finished by the same company/people that started building it, that only adds to the authenticity.

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Either way, now the waiting game begins.
Once the frame arrives, I'll take lots of pictures and start a proper discussion topic. Then once the build starts, a build topic will probably follow. (if the mods allow 2 topics for one bike, that is)

Unfortunately I splashed out on Ti and KCNC parts for my Copperhead right after I bought the 828. The next day I got a huge bill from the tax office (I was expecting a return really), so I'm properly skint now.
I'm not kidding here. It's going to take a while to get enough money for this project.
Well, at least that gives me plenty of time to authenticate the frame and come up with a proper speclist.

 

[henrysthreeironbands]

M735 would fit better than M900, I doubt this is as late as 92 and even if it was I think a proto deserves to appear as if its made for rigorous use/testing, not for showing off nos xtr. My 2 c.