OWNER’S TALE: Steve Thomas

I bought the GTO at Stafford back in 2005 from an Irish guy. He was actually selling bike lifts and was using the Bridgestone as a prop to engage with the public. I was dead keen but didn’t have the money with me that day but he said “take the bike and pay me later”… what a trusting gent! Money paid, the bike sat untouched for some five years until I got around to it. Despite only showing 2800 miles there was an oil leak from the gearbox. A strip down revealed some engine parts missing that the seller was totally unaware of as he’d never fired it up. Obviously something fairly major had happened to the bike when new and eventually the owner had just walked away from it. Everything has now been sorted and I’ve fettled, tinkered and gradually worked my way through the bike. More than 75% of the chrome is original and untouched. Some of the zincing has been refreshed but that’s about it; I’ve no plans to rip it apart and restore it.