2cam16

Started the breakdown today. But had to cut it short because the Barrett-Jackson auction started. lol
Going to bring this back to life,stock. Then ride it.
Here are a few pics from the day I got it this past week to today when I started the breakdown:

cbrstar

I remember just how cool these bikes were when they came out! I had been riding my GT BMX, so my parents bought me some kinda Italian sounding MTB thinking I'd enjoy a bigger bike more. The problem was I kept bending the forks on it because they were practically roadbike forks. So when I saw a GT like this with the thicker forks I automatically really wanted one, but could never afford it.

2cam16

Good story.

thumpism 

One of my buddies in town had one that was stolen many years ago. I always liked the U-brake and brace on the rear.

sarahbruce

The paint job is amazing! I would be all over one of these, but I never see them locally. I am looking forward to the "after" pics.
Bruce

3speedslow

Bring it on, 2cam16! That inferno paint scheme is great. At one time I had an outpost GT. Did not know what it was called but looked much like it. I called it Spastic Tigger. Sadly, the chainstay was so chewed it bent unridable.

Look forward to after shots.

2cam16

Thanks all! Will update again when I move forward with this project.
From what I saw today, only a frozen rear brake cable, missing lever for the seat qr, a few chips here and there, and some minimal surface rust on some parts are my only problems. Looks like it was mostly kept in the garage. Just need to buy some orange hobby paint for the chips.

kevrider

sweet!

i have two Karakorams. one is a 95 bought new, set up right now a single speed hardtail with a rock show judy. i keep it at my moms house so i can hit the trail when i go home. love that thing. this a before pic, closer to original spec. the current spec photo failed to upload (too many bytes). it is no longer gray.
Dauset trail ride 002.jpg

the other is a 92ish CL find from ten years ago, geared and rigid and hanging in my cousins garage since i moved west. plotting to go get it and bring it out this summer. unfortunately, i've lost all of the decent pics.
SS at YR 007.jpg

i bought this one to test out single speeding and decided i liked it but would like it more with a suspension fork. but the older bike has a one-inch head tube, so i converted it back to geared and made the 95 my single speed. i have a new handlebar for it and will use it as my in-town runabout.

really cool bikes.

kevrider

images resized.

IMG_0045z copy.jpg

IMG_0051z copy.jpg

this thread makes me nostalgic.

2cam16

Nice rides,Kev! Yeah I grew up with this era of mt bikes. My first real mt. bike was a '90 Hardrock so I love these older ones even though I own a 2011 Hardrock. lol

2cam16

Got some cleaning work done today. Getting rid of the tape residue on the stem took awhile.Stupid me was rushing and forgot the crank arm nut was still on and tried to pull the drive crank with my puller. Stripped my crank threads. So left that on as I didn't want to damage my puller. Now I have a frozen bb lockring. Tried a lot of things. Will give it a few days with WD40.
Any suggestions on the stock handlebar? I want to reuse it as it has the GT logos but it has some major scratches. I was thinking cover the logos and repaint but I doubt if my paintjob will hold for long. Maybe just hand paint the scratches? Or should I just switch to a silver bar or a silver riser?

Fahrenheit531 

@2cam16 Awesome! You unintentionally answered my "what bike is that, anyway?" musings about a recent GnR "Celebrities on Bikes" post. I did some cursory searches around the web last night but found nothing that matched... now suddenly this! hahaha Thanks a bunch.

...And cool bike. That paint rocks.

2cam16

Lol, you're right! It is a Karakoram!

TenGrainBread 

Re: stripped crank threads - this Park Tool article has some good options for getting off a stripped square taper crank.

Re: handlebars - Although it's nice to use the original bars, it's hard for me to enjoy the handling of the old narrow MTB handlebars after riding modern wide bars used on contemporary MTBs. The control a wider bar gives is really great.

I have a Soma Osprey bar on an early 90s Giant ATX 760 and it is amazing. Comes in 25.4 stem clamp diameter and silver, and the width/mild sweepback make them incredibly comfortable and give a lot of control for off-road and road riding. The sweepback will also help compensate a little for the very long stem you have on the GT.

2cam16

Thanks for the suggestions,TGB!

3speedslow

Bummer to read about the crank. It can happen. Positive spin will be that it will never happen to you again!

The stem looks much better now. Why did GT have to make them a soccer field long?

2cam16

All good. As soon as I get that lockring off, at least I can service some of the bb.
Handpainted the scratches on the handlebar and will clearcoat it tomorrow. Also touched up the chips on the frame and fork with some orange paint. With the wild paintjob it has, you can't really tell that the orange I got doesn't match perfectly. lol
Also cleaned and polished the brakes:

Before and After:

3speedslow

Looking good. Any upgrade plans besides brake pads?

2cam16

Thanks! Actually the pads look fine,lots of meat left so they stay for now. No upgrade plans as I want to keep this as close to original as possible. I know the pedals have to be changed as one of them is broken (plastic). most of the cables ,especially the rear brake cable which is frozen it it's housing. Tires and tubes of course.

3speedslow

Something I have noticed, some 91's have rack mts on the stays and some do not. Yours does not have them while my 91 does. I wonder if this was a transitional yr thing or what...

2cam16

Could be.

Bikerider007

Coming along very nice! That is a great color combo you could tie into many ways or leave original. Look forward to seeing it complete.

3speedslow

Just another cool bit to research about these bikes. Another bit, some of the tubeset decals are blue while others are pink.

You are right about the wild paint scheme hiding a few touch ups, it will blend in perfectly.

2cam16

Thanks again,all!
Wow more trivia! Interesting about the decals!

Clang

GT mountain bikes seem to be cheap in some parts of the country and expensive in others. One of these inferno Karakorams sat on MN CL all summer at $250 with a saddle the size of a birthday cake. They're cool bikes though- I keep my eye out for a reasonably-priced Karakoram, Bravado, Psyclone, or Zaskar.

Thanks for sharing your restoration pics!