As of 2015, Bridgestone was the world’s largest tire manufacturer in the world, with 141 facilities in 24 countries. They started building motorcycles after WWII but they eventually shied away from it because their biggest source of income was selling tires to Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki – so why compete with them? Riders in the know thought Bridgestone made some solid (though slightly expensive) two-wheelers, and one of them was the 175 Dual Twin.
The Dual Twin featured expensive rotary valves, fully-enclosed carbs, Bridgestone’s first automatic oil mixing system, and a “Sport-Shift” lever, a lever on the left side of the transmission that enabled a manual overdrive function enabling a top speed bump from 65 to about 85 miles per hour. The 177cc engine (basically a fusing of two Bridgestone 90cc motors) produced 20 horsepower and the bike weighed 271 pounds. At 25 miles per hour, this bike could return 129 miles per gallon – but that won’t matter for this bike, which has been converted to a racer. For more on the Dual Twin, check out this scan of a road test from Cycle Magazine hosted on Bridgestone Motorcycle.
This bike (VIN: 16I15244) has been “completely rebuilt and retrofitted for racing.” Some of that work included a lightening of the frame, fully adjustable suspension, magnesium triple clamps, Menani brakes, Excel rims, Bridgestone tires (seems appropriate), and Ohlins steering damper, 5-speed Nova Racing transmission, milled cylinder heads, and a whole lot more.
Find this Bridgestone racer for sale in Santa Fe, New Mexico with an unmet opening bid of $17,000 or a BIN of $26,000