1975 the first frame was built by John Johnson under the name Texon for his son Doug. John's other son Steve took over the business then renamed it Johnson Engineering. It was quickly changed to Torker (Johnson Engineering) under Steve's helm then eventually just Torker in 1978.
The prototype was refined into the Torker MX in 1976 which had pressed forward facing rear drop outs.
By 1978 the MX was updated to have a proper sized head tube, rear facing drop outs much like the Low Profile, L.P., frames, and the name changed to Big Bike geared towards the larger riders like Kevin McNeal who joined in 1977.
1979 the Low Profile frames were now being produced with a "Long" version, 1" longer" so this was the end for the Big Bike model.
1979 the Torker stem was introduced but the early prototype versions were only four bolts compared to the production six bolts.
Another rare item is the Mitsuboshi Competition II large knobby front tire much like a Cheng Shin. They were not advertised, spec'd on DG California Pro bikes, and to my knowledge only produced within a year, '79/80, as the Comp II smaller knobbies were advertised and widely used.
Surprisingly have seen very few of the "Big Bike" frames so hear ya go!
Vehicle
Frame – Torker MX with rear facing dropouts, rare
Fork – Torker
Bars – DG alloy, NOS (rare)
Headset – Tange Pro MX Meriter sealed, NOS
Stem – Torker prototype four bolt, rare
Grips – Oakley I’s, NOS
Brakes – Dia-Compe, NOS with Mathauser finned pads
Rims – Araya 7B’s 1st gen
Hubs – Phil Wood 1st gen, all original
Tires – Mitsuboshi Competition II Yellow label large knobby (very rare)
Tires – Cycle Pro Snake Belly, NOS
Cranks – Shimano 600EX, NOS
Pedals – Bob Reedy, rare
Bottom bracket – Bullseye sealed
Chain – HKK Smoker, NOS
Seat – Quilted padded
Seat Post – Alloy, NOS
Seat Post Clamp – Powerlite PL-1, NOS
Pads – Torker vinyl
Plate – Bicycle Motocross Action, rare
Dialed-in
Jeff "JT" and Jemma Tollefson
www.JTFreestyle.com
Your authoritative resource for BMX, Old school to New
JT Freestyle