1986 Fuji Design Series "Mark Gorski" Track

1986 Fuji Design Series "Mark Gorski" Track

This was close to the nicest frame you could buy in 1986 and it came in both a road and track setup. The "Fuji 9658" tubing sticker is actually Fuji-branded Quad-butted Ishiwata 019E, and they only came in this awesome sparkly rose color. 

Despite being high-quality, hand-built, Japanese steel, neither the frame nor fork are NJS stamped. This is probably because the projected market for these frames was American riders and racers. To my knowledge though, Gorski himself never rode one.

Much of what else I know about the frame comes from the lore that old-timers like to reminisce about. There are two main rumors that I keep hearing:

1. This was only ever sold as just the frame and fork with a Hatta headset, which is odd to hear because where else would you get a custom made Fuji-branded Suntour Superbe Pro seatpost? But then, why not have the headset match the seatpost? In any case, it was never sold as a complete bike, but the specifics are apparently lost to history.

2. The decals surrounding the FUJI on the downtube are allegedly the family crests of the guys who designed and hand-built these frames in Japan. I have no documentation for this whatsoever, but I would very much like to think that it is true. And, if it is true, I'd love to learn the names and histories of the families who produced this piece of cycling art.