Bridgestone Motorcycles Classic Japanese Motorbikes

The Bridgestone company was started in 1945 by a man called
Soichiro Ishibashi.

Ishi Bashi means 'stone bridge' in Japanese and exports to the USA were made through Rockford Motors and began in 1963

I had recently graduated and was working in student job in a factory. My friends (all bikers and owners of large cc Triumphs T150s, T160s, Hurricanes etc and other large cc Japanese bikes) had decided to go to Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales on holiday. Rhossili is famed for being one of the best places for hang gliding in Europe and also the headland known as Worms Head Worm being an ancient word for Dragon:



image credit Worms Head City and County of Swansea


For me to join the trip I needed a bike and whilst I had passed my car test I hadn't taken my bike test so I was restricted to the cc of bike I could ride. In the local paper my friend spotted a Bridgestone 175 cc, we went and bought it that night and the following day I rode 222 miles to Wales on holiday!


Here's the 222 mile route:

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image credit Jan Gwosdz


On my first Bridgestone mortorcycle trip to Wales and The Gower Peninsula we travelled late into the night. Imagine... a dark rainy night and a bunch of bikers who are not sure where we are going. A wrong turn down a lane and I get his feeling I'm being watched. Turning around I see a ghostly white figure!!! That's when the 175 cc disk valve engine came into its own as I raced away from what I now know is the famous Port Eynon Fisherman

This is my Bike!

Its parked on a camp site at Union Mills a camp site on the Isle of Man TT race circuit.

When I arrived on the island my friends asked if I'd like to do a 'lap' of the circuit. So I hopped on my trusty Bridegstone and...39 miles later I completed one lap!

I managed to get a good top speed (wink!) down Snaefell to the famous Creg-nyBaa bend and it really brought home to me just what the racers do when they make six laps of the circuit.

image credit Corrupt.Org


So why did Bridgestone suddenly stop manufacturing and selling bikes in the 1970's!?

The theory is that the other Japanese Brands (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki) didn't like the market share that Bridgestone was gaining. So they alledgedly threatened Bridgestone that they would cease using its tyres on their bikes and in doing so ruin Bridgestone's main business!

50 cc


60 cc

image credit Motorbike Search Engine

100 cc

175 cc Dual Twin

My Bike looked just like this. No chrome on tank, although pipes were black. Image credit Motor Bike Search Engine

175cc Hurricane Scrambler

image credit Motorcycle USA

350 cc




Follow The Link Below For A More Detailed Exploration of the Complete Bridgestone Range:
Motorbike Search Engine

image credit
Euro Spares

A special feature of the Bridgestone 175cc and 350cc was the disk valve induction system . The benefit of this system was that it meant there was more precise mixture and gas which in turn led to more engine efficiency.

Here's a detailed look at the engine design with photographs

Bridgestone Motorcycles Facebook Group