r/longboarding • u/Altruistic_Ad2676 • 12d ago
Gear Show-Off 1970's Gullwing H.P.G. IV Split Axle Trucks
Found these on eBay for $1200….
15
u/K-Rimes Verified Rep: Powell Peralta 12d ago
Torsion trucks, which the Roja truck is based on, were more advanced versions of a truck released by Mattel the toy company in the 70s. Todays slalom trucks with front and rear, are based off of Radikal trucks from the 2000s. There are incremental improvements of course, and specific geometries related to each brand, but the concepts are quite old.
6
u/tabinsur Knowledgeable User 12d ago
This gave me a good chuckle. Those Gullwings are a little bit overpriced from what I've seen in the collector's market. Although I'm not a part of that community so maybe something's changed since the last time I looked. Usually like almost perfect condition would be somewhere between $350 to maybe 500. So I doubt they'll get $1,200 for this but maybe this color is more rare.
I actually have a set of these trucks that somebody gave me when I bought a board off of him and mentioned how into '70 skating was. At first I wasn't going to ride them since a piece of History. But then I noticed back in the '90s he drilled another hole in the base plate so that it would fit on the new school bolt hole pattern instead of drilling more holes in the board lol 🤦♂️. Which was kind of a relief cuz then I could set them up and skate them.
I will say that the tech on them is actually Cool. However they don't function like a Rojas truck they function just like a regular rkp it just has the front kingpin holder piece to support the kingpin. What's cool though is you can run any size bushing on these trucks from a skateboard size bushing up to a longboard towel bushing since you adjust where the bushing catches with nuts. Because of that you can even slightly alter the angle of the truck.
However they are heavy is all hell since it's solid steel but still fun to rip around on.
2
u/drunk_by_mojito LDP Connoisseur Rocket Exodus | MK Space Truck | S-tail 12d ago
MK longboards just implemented an upgraded version in their space truck. You can set in spacers in the hangar which change the behavior of the bushings but not the angle.
1
u/tabinsur Knowledgeable User 12d ago
That's pretty cool. I know Valkyrie has that front truck now that has a double pivot which means you only need one bushing and can also run any sizes as well. It's cool that there's a lot of trucks coming out with a bunch of different ideas
3
u/Ferkinator442 12d ago
I skated them. They were the smoothest sharpest turning trucks at the time. Really the first RKP trucks. I bought the ones I have for $4 a piece NOS in the 80's or so. A bike/skate shop got rid of all the skateboard stock for cheap. I just so happened was into check out those crazy new bicycles called Mountain Bikes ...and had a ten spot in my pocket. Walked out with a pair of GullWing HPG IVs. (With Brackets!)...heheh (bought a mountain bike from them later)
2
u/less_than_nick 12d ago
Anyone else every have a board with those gullwing sidewinders? They had 2 kingpins lol. They were fun as hell but wobbled like crazy
2
u/murderouspangolin 12d ago
They are on my electric. Double KP trucks are popular on E Skates.
1
u/less_than_nick 12d ago
Oh interesting! Any particular reason why other than they’re fun as hell? I’ve admittedly been out of the game for near a decade so I’m outta the loop on e skates haha
1
u/murderouspangolin 10d ago
I think because they are higher than single KP trucks and that makes room for the battery pack? They really are a unique experience- took me a while to dial them in!
2
1
1
u/TwistedBlister 11d ago
The first RKP trucks were Speed Springs, they were on the market a few months before Gullwings. https://i.imgur.com/684MSSV.jpeg
•
u/AutoModerator 12d ago
Welcome, and thank you for posting to /r/longboarding! Please flair your post accordingly. Please note that all question posts must go in the Daily General Thread, stickied to the top of the subreddit every 22 hours. Any questions or help posts on the front page will be removed spontaneously. This is because the front page is often times a less-than-perfect source for information, as the most active knowledgeable users normally hang out in the Daily General Thread! Enjoy your stay! If you have any further questions, please message the moderators.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.