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1991 Auburn CR20R

My Ultimate Dream Bike

It all started in 1992 - while in class, I was flipping through pages of BMX Plus! magazine and dreaming about my next bike when I saw her - A green bike so exotic that I was awestruck the moment I laid my eyes on her! It looked so rad with the removable triangle, 3-pc cranks, square crossbar handlebars, and an uber-aggressive stance! I thought it was very advanced for its time as I've never seen anything like it, and I immediately fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I was only a high school kid and my family could barely afford a bike, let alone a freakin Auburn. I was riding a beat up Haro Ground Master at the time (which ironically, sells for more than the Auburn today!) But at the time I would've given up everything to get this Auburn!
A few years have passed and I eventually stopped riding in 96. I stopped riding but I've not forgotten about my dream bike. Then one fateful day in 1999 while browsing eBay, I found her - a green Auburn CR20R! The "bad part" is that it came with a Redline 401 cranks instead of the GT Profiles, which was a bummer because I really wanted the GT cranks. Remember that this was the time when most people were just giving away their old school bikes, and BMX collecting was pretty much unheard of. The bike had a Buy It Now price of $100 but I was reluctant to buy it because it "only" had 401 cranks, and I really really wanted the GT's. 'Bummer', I thought; but the allure of the Auburn made me buy it. At long last, I have my dream bike! I hit Buy it Now and paid.
When I received and opened the box, a dirty Auburn greeted me. I can feel emotions flowing, and a magical aura of excitement gleaming through the box. "It's is mine, all mine!". I said. I cleaned and built it up, and rode it for some time. While I was happy, I knew that the parts are not correct and it didn't feel right. It's not what I saw back in 1992 when I first fell in love with it. It had a GT bar, 401 cranks, bent and dirty Weinmann wheels, among few others. But then somewhere down the road, I lost interest and I put her back in the box again.
My Auburn then spent the next 12 years sitting in my closet, until one day in 2011 when the BMX bug hit me again - and this time - it hit HARD. I discovered BMXMuseum and saw other old farts like me who share the same passion. I was PSYCHED!! I thought I was the only guy who's crazy about old BMX, but I was wrong! I also have a better job now as opposed to what I used to do 10 years ago, so I rebuilt the machine properly this time around. Boxes upon boxes of parts soon filled up my living room and my wife started to go nuts. I didn't care. All I cared about was to build my ultimate Auburn the way she is supposed to be built! 
The first order of the day - remove the 401 and replace them with GT Profiles.... done. After that, I built the wheels from the ground up with Mohawk hubs and GT rims, which I laced and trued myself. I placed the Pitbull on the chainstay, exactly where I would've placed it had I owned this bike back in the day. A proper DK stem was put in place. Then finally, the hardest part to find - the Cr-Bars - these don't come up often so when I finally spotted one on feebay, I didn't think twice. Luckily it had the OG stickers, uncut, and has excellent chrome! My dream bike is finally done - the way *I* want it.
I promised not to put her back in the box, so now she's proudly being displayed in my garage when I'm not riding - just waiting for the next track to rip! I ride her on my local dirt jumps and group rides whenever I can. This is perhaps, the only bike that has given me the most satisfaction after I completed the build. It was well worth the wait!
And that, my friends, is the story of my Auburn.