My 1983 Kuwahara Laser Lite build - more new bits and started build!

[B-Boyblue]

Hi all.

As mentioned in the welcome section of the forum, i've been into BMX since the early 80s - more 'cause my older brother was into it as i was only 8 or 9 at the time.  When I was 12 in 1985 he gave me his Kuwahara KZ1. Not a bad present eh? My brother is still into BMX and now has a very nice 82 ET Kuwahara Looptail. I had that KZ1 till some scumbag stole it and by then I was learning to drive and VW Beetles took over from BMX as my hobby.

Anyway, back to the Laser Lite and why i decided to build one of these brilliant bikes rather than a KZ1 which was my first BMX. When i was 10 i remember reading one of my brothers magazines (of the BMX variety  ) and saw a full page advert ofor the Kuwahara Laser Lite. That was it for me! I loved it, my brother loved it and it was Kuwaharas most expensive BMX. It was the bike Clint Miller, Gary Ellis and the Factory Team used. Needless to say, my folks certainly wern't going to stump up the cash (and rightly so - a 10 year old getting a laser lite just isn't right!) and the quid my brother gave me for helping with his paper round each week wasnt going to go far so having that advert on my wall was about as close to one as I was going to get!

Right, fast forward 27 odd years and to reward myself for the birth of my son Oliver I decided I was going to build the BMX I always wanted - a totally Factory Spec Kuwahara Laser Lite! Unfortunately, having never built and Old School BMX before I wasnt entirely prepared for the amount of money its all going to cost but hey, you only build your childhood dream bike once right?

Now for the Pics...it just a few parts at the moment and i'll add pics and updates as and when I get more bits and eventually start the build.

I actually have two Laser Lite frames at the moment. The frame I'm building up came from Sweden and has its original chrome in great condition. It has a couple of scratches in the rear stay, but nothing major. I was considering getting it rechromed and building it show bike stylee but it seems a bit of a shame really as you cant really see them unless you turn the bike on its side and get close up. It has the Kuwahara Stampings on the rear dropouts, Rear Caliper Bracket and Bottom Bracket which i've been told, only came on the 84 laser lites with the round tubes but mine definitely has the same oval tube as my other frame that doesn't have the stampings. Both have T3 serial nos. If anyone who knows for definite and can shed some light on this it would be appreciated.

The frame closest is the one I'm building..






Rear Dropouts


Rear Caliper Bracket


Bottom Bracket


Rear Stay Scratches - Is it worth rechroming for these??


These are the forks! Mint oval TRXs. I got them from the states from a guy who had just taken them off his show Laser Lite.




Excellent Original Chrome Kuwahara Laser Bars! Got these from a top guy in Germany. Got a couple of other bits coming from him hopefully.







Excellent condition Suntour Stem bought from Ebay and at a reasonable price.



NOS Suntour Arrow seat post clamp bought from ebay that cost an absolute flipping fortune!   but then again, not seen another one for sale so dont know. Anyway, too late to worry about that now




Thats all the bits I physically have at the moment but I do have a Redline / Sugino 400 Crankset in excellent condition on the way over from the states. I'll post pics when they turn up!

Thats it for the moment. Loads more bits that i need.

Really hope you like the thread and as its my first build i'm really looking forward to your input advice and comments as it progresses.

Cheers


 

[monkian]

Awesome pair of frames. I wouldn't re-chrome it man, keep OG
You probably have a KZ83 (KZ3) & KZ84 (KZ4)
T3J = Tange 83 / October - So even though built in 83 as it's late in the year technically a K84 (K4)
I could be wrong as I'm no Kuwie expert but that's my understanding of it.

Does the unstamped one at least have a Serial No. on the BB?
Hope that helps. Welcome to Rad

[B-Boyblue]

Awesome pair of frames. I wouldn't re-chrome it man, keep OG
You probably have a KZ83 (KZ3) & KZ84 (KZ4)
T3J = Tange 83 / October - So even though built in 83 as it's late in the year technically a K84 (K4)
I could be wrong as I'm no Kuwie expert but that's my understanding of it.

Hope that helps. Welcome to Rad

Thanks! Yeah, Thought it wasnt really worth re-chroming. I want to use it after its built anyway.

Thanks for the info and the welcome. Much appreciated I thought that might be the case but on Jamies Kuwahara site it mentions that the KZ84s had the rounder top and bottom tube. Both mine are oval tubed.

[monkian]

It may just be that the stamps were introduced in the period between the two being made.
You really need one of the Kuwie boys on here to find out for sure.
No doubt they'll be along sooner or later

[bobafett]

Sweet frame - I would definitely NOT re-chrome 

Look forward to seeing it built 

[B-Boyblue]

Sweet frame - I would definitely NOT re-chrome 

Look forward to seeing it built 

Cheers! Me tooo. Its weird how I've waited 27 years to have one and now i'm super impatient to get it done! Its got to be right though so having to reign myself in a bit!

Think your right about not re-chroming!

[griff]

that's a lovely shiny collection of bits you've got there - looking forward to seeing that lot put together 

[Waxintaxin]

Thats a lovely collection of bits for what looks a quality build 

[rhino_mac]

Start saving up to complete the build. My Laserlite is in the Kuwie section on here and I think it cost £2100 fully built in the end.

Things you must try to holdout for if you want a genuine show room build are:

Redline 400 cranks (take the Redline decals off though, Laserlites didn't have them)
OGK Cobra grips
Elina Ultra Turbo seat

All rare as rocking horse poo (well, 400's come up for sale regular but a good set cost a fortune!)

Araya 7X in Chrome are a rare beast in good condition and you can't reliably rechrome alloy ones. And the Suntour high flange sealed bearing hubs are a bugger to get hold of.

In the end, I managed to get all of the above, but I never found a pair of Kuwie tyres to suit. After I sold the bike I saw a set in the US sell for over £300 but there you go.............

Good luck with the build. Best looking BMX ever built in my opinion and well worth the labour of love they end up as.

[B-Boyblue]

Start saving up to complete the build. My Laserlite is in the Kuwie section on here and I think it cost £2100 fully built in the end.

Things you must try to holdout for if you want a genuine show room build are:

Redline 400 cranks (take the Redline decals off though, Laserlites didn't have them)
OGK Cobra grips
Elina Ultra Turbo seat

All rare as rocking horse poo (well, 400's come up for sale regular but a good set cost a fortune!)

Araya 7X in Chrome are a rare beast in good condition and you can't reliably rechrome alloy ones. And the Suntour high flange sealed bearing hubs are a bugger to get hold of.

In the end, I managed to get all of the above, but I never found a pair of Kuwie tyres to suit. After I sold the bike I saw a set in the US sell for over £300 but there you go.............

Good luck with the build. Best looking BMX ever built in my opinion and well worth the labour of love they end up as.

  Yep! Knew it was going to be pricey! Mangaed to get a real nice set of 400s from the states and managed to put dib dobs on an aero turbo seat.

Saw your build thread and got to say that it was excellent! A really beautiful looking bike. If mine turns out half as good as that i'll be a happy man.

Could you give me some advice? I've bought some Mint TRXs for the build with the oval tube which I thought were correct for the oval tubed laser lite but there seems to be some confusion as to whether the Laser lite Forks were oval or round? Jamies Kuwahara site that i've been using as a reference guide says this[/b] "There were two models of the LaserLite. The first model, the KZ-3 or KZ-83 had aero or oval tubing (top and down tubes) including the forks while the later model known as the KZ-4 or KZ-84 had slightly less oval tubing that was practically round (the top tube was very slightly oval in shape while the lower down tube was completely round)".[/b]
Can you shed some light on this? Any advice would be very much appreciated

Still looking for loads of bits. Whats specific about the araya 7X rims? Seen some Araya in Chrome the right size but how do I know there 7Xs?

Sorry about all the questions but you've been theer and done it

[monkian]

Here's a pic of the 7X:

[torkertony]

This is going to be a sweet build, looking forward to seeing the progress.  'Kuwahero' on here would be a good person to drop a PM to if you need any advice...    Good Luck sourcing the parts....

[B-Boyblue]

Here's a pic of the 7X:

Ahh Cheers Paul!

That really helps...top man!

 

[B-Boyblue]

This is going to be a sweet build, looking forward to seeing the progress.  'Kuwahero' on here would be a good person to drop a PM to if you need any advice...    Good Luck sourcing the parts....

Thanks! Hope I can do it justice! It would be so much easier if I wasn't doing it factory spec!

[NORTY40]

That's going to be one hell of a nice bike   

Can't wait to see it finished .

I have got a 1983 KZ83 laserlite and that has the aero/oval Tange forks on it 

[B-Boyblue]

That's going to be one hell of a nice bike   

Can't wait to see it finished .

I have got a 1983 KZ83 laserlite and that has the aero/oval Tange forks on it 

Ah Brilliant. Did you buy it complete?

[NORTY40]

That's going to be one hell of a nice bike   

Can't wait to see it finished .

I have got a 1983 KZ83 laserlite and that has the aero/oval Tange forks on it 

Ah Brilliant. Did you buy it complete?

Yes , but it wasn't factory spec , more likely a frame and fork set that had been split at some point .

I wasn't to sure what model I had to begin with so I PM'd Ian (bodamus ... Kuwahara expert on here) told him the frame number , tubing style and fork style and he came back saying it was an October 1983 KZ83 laserlite    Unfortunately the chrome was shot at on mine and had been powdered  ( badly  )  so it's going to be a custom now , plus the fact i couldn't afford to build one to factory spec and a re-chrome aswell 

I would send Ian a PM ,  he just doesn't seem to be on RAD that much now 

[B-Boyblue]

Thanks for the info. Sent Bodamus a PM.

[GTnumber1]

  cant wait to see this it was one of my fav bikes as a kid and can still rember the ad for it in the u.s mags

[hall54]

Im just starting to restore my Laserlite, ive owned it from new 1983/84, brought from Surrey BMX with my best mate at the time Jaye Mackenzie. Its still in excellent nick (original tyres with Kuwahara printed on the side, shame the side walls have blown out!), but missing stickers, pads and front brake caliper, if i put one on! My bike didnt come with Redline cranks (different spec all over the world, im told) but with Sugino CT 175 ( very slim, like a knife edge) with DX pedals, the wheels are black Araya with polished sides. Think i changed the grips as soon a buying it to Ame Tri's and fitted an SS Dirtskirt and removed the pads when riding road. I think i chose this bike after watching Stu Diggins ( with 'HOT or WOT' sewn on the back of his race strip) win so many times at Hayes, plus the first BMX I rode was a Black Kuwahara Nova with Green sleeves brake cables, very cool! belonging to racer Ashley Bishop. If you need any help on UK spec PM me

[Glynnyboy]

Some interesting parts differences there mate. I love hearing bits of info like this pop up.

[B-Boyblue]

Im just starting to restore my Laserlite, ive owned it from new 1983/84, brought from Surrey BMX with my best mate at the time Jaye Mackenzie. Its still in excellent nick (original tyres with Kuwahara printed on the side, shame the side walls have blown out!), but missing stickers, pads and front brake caliper, if i put one on! My bike didnt come with Redline cranks (different spec all over the world, im told) but with Sugino CT 175 ( very slim, like a knife edge) with DX pedals, the wheels are black Araya with polished sides. Think i changed the grips as soon a buying it to Ame Tri's and fitted an SS Dirtskirt and removed the pads when riding road. I think i chose this bike after watching Stu Diggins ( with 'HOT or WOT' sewn on the back of his race strip) win so many times at Hayes, plus the first BMX I rode was a Black Kuwahara Nova with Green sleeves brake cables, very cool! belonging to racer Ashley Bishop. If you need any help on UK spec PM me

Wow! Still got your original bike ! Wish I still had my KZ1! 

Yeah, I heard that the specs of the bikes differed depending on which country they were bought in. Its a bit of a minefield really knowing whats factory spec and whats not so thats why i'm using Jamies Kuwahara site as a reference and just going with that so theres bound to be a difference from a bike thats been bought elsewhere! I really like the Sugino CT cranks. lovely looking things.
Really looking forward to seeing yours restored! And thanks for the offer of help! Much appreciated!

[B-Boyblue]

Hey all

I seem to have gone a little bit crazy over the last week or so! I was going to hold off buying a set of 180 Redline 400s until after I sold my spare frame but saw a set on ebay and added them to my ever increasing watch list

Thats a dangerous thing to do I've discovered and after about a week of seeing them everytime i logged in, my willpower broke and I emailed the guy, made an offer an they were mine!

They've actually got quite an intresting story which may or may not be totally untrue but they were listed as apparantly being off Stu Thomsens personal Carrera race bike back in the day. I've got absolutely no proof of that whatsoever but I didnt pay stupid money so it doesnt really matter whether its true or not but it would be pretty cool if it were true! They have a titanium spindle set up and are generally in great shape with only a few light rub marks so generally well chuffed!

Right..now this is where i got really stupid and did what you should never do and ended up watching another set of 175 400s in equally if not slighly better condition with a NOS 44t sugino chain ring and a few other NOS bits and pieces and they were only 15mins drive from my house! Why I did this...i don't know. Maybe if it was to see if I overpaid for the first set...anyway, with 30mins left they were still really quite cheap so i thought I'd have one bid thinking i'd get outbid immediatly...well, i didn't much to the wifes annoyance! and my surprise! The word 'idiot' has been mentioned in my house a few times over the last couple of weeks!

So basically I have two sets of 400s and I really dont know which set i'm going to be using on my laserlite and which set will be going, but i'll be having a think over the next few weeks about that!

Anyways, this is them!


The Titanium Spindled 180mm 400s!




And the 175mm 400s




Needless, to sy, I am now skint for the rest of the month so the wife will have to go without a valentines day present and i reckon i'll be making her a card!

[Glynnyboy]

Start saving up to complete the build. My Laserlite is in the Kuwie section on here and I think it cost £2100 fully built in the end.

Things you must try to holdout for if you want a genuine show room build are:

Redline 400 cranks (take the Redline decals off though, Laserlites didn't have them)

The reason the Kuwie didn't have Redlline decals on was because it didn't come with a Redline 400.
Redline 400 made by sugino for redlline and stamped redline.
Sugino 400 made by sugino for sugino  and stamped sugino.
same crank though apart from the stamping.

[B-Boyblue]

Start saving up to complete the build. My Laserlite is in the Kuwie section on here and I think it cost £2100 fully built in the end.

Things you must try to holdout for if you want a genuine show room build are:

Redline 400 cranks (take the Redline decals off though, Laserlites didn't have them)

The reason the Kuwie didn't have Redlline decals on was because it didn't come with a Redline 400.
Redline 400 made by sugino for redlline and stamped redline.
Sugino 400 made by sugino for sugino  and stamped sugino.
same crank though apart from the stamping.

Never knew that sugino did a sugino stamped 400. You learn something new everyday! Thanks! 

I think I can live with that minor discrepancy if that is the case. Especially as the advert for the LaserLite specifically mentions Redline Engineered Cranks. Surely if they go to the trouble of mentioning Redline in the full page advert, they would put Redline stamped cranks on them? Just an assumption obviouslt but makes sense to my tiny pea brain.

Anyone know this for a fact though?