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RADBMX.CO.UK  |  BMX General  |  BMX Chat  |  Name this Kuwi rider!
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Author Topic: Name this Kuwi rider!  (Read 1239 times)

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Offline Mikku

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Name this Kuwi rider!
« on: December 31, 2014, 12:42 AM »
Can anyone id the Kuwi rider out in front on the front cover of this June '85 Action Bike? What caught my eye was the green Kuwi he's riding. I'm assuming it's a Laserlite but can't remember seeing a green one before so would like to know more as it look cool as fcuk! Thanks in advance for any ideas or info.  :daumenhoch:

& a Happy New Year from Japan!  :bow:

Mick :)
From Dorset to Japan:- http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,182215.0.html
Ok riders, random start. Riders ready, watch the gate old gaijin make a fool of himself! :D

Offline Taipan

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2014, 10:50 AM »
Is it 'Kuwi Green?' he went on to present the 'Golden Shot' after he finished riding?  :D

Offline Mikku

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2014, 11:00 AM »
 "nono"
From Dorset to Japan:- http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,182215.0.html
Ok riders, random start. Riders ready, watch the gate old gaijin make a fool of himself! :D

Offline BMX1973

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2014, 12:09 PM »
Can you up load a picture?

Offline Mikku

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2014, 12:58 PM »
Thought I had but I guess not! Here you go:-



Sorry about that! :daumenhoch:
From Dorset to Japan:- http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,182215.0.html
Ok riders, random start. Riders ready, watch the gate old gaijin make a fool of himself! :D

Offline Pooch

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2014, 02:01 PM »
I had those vans..
Also like the colour of that kuwi..  :4_17_5:
Griff loves BUM..

Offline andypatt444

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2014, 07:16 PM »
Gary Wallace.

Offline BMX1973

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2014, 07:55 PM »

1985 Magazine could be a Laserlite 3000 or maybe one of the Freestylers.  :-\

Offline Mikku

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2015, 11:59 AM »
The 3000s did come in green but I think they didn't come out until '86.

Gary Wallace.

Thanks for that. I just did a quick search online and read that his dad ran the factory Kuwahara team, so if that's the case I presume that the colour was a one-off or at least a special paint-job for Gary. :daumenhoch:
« Last Edit: January 01, 2015, 12:08 PM by Mikku »
From Dorset to Japan:- http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,182215.0.html
Ok riders, random start. Riders ready, watch the gate old gaijin make a fool of himself! :D

Offline ash500

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2016, 08:38 AM »
Grand dredge, but it's worth it for me - This question has haunted me since about 1989 when I got this magazine and instantly wanted the mint green Kuwahara on the cover.

At the time I had an '83 Laserlite, but it was a bit small for my height and the club coach suggested that I'd be better off with something with a longer frame. I desperately wanted a new, XL sized, mint green Kuwahara, but eventually discovered that they didn't exist and Kuwahara had just recently stopped making BMX frames! I ended up with a great GT, but it never really satisfied the urge to have a mint green Kuwahara.

I've wondered about this bike many times since and have trawled the internet for many hours without getting any closer to an answer until a few days ago when I found green Novas and Laserlites in the BMX Museum website. Then I found a big, clear picture of this magazine cover here: http://bmxmuseum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=601685

Cutting to the chase - if you look very closely at the full size image, on the number plate there is a sticker that says "85 Laserlite". The "85" is in pink and "laserlite" is in black over the top. It also appears that the forks are skinny from the front, so possibly the original oval shaped ones. The stickers are the older style with the Japanese flag on the K.

The bikes archived in the BMX museum website from 1985 include green Bravos and Novas, but most are a different green. One Nova is similar, but not identical green, but it also has the new style stickers, dropouts and round forks, so not the same as the cover bike: http://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/kuwahara/87756
Laserlites and Novas from '85/'86 seem to be pretty much the same frame/forks, but with different hardware and stickers fitted.

My money is on it being a KZ83 with a custom paint job and fresh stickers. If not, then maybe a KZ84/Nova style frame, possibly with the '83 oval forks.

If there's anyone in the UK who can contact and ask Gary Wallace about it, maybe we'll finally know for sure?

In the meantime, I'll keep looking for parts to build my dream bike - a mint green Kuwahara. Maybe old school, maybe new school. Laserlite or even better, a Champion Series!


The 3000s did come in green but I think they didn't come out until '86.

Gary Wallace.

Thanks for that. I just did a quick search online and read that his dad ran the factory Kuwahara team, so if that's the case I presume that the colour was a one-off or at least a special paint-job for Gary. :daumenhoch:

Offline Mikku

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Re: Name this Kuwi rider!
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2016, 02:30 PM »
Wow - I'd forgotten all about this thread! Coincidentally, one of these frames recently popped up over on the Museum:-

http://bmxmuseum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=695225

& then promptly sold:-

http://bmxmuseum.com/forsale/207903

Definitely a rare bird! :daumenhoch:

From Dorset to Japan:- http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,182215.0.html
Ok riders, random start. Riders ready, watch the gate old gaijin make a fool of himself! :D

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