1st Gen Metal Kizz restoration.

[midschooljon]

Another project I have been working on is a 1st Gen Metal Kizz. I always have a soft spot for the late 90's rider owned brands like T1, FBM, and Metal, and have been slowly collecting the early models from these brands. The only one that I struggled to find was a 1st Gen Kizz. That was until a few months ago when a buddy of mine alerted me to a for sale post by Metal Bikes founder Joe (he was Jimmy Levans business partner) on Instagram.



Joe confirmed it was one from the first batch, and after contacting the seller it turns out the bike was actually in the UK. It looked pretty rough, but beggars cant be choosers so I decided to go for it anyway.





When it arrived it was definitely in rough shape, with a spray bombed paint job flaking everywhere, loads of surface rust, a stuck seatpost, and chopped off 990's. 

On the plus side the 990's had been removed very cleanly, and aside from the rust it looked like it was free of any major dents or damage.

First off it was a night soaking in Coke to get the post out. I then started cleaning off the paint and was really pleased to dicover two things. Firstly the location of the 990's and brake stop where clearly visible once the paint was removed, which meant I could get now ones put back in the exact right locations. Secondly under the spray bomb black paint I discovered the original colour was in fact burgundy, which was the colour I loved when the Kizz first came out. As such It will definitely be going back to burgundy when I get it painted.









After cleaning it up it went off to Ricky Feather (some of you may remember him from his days riding for WTP and United) to get the 990's put back on. He also went to the trouble or replicating the exact same cable stop and cable guide for me so that the frame is now back to exactly the way it came out Spooky's shop.



Its now on the back burner for a while as the Reynolds Fresh 40 gets some attention, but the plan is to get it off to Sawzall for a tidy, and then off to SBD for fresh paint. 

[Gary72]

Looking forward too this 

[rodriguez]

   Me too   

[Twenty inches of freedom]

Awesome

[CustardLips]

Don't know what it is but I'm sure you'll do it justice Jon. 

[insectbones]

Did Sean Burns have something to do with Metal before Bone Deth?

[midschooljon]

Did Sean Burns have something to do with Metal before Bone Deth?

Yes he did. Levan went through a few partnerships before the brand was finally sold to We The People (I believe). Joe Carnall was his original partner in the business, but Chris Moeller, Sean Burns, and even Leland had bits to do with it along the way. Not sure exactly what the links were, but they all had some involvement at stages.

[nosepickben]

Good project Jon, nice to hear Ricky's had his mits on a proper bike again instead of them daft road thingies.

[Dark Diggler]

 

[newlovetattoos]

Very nice!

[griff]

Nice work Jon 

Always an education reading threads like this - look forward to seeing how it progresses 

[midschooljon]

Cheers guys. The Reynolds is now on its way to Sawzall and SBD, so the wheels are slowly moving. Once thats back and built I will crack on with this one. 

[sycmatt]

Hey John. Are we going to get to see the finished Kizz sometime??? Some of us are keener than mustard for it!

[midschooljon]

To be honest Matt, I might be letting this go soon. I bought it to save it but if Im honest my heart is in the early 90's not the late 90's bikes, so Im struggling to fall in love with it.

[Bigfrawg]

Tempting , how much ?

[midschooljon]

Tempting , how much ?

1x Ramp Room Taj will do it. 

[fugazi]

That's rad, love a bit of metal 

[sycmatt]

To be honest Matt, I might be letting this go soon. I bought it to save it but if Im honest my heart is in the early 90's not the late 90's bikes, so Im struggling to fall in love with it.

Keep me informed if it turns into a cash sale.