RADBMX.CO.UK
Technical & Reference Section => Tech and Restoration => Topic started by: 20to26 on January 13, 2010, 02:42 PM
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Back in '83 my folks bought me & my brother our first Kuwahara BMXs - I've been wanting to build a replica of it for ages.
It's been quite a road trying to identify the bike correctly, as it's not a standard KZ or Nova - look closely - out of the shop it was a Nova spec with a KZ frame. I know it wasn't a one off because my brother had an identical one!
Here's some pics of me riding it:
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k_zyPfJoJqY/UZoj6Mh0x1I/AAAAAAAAB9Y/3b_wFn4Kp3k/s640/84%2520Wynberg%2520Podium%2520Leading.jpg)
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wIPg9yQgjZk/UZoj9wZ7f3I/AAAAAAAAB9o/Z1B4eTTp0ew/s640/84%2520Winter%2520Endo.jpg)
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XGGGj68y7e0/UZoj-yRZ7VI/AAAAAAAAB90/pMW0KG2iesM/s640/84%2520Winter%2520Xup%2520Endo.jpg)
This is an ad for the Nova - mine was the same spec except for the rims which were Araya, Sugino Stem and grips which were Type 3 style:
(http://www.dreamgate.ne.jp/kuwahara/history/83ad2.jpg)
I guess what's makes this bike particularly special was that I won my first trophy on it - which I still have!
I almost have all the parts for the build but this is what I have so far - it seemed like a good day to put it all together for a pic:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b7FXsXbOsqc/UZoh-zXzKEI/AAAAAAAAB7U/zUaD82xsHLw/s640/DSCF7209.JPG)
Some of the stuff is survivor and some nos. The only changes I made to it bitd were Suntour beartraps and ZapPad so that's what I've assembled for my replica.
:)
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Love a bike and a story :daumenhoch: looking forward to seeing that built up :daumenhoch:
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What a buzz :D
Great stuff man, looks well nice :daumenhoch:
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kuwies are very close to hart .... how much do u wish u had the irc kuwie tyres ::) ... :coolsmiley:
lookin godd bud !! :daumenhoch:
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.... how much do u wish u had the irc kuwie tyres ::) ... :coolsmiley:
I joined the "make a wish club" for those! I can only imagine the price if any ever turned up... I'll have to do with some repop Comp IIs if they make the light of day
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Nice story :) ,Looking foward to seeing it built :coolsmiley:
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nice bundle of parts there carnt wait to see them all together on the frame :daumenhoch:
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Great stuff mate and some nice old school pics too :daumenhoch:
Looking forward to seeing it built , by the look of the parts and the frame it's going to be mint :)
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nice pics :daumenhoch:
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At one time back then I had a black Nova frameset like the one in the ad :smitten: ( swapped it for my GT Nora frame )
I would've prefered a KZ1 though ;)
Ste gonna be a sweet bike when it's built up ,, I hope it's a keeper ;)
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8) :daumenhoch:
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Partial to a Kuwahara myself Steve, great pics aswel.....I know a Myth with some of them IRC tyres, he is a myth though :LolLolLolLol:
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Partial to a Kuwahara myself Steve, great pics aswel.....I know a Myth with some of them IRC tyres, he is a myth though :LolLolLolLol:
Yep he exists in a world beyond our world :D
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:smitten:
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Partial to a Kuwahara myself Steve, great pics aswel.....I know a Myth with some of them IRC tyres, he is a myth though :LolLolLolLol:
I thought "The Stig " was Bodamus :-\
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No one knows "Ian" i heard he walks in a constant moonwalk ???
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great project :)
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awesome pictures and great looking build! Kuwi's have to be my all time fave bikes! :smitten:
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Looking good, cant wait to see it built. Theres just something about Kuwies & its a great feeling when you build one like you had bitd. I was lucky that I still had mine in the shed, its now restored & on the wall. :daumenhoch:
What is it with the small hole just below the large hole in the gusset, I've seen a few like that but my ET doesnt have it, only the large middle hole. Is it a KZ thing?
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Very nice Steve , look forward to it's progress :daumenhoch:
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Thanks guys. I'm really stoked about this build and it's a keeper for sure.
As far as I know Splodge the ET's didn't have that hole in the gusset and of course they had looptail stays like the looptail Nova which did have the little hole AFAIK.
Got the stem out - it was awol yesterday:
(http://gallery.mac.com/dvoutlaw/100111/DSCF7216/web.jpg)
;)
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I've finally had some time to work on this project a bit more - my wife wasn't that happy that it's been sitting in the conservatory for the last couple months.
It was time to tackle the few rust spots on the frame, fork, bars and stem.
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v5rxQ2SK-GU/UZoiCRjT93I/AAAAAAAAB7c/p9Zyva6w5L0/s640/IMGP0317.JPG)
(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6boAWuhJNpk/UZoiPYzs8QI/AAAAAAAAB7s/B_3cxFeBSqU/s640/IMGP0319.JPG)
My biggest concern is this rust spot on the DT which I'd missed up to this point, thankfully it's hidden underneath:
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0w5jlvP8jzk/UZoiGjPgXvI/AAAAAAAAB7k/IN9UbXUNpwE/s640/IMGP0318.JPG)
I thought I'd give the Vinegar bath a try this time after seeing the success of some on bmxmuseum - I dunno if it's any better than Coke Zero. Tesco own brand vinegar is cheaper than chips and the tub was less than a fiver at Wilko's - I couldn't get the frame laying down in it tho!
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DPMLNcH56J0/UZoi4t4d7kI/AAAAAAAAB8k/0IBsdz94syU/s640/IMGP0326.JPG)
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a0S_MbVr8Es/UZoizQcnGAI/AAAAAAAAB8c/pnU-LHSXstY/s640/IMGP0325.JPG)
I've had a lot of time to think about this build while I've been collecting the parts and now starting to put it together I'm glad I decided not to go ahead and rechrome it. After the vinegar bath I gave it a good old Autosol to try and get as much of the rust off that I could.
It's amazing how this build has started to take on such a different feel from what I had originally planned - she's not going to be a NOS pony anymore. It just wasn't feeling like the right direction to take.
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as the above have said, gotta love a bike & story :smitten: this Kuwie looks like its gonna turn out to be a good'un for sure :smitten:
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I thought it time to update this build thread and repost the pics after moving image hosts.
The vinegar bath worked well:
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-m1OoEwinGWU/UZoiYo5NbEI/AAAAAAAAB70/EUtiE9sxzCE/s640/IMGP0320.JPG)
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E2c-7jfliaw/UZoh64DpJ5I/AAAAAAAAB7M/YSArJkZ8fDg/s800/1-2.jpg)
At the KZ1 soon joined it's growing band of stablemates...
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gKUSD9diuU4/UZoi-Vl2DGI/AAAAAAAAB8s/mH7KwZ1hc6I/s640/IMGP0339.JPG)
....and then retired to the loft for 2 years until this past weekend when most of it found it's way back onto the frame in the garage...
(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SyENQ1qpj5M/UZo67kczuBI/AAAAAAAAB-8/WZOIDv9PFas/s640/IMG_4376.JPG)
Finishing touches to come!
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Bloody hell, a lot of those names that had previously posted bring back memories :angel:
Looking good, needs some sun pictures of it.
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Missed this first time round. Lovely :smitten:
Great to see a replica of your old bike. Nice pics :daumenhoch:
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:smitten: :daumenhoch:
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Nice to see you've ressurected your Nova thread Steve :4_17_5:
and with the finished article , cool :coolsmiley:
Like Andy says , it'll be even better when you get the camera out for some sunny outdoor shots :smitten: :daumenhoch:
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Looking good :coolsmiley:
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The first trophy I ever won racing was on my KZ framed Nova....
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-guchcKgRuXY/UZoj6CqrQuI/AAAAAAAAB9U/x0T5RwT5FNc/s640/84%2520May%2520First%2520Trophy.jpg)
... so it seemed appropriate to shoot the replica and the actual trophy together finally - 30 years in the making almost to the month I reckon!
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8hHctrSEB48/UaEYiJTD3dI/AAAAAAAACI4/ww62vtW6TQA/s640/IMGP6546.JPG)
:4_17_5:
(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SGxmbFlIsJs/UaDZgdu2U2I/AAAAAAAACG4/kkHUUK3wPjA/s640/IMGP6540.JPG)
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Pg_mRUHzUIM/UaDZVYtvrxI/AAAAAAAACFg/I9jf6t2L-Co/s640/IMGP6517.JPG)
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-67ftZJmRmj0/UaDZXJSlUlI/AAAAAAAACFw/idmWSTYBsjY/s640/IMGP6519.JPG)
(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dnlMFXQsBAc/UaDZcTYmdmI/AAAAAAAACGY/9YPb8P_sfmM/s640/IMGP6533.JPG)
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-btsYyMg-5g4/UaDZYKFRO4I/AAAAAAAACF4/vA9eB6ziHuI/s640/IMGP6520.JPG)
It's no show pony but I love it! So many good memories... and a few trophies to boot. It got me up to Expert class bitd...
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cOg2mU3ZQwE/UaEYkO8VsNI/AAAAAAAACJI/EidI3Mw43Yw/s640/IMGP6558.JPG)
This is what I love about this hobby.
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Love the thread and great rebuild of your bitd bike :daumenhoch: good memories and for me that's what it's about :smitten:
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Fair play son ;) top project now for yr looptail Nova
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Brilliant :4_17_5:
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Can't believe I missed this......
My Kuwi when is a kid was a KZ/Nova mix from new took me ages to work out the spec too....
And guess what I'm building now! A KZ/Nova I think I've got all the bits just need to get my arse in gear!!!
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Cheers dudes!
Interesting to hear that you had a KZ framed Nova spec too ChrisN - bring it on!
:daumenhoch:
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nice :daumenhoch:
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Cheers dudes!
Interesting to hear that you had a KZ framed Nova spec too ChrisN - bring it on!
:daumenhoch:
No pic of mine from BITD, but this is what I have now.... still needs work!!! ::)
Shes in boxes now...........
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/kk131/matsoki/kUWI.jpg) (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/matsoki/media/kUWI.jpg.html)
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Skyways look good man! - I have some on my other replica Kuwie that I rode after the KZ-Nova:
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SdSGNXg25so/USiq1d8LKYI/AAAAAAAABK4/MKIk23KP55o/s640/IMGP1472.JPG)
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Nice that..... the Skyways are my rider wheels, but they still have the serial number on the front braking surface.
But I also have a set of Speedlines, and HF hubs ready to build up once I get round to doing the resto.