Monthly Archives: December 2008

JDMST RPRSNT!

Girls on bike.

Still my dream car.

Pretty serious.

NA is best.

Boing.

hohoho.

JDMyard RPRSNT.

Drift it.

Drag it.

I accidentally won this bike off eBay (LOL someone save me please?). Of-course I’d been hunting for NOS/vintage Kuwahara gear for the Kuwa I found at the markets but all of it had been going for sky high prices (a simple pad set went for over $160 last week!).

This as new (I’d even call it brand new) 2007 Laserlite Team BMX came up in the searches and I did a little research on it and found that this was the bike that marked the Kuwahara comeback (they hadn’t made a bike in 20 years!). The RRP for it was $1285AUD and apart from some reviews saying that the bars and fork were heavy, every other review was fantastic (especially this Australian review). I did some math on the Funn parts. The crankset is actually a Funn MTB downhill crankset with hollowtech BB worth $400AUD, the pedals are Funn soljam MTB pedals worth $90AUD so I placed a bid for $500 thinking the bike would go for a lot more than that, well it didn’t and I won it at $457.

2007 Kuwahara Laserlite Team

Chunky much? (Note: internal MTB canecreek headset).

So new that a protective sticker was still covering the headbadge…

… of-course I took it off.

Funn stem.

Avid speed dial SL (super light) brake lever.

S/M grips.

Massive American influence all over the bike, note American spelling “Aluminum”.

Funn seatpost.

Funn saddle.

Check the lightning bolt detail on the rear dropout.

Sunn Rhyno Lite’s.

Maxxis.

Maxxis Exception series tyres are lighter than their standard tyres.

Holy Rollers.

Naf skull caps put on by the previous owner.

Funn Hooka DH crankset.

Hardcore Funn soljam pedals. So massive, so much grip.

Ridiculously light considering it has pedals which weigh half a kilo and a downhill crankset which must be super heavy.

I’ve been haunting eBay for NOS (New Old Stock) bargains for the old Kuwahara project and I’ve been having much success! I’m trying my best to keep it period and JAPANESE!

What a sight!

Japanese Dia-Comp MX120 lever.

SR pedals.

Turbo saddle – Made in Japan.

Under saddle detail.

Don’t you hate it when you miss parcels? Especially at this time of year.

I just got back from the post office, the que at Maroubra Junction’s post office is so bad it goes outside the shop and into the mall at times. I swear it’s a lesson in patience (which I had none of, but since hanging out in the que at the post office all year I’m getting better at!).

I was greeted by this box:

Redline BMX WTF! I got excited for a second. “Did I accidentally buy one of those too?” I thought to myself. Bahahaha. Check out how Strictly BMX tagged my name on the box. Awesome.

My Tuffs + freewheel. At $199 the wheels are going to be the most expensive part of the build (hard to swallow considering the bike was only $45! Strictly BMX chucked in some free stickers + a DVD too.

I got this dodgey cheap stem off eBay. Not sure if I feel good about it, we’ll see.

Oury grips. I’ve always wanted to try some Oury’s. I often read that these are the most comfortable grips in the world. Many people out there (both mountain bikers and fixie riders) swear by them.

More red bits (the gold cable end caps are for my Reign).

KMC chain.

Brake cable outters.

Bike nights are almost a monthly thing these days and they’re getting out of control with sometimes way too many chefs in the kitchen! There’s always a drama (or 3) and it’s always a lot of fun. Since I’m the host I always get trashed too (I even have my own beer bitch, thanks Clifton!).

Some pics from last night where we built up Crazy Dave’s billion dollar Yukon, Felix’s 06 Reign and we even started a ghetto servo bike (the Servo is just too far to walk and too close to drive to) single speed project for Zi.

Felix BYO home cooked Soto Ayam (typical Indo eating with his hands).

Finally Clifton brought over his trucks so I could finish off my new skatey.

Crazy Dave’s new shipment of porn parts. Wellgo Ti’s are nuts.

On goes the XTR gear, so easy to fit, so easy to tune too.

Felix’s 06 Reign frame.

Stralia!

I’m about to hammer OK Andy?! The boys were using both stands so Andy was my human bike stand to build up Zi’s dodgey single speed.

Both bikes built up. Dave’s Yukon feels great actually, the shifting is smoother than my Reign’s (maybe I need to address my cabling and get that XTR chain) brakes are insanely awesome.

Photos from last weekends pong action. My old mates Sean and Liz came over and we had an awesome catch up. Can’t believe it’s been a year since I’ve seen them, ridiculous!

Grrr – have… to… beat… Seany.

Sean’s so animated when he pongs.

Sean doing Michael impression.

Lloyd and Liz.

Oh what a feeling.

Sorry if I sound excited, but I’ve just come back from the quickest session I’ve ever had at Loftus on a brand new Giant Anthem X2 (1hr flat. I usually take a lot longer).

Grant (my lovely man) at MC Cyclery cut my car buddy Eddie a deal (caring is sharing) and Eddie asked me a favour, to go pick up the bike for him, of-course I obliged. In return Eddie let me take the bike out to Loftus tonight (yyeew!).

MCC’s head mechanic Ash set the fork and shock for my weight, lowered the stem and ripped off the reflectors (I love his style). He also trued the wheels a little, tuned up the gears and adjusted the brakes. As soon as he was done I got the bike in the car and headed straight to Loftus to meet up with Cifton and Zi.

I took a few pics, tried to avoid mud too (lol). It’s not my bike and I didn’t want to put a scratch on it but I got straight into it.

Initially I didn’t think the bike was magic at all, it weighs in at 13.04kg’s, not that light but it felt light and I thought it was because of the super fast rolling Kenda small block 8’s. Position wise it’s totally stretched out XC in comparisson to my Reign with my arms almost straight out in front of me.

As we hit the single trail the bike felt a lot more alive. It changes direction really well, a lot better than the Reign and I can get the power down a lot easier. I raised the saddle up and the bike felt even faster and more alive. I started to hunt for the smoothest line at all times, but even on the rougher stuff you can still sit and pedal.

On the downhill stuff the tyres suffer, hitting bigger rocks throws you off your line, but when the tyres give it doesn’t feel scary, it’s strange and it eggs you on to go faster.

On the steep loose climb I stayed in the middle ring (I always granny it on the Reign) and I powered up the ****ing thing like never before. I ran out of momentum on the last pinch and got out of the saddle and mashed it. The front fork bobs a fair bit but the rear grips and feels great. What’s more amazing is that I got up that hill in half the time and felt charged and ready to go where I’d be suffering after the climb on the Reign.

All in all I have to say I’m impressed. The wide bars feel AM, the stance is XC, the acceleration and rear feels like a hardtail. You never feel like your pedals are going to smash into the rocks (like you do on a Reign). You do end up hunting smoother lines and tend to roll over humps you’d usually do stupid bunny hops over. It’s no puppy dog that wants to muck around like the Reign is, it’s just a lot more focussed, and faster on a trail like Loftus.

I like it!

Now for some pics:

Brand new Anthem X2 in medium.

MC Cyclery’s head mechanic Ash doing his thing.

Loftus oval toilet block ready to rock.

Train tracks, last shot before she gets dirty.

Post ride, too dark to wash her now, will do so (lovingly) tomorrow. Reign’s feeling a little jealous? Nah, not really :)

PS: THANKS EDDIE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY! :) I owe you a few beers.

Once you start, you can’t stop!!!

The ghetto setup.

Before

After

New dropout adjusters, (note the campy dropouts = teh sex).

My sister’s after another cat, and we went out to Blacktown to visit an Egyptian Mau Breeder. Upon walking into her house we were greeted visually with a billion cat show award ribbons and our noses were pierced with the sharp smell of cat urine. We were ushered over to a dark room where all the kittens were, next door to the dining table and kitchen, and the smell in that room was so full on Christina almost threw up. The room wasn’t ventilated, it was carpeted and there was a soft couch in there too, all soaked in urine. I had to wonder how the fuck people live like that. Jamie assures me that ALL cat breeders are the same but knowing that they’re all the same doesn’t make me think these unsanitary conditions are OK. Having said that, cute cats though!

Pretty boy.

1 year old.

The kittens (which were a bit jumpy).

I’m “meant” to be polishing the old Paino road bike’s parts and putting the Paino together but I spent a few hours cleaning up the Kuwahara (instead of going out clubbing on Friday night lol). She’s come up a treat!

The morning after.

Mixed up – Mongoose cranks, GT chainring, Sugino chainring bolts.

Banged up Tange headset.

Skyway forks could do with a blast and powdercoat.

I’ve also found some vintage Kuwahara gear on eBay and I’ve been shocked at how much everything goes for. The frame pads (shown on the bike below) went for over $160 on eBay last week. That’s nuts. I’m not doing a restore on this bike so I’m not going to bother with buying bling old school NOS parts.

Inspirational.

Vintage BMX heaven.

Ahh the bachelor life! Christina cleaned out my pantry and fridge (good girl). How the hell to I survive? I don’t know.