Kiwi Kuwahara... updated and more images 8/8/11

aardvarkash10

Devout Dirtbag
Hi guys - new to the forum, so treat me gently...

Pictures coming, but I want to put out there my project bike, a 198x Kuwahara Shasta. At least, I think it is - definitely a Kuwahara, I recall it being a Shasta but the last paint job obliterated all evidence of model names.

Anyhow, its whakapapa (Maori for provenance) is from Canada where it was a friends touring bike from new, then brought with him to Nz in the early 1990s.

I bought it off Mike a couple of years later and rode it for a few years as a road/offroad beater. It then sat in a garage near the sea for 14 years...

I pickled it up last weekend and it has since been almost fully stripped for rebuilding. Almost because the quill stem is seized in the steerer still (surgery coming this week...) and one pedal has seized in the Suntour crank.

Plan is for a low-budget single speed road ride. I'll stick with the biopace ring (a choice of the large 46 or the 36 middle ring) on the front. The rear will be a converted freewheel system just in case i want to go back to a rear cluster.

Horizontal dropouts (front entry) make things a little easier than otherwise...

A new quill with a zero to 10 degree rise on the stem will be fronted by a no-name moustache bar. BMX levers will control the original front canti's and rear u-brake.

Perch is a white Charge Bucket - one of the only new items apart from the bb and headset.

The chosen colour scheme is white with red accents.

Once this is up and running, I can move on to my Proflex 856...
 
Welcome :D

Sounds cool, get some pics up

Oh and hide your wallet

This site is addictive :LOL:
 
finally some pictures - happy for anyone to confirm or challenge the model designation, but I'm pretty sure it was a Shasta...

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Its now dismantled. The quill is seized in the steerer, so I cut the head off the quill to allow me to remove the forks and will be attacking with some gas to heat and free the remaining quill and remove it. Same with the l/h pedal - its locked in the crank arm. Other than that, it was reasonably easy. Wheels need a full rebuild so I'm tempted to just replace them wholesale with new(er) items.
 
slow progress - her indoors has me remodelling the bathroom at the same time and that cuts in to spannering time...

Frame is back from the powder coaters. Ity was sand blasted, primed and coated in a sharp white. Close inspection identifies a fair amount of pitting that is masked by (but not hidden by) the paint. Not the painters fault tho and overall I'm very happy with the finish.

The LBS has some no-name alloy wheels with screw-on freewheel hubs. The shop is closing and the wheels are there to be had at under $50 each (25 quid for you anglo-saxons) complete with skewers. They have my name on them!

A red diacompe headset is destined for the front end, a set of tekro brake levers with red clamps is ordered for the woah control, a new el-cheapo VP bb is on its way too.

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Looking good. Would have been a good idea to mask your fork crown & U-brake bosses before painting... ;)
 
yeah! But they cleaned up ok with some fine sandpaper.

Brakes are now mounted, rear derallier mounted (to act as a tensioner til I can find a free one!). Still waiting on the other bits to arrive...

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Update!!! White Mischief is on the road

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OK, time passes...

Her Indoors finally put her hoof down on a partial single spped living on the kitchen table, so today, a move was made.

A s/h quill 50mm 0 degree stem was fitted. The single speed had already given away to a six speed cos I was looking for a commutable bike. The cluster is 14-21 so REAL close ratio and combines nicely with the 46 chain ring up front. A trick of mounting the chainring in the 2nd ring position on the crank lined up the chain with the 2nd highest gear on the cluster.

The diacompe SS7 brake levers off my newly acquired Cannondale M400 shifted over to control the rear U-brake and the front canti's - again from the C'dale - on this rig. The rear der is controlled by a Deore six-speed thumbie original to the Kuwahara.

I tried to match a road moustache bar to the bike, but haven't found a set of brake levers and a shifter that suited and would fit. Time will sort that out as I find suitable bits. Meanwhile, the Brahma's remain, but will be taped in white to match.

Oh yeah - all the cables are Jagwire in white!

Wheels are cheap and cheerful - new Ontrack branded devices with Joytech hubs and un-named rims and stainless spokes all for $48 each. Bargain, and straight too!

A quick ride tonight confirmed - high gearing, relaxed angles and seat/bar measurements lend themselves to a cruising, loping, long legged commutable ride - just what the doctor ordered!
 
ride impressions

OK - builds are all well and good - the big question is "waddleshedo?"

Quuite damn good for approximately $300NZD investment, and pretty much exactly what it was designed for!

I ride 22km each way to work - pretty flat, probably a rise and fall of no more than 25m each way. So gearing was set up to be tall and close - i originally intended a SS but it was easier on me and overall to leave the rear mech in place. So the 14-22 cluster is there and is spot on with the 46 chainring. A tall 1st gear, but once rolling its simple to keep momentum up.

The frame is nicely relaxed. With 1.25 x 26 slicks, it isn't whippy, but neither is it imprecise. A short quill stem (around 50mm) makes the cockpit a little tight, but I am slowly moving the saddle back to address that.

No-one seems to like bullhorn bars except me! I like the stretch alternatives and in brahma versions like this I can lean elbows on the bars like an aerobar and still have good control.

Brakes are up to it - they don't have a lot of work to do, so not a big priority.

I wanted a mtb frame for this because NZ drivers are homicidal around bikes - I need the option to take to the scenery, or go postal on a tintop as required. White Mischief here allows for both.

And parked outside work, a lot of comments on the "new" bike, and surprise at finding its a 26 year old!

So, now to put the miles on so I'm in shape for the Huka Falls 80km ride in November. A 1995 Cannondale M400 is being built for that. No brahmas on it - promise!

Thanks for the wide range of inspirations here - I know its not really a mountainbike now, but its heart is there and it certainly has the retro bit covered!
 
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