Hei Hei – picked up yesterday.

pipmeister":31ybs4p7 said:

wadsy":31ybs4p7 said:

I was looking for a '98 when I found my '97 Let me know if you want to compare as you're local

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Hi there, I very nearly went for HB's '97, but I decided to hang on for a KH prefix serial number - I was really becoming disheartened by continually searching though!

Yeah I'm just up the road from you ,and have often admired your superb collection as and when you post each of them up on here.

Pip.

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What's the significance of the KH?

pm me if you'd like to pop in for a cuppa sometime

wadsy":1cavn0n1 said:

pipmeister":1cavn0n1 said:

wadsy":1cavn0n1 said:

I was looking for a '98 when I found my '97 Let me know if you want to compare as you're local

Click to expand...

Hi there, I very nearly went for HB's '97, but I decided to hang on for a KH prefix serial number - I was really becoming disheartened by continually searching though!

Yeah I'm just up the road from you ,and have often admired your superb collection as and when you post each of them up on here.

Pip.

Click to expand...

What's the significance of the KH?

pm me if you'd like to pop in for a cuppa sometime

Click to expand...

I recall Anthony and andrewl debating the serial numbers of the Hei Hei and the King Kahuna. Anthony seemed keen to establish if 1998 was the definitive start of “KH “prefix for the Hei Hei and “KK” for the King Kahuna.
Until 1997, it appears that they were “B” and “K” respectively.

(I may be able to locate the thread, but I can’t currently find it)

Anyway, I was hoping that any geometry correction for suspension forks would more likely be nearer to that of my 2003 Kula Primo on those later titanium frames.
I have also read however that the geometry remained the same from when they were first suspension corrected in the mid 90’s, to the present day.
There’s a bit of a story behind why I built my Kula Primo, which I love to ride so much, so I wanted to copy its’ set-up on a Kona Titanium frame. Blimey that reads back like a right load of old cobblers now I’ve read through it again!

I would love to come round to and meet up for a chat sometime, so I’ll drop you that PM soon.

Pip.

Great bike, great find, well done for persevering.

Keep the bar ends; they're there for a reason - they make the bike more rideable - and they're period correct (everyone had them). Unlike purple ano, they're actually useful!
Very nice find!

Pip..nice find bud ..looks really clean..where abouts did you see this..what part of Plymouth??

Ernie

ernie":3qzv1enb said:

Pip..nice find bud ..looks really clean..where abouts did you see this..what part of Plymouth??

Ernie

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Cheers Ernie - I found it by pure chance really during a Google search. It was on this site for local riders in the classified section. The guy told me that he had owned the bike for 12 years after buying it from a shop in Plymton. He lives in Compton in Plymouth if that helps.

http://yogi.terapad.com/

Pip.

pipmeister":1ipjrkny said:

ernie":1ipjrkny said:

Pip..nice find bud ..looks really clean..where abouts did you see this..what part of Plymouth??

Ernie

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Cheers Ernie - I found it by pure chance really during a Google search. It was on this site for local riders in the classified section. The guy told me that he had owned the bike for 12 years after buying it from a shop in Plymton. He lives in Compton in Plymouth if that helps.

http://yogi.terapad.com/

Pip.

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Yogi's are a local bike club..the shop i remember it was called Plympton cycles ..about 2 miles from my house{same area}..as i said bud..lovely bike..great find..good for you

Ernie

Blimey Ernie, I was right near to your place when I picked up the bike then!

I managed to blag a lift with a work colleague in his firm’s car, so free fuel for the trip… hurrah! Looking briefly at the area, it looked like there is some good cycling to be had there. It was a 6 hour round trip, and we were pushed for time, so we didn’t get a chance to explore.

Thanks again for the your appreciation of the Hei Hei, it really is a dream to ride – agile and well balanced. I am well chuffed.

Pip

Wow! Great find indeed, well done!

tom_mclaren":riuyzztl said:

Wow! Great find indeed, well done!

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Thank you Tom, and welcome to the site.

More pictures;
Another one taken from a different angle the morning after I picked the bike up.
I also sent the details off to Kona Tech with a view to clarifying the ongoing serial number debate. I didn't glean a great deal, but this was their reply.

Quote:

Tech [tech@konaworld.com]

Hi, that’s a Hei Hei to me for sure. We’d see about a hundred Ti frames a year back then but they were built to demand and sometimes you would give the folks at Titanium Sports a call for another 50 if things started hopping.

Just so you can decipher the serial number, the first two numerals are the frame size. So yours would have been the 22nd 18” built in that run.

Congrats, it’s a really nice example!

Happy Trails!