I think it would be a big risk to bid for this. I think it is possibly a 1992 Kilauea with 97 stickers, as the 92 Kilauea was a similar colour and the black canti guide looks like the 92 style. However it could be any mid 90s Kona, there is no evidence that it is a Kilauea and the claim that it has original paint and stickers is clearly false, so I don't see anything to go on.
Having said that, you may think I was unwise to buy the bike shown below on the basis of this picture. I don't know why these people have such a yen for 97 stickers, but anyway it clearly isn't a 97 Kilauea, so why did I pay £168 for it?
Well it did have a Machine Tech/D521 rear wheel, Hope BigUn/D521 front wheel, XTR rm, and I still use that old Flite, my son likes the pedals, etc. But whether you like the paint job or not (and to be fair it was probably quite costly), I knew the frame was a Kilauea, either 94 or 95. It's possible that no other bidder knew that. The only question mark was the presence of a rear V-stop, but of course that would have been brazed on when it was repainted (and could even have been part of the reason for the respray I guess). The photo shows 94 onwards geometry, >93 drop outs and tapered top and down tubes. So it must be a 94 or 95 Kilauea. And it is in fact a 94.
It's not much of a photo, but it tells you a damn sight more than the one in the current auction.
