Kuwahara Nova 1983 – Black
I found this Kuwahara Nova at Blocket.se (the swedish version of Craigs List) in the summer of 2013, in Solna outside of Stockholm from a guy who had got it since it was brand new in 1983. It was bought at TWS (Two Wheel Service) BMX shop in Märsta.
It was blue when I bought it, but since I already have a blue Nova, I decided to go for black instead. It’s been powder coated in black by Jesper R. Thanks mate!
The seat post comes from an Kuwahara LaserLite. The Dia-Compe 890 brakes and Tech-3 brake levers was anodized in gold, but faded, so I had them polished instead.
Parts marked with *** is original from when the bike was new.


FRAME |
1983 Kuwahara Nova, black (refurbished) *** |
FORK |
Tange, black (refurbished) *** |
STEM |
Win, polished/black (refurbished) *** |
HANDLEBAR |
Kuwahara, black (refurbished) *** |
HEADSET |
Hatta MX-II, candy red (refurbished) *** |
HEAD LOCK |
SunTour, black/silver (used) |
GRIPS |
OGK, black (used) *** |
CRANKS |
Takagi Cr-Mo, 170mm, chrome (used) |
BOTTOM BRACKET |
YST, looseball bearings (NOS) |
CHAINRING |
Takagi steel, 44T, black (refurbished) *** |
SPIDER |
Takagi/Tioga, chrome (NOS) |
CHAINRING BOLTS |
Takagi, chrome (used) |
PEDALS |
KKT SMX 1/2”, black (refurbished) |
CHAIN |
Red Star 1/8“, black (NOS) |
SEAT |
Concor Aero (Elina Turbo copy), black (NOS) |
SEAT POST |
Kuwahara LaserPost, chrome (used) |
SEAT POST CLAMP |
SunTour broken arrow, black/silver (used) |
BRAKES |
Dia Compe 890, polished (refurbished) *** |
BRAKE LEVERS |
Dia Compe Tech-3, polished (refurbished) *** |
BRAKE PADS |
Dia Compe, gum (NOS + used) |
BRAKE CABLES |
Dia-Compe, clear (NOS) |
RIMS |
Araya 7X shineside, 36H, gold (refurbished) *** |
HUBS |
SunTour low flange, 36H, gold (used) *** |
SPOKES |
CyclePro 184mm, red (NOS) |
NIPPLES |
CyclePro brass 14g, chrome (NOS) |
FREEWHEEL |
SunTour 16T, black (used) |
FRONT TIRE |
IRC BMX Racer 80X, 20×2.125”, black skinwall (NOS) |
REAR TIRE |
Duro Comp III, 20×1.75”, black skinwall (new) |
DECALS |
Kuwahara repop decals. Homemade “Nova” decals. |
PADS |
Kuwahara, black (used) |
























