Tobbe's BMX museum
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Kuwahara E.T. Original. 1983
Kuwahara made several models of the E.T. bikes and this one is the top of the line model called “Kuwahara E.T. Original”. It’s the holy grail for many BMX old school collectors. It took me over a year to collect all the correct parts for the bike. For 2013, I have updated the bike to be more perfect.
I found the Tange HotHeart frame (same as Kuwahara E.T. Original, except for the heart-shaped hole in front gusset) in France and the heart-shaped hole have been filed to correct round shape. I got the Ukai Speedline rims from an 1986 GT Pro Series and they have been powdercoated in semi gloss black and the silver stripes was filled in by hand with a silver-pen. The hubs was also powdercoated in semi gloss black. I found the IRC tires at the French Ebay, but unfortunately both of them are in the size of 2.125¨ (instead of a staggered set of 2.125¨ in front and 1.75¨ in rear).
The NOS (new old stock) Elina seat (in all black without the lightning bolts) was the most difficult part to find.
Updated list for 2013:
• New frame – Tange HotHeart 1983, refurbished and then powder coated in white by “Barspin-Danne”, then painted with 2-components car paint in “pearl cherry red” and several layers of clear coat. High quality repop decals from Frog in France.
• Mint Hatta bottom bracket, looseball bearings, silver/chrome.
• NOS Sugino chain ring bolts, chrome.
• Mint Hatta headset, chrome.
• Mint Sugino 178mm cranks (stamped 1982), chrome.
• Mint Dia-Compe brake pads, black.
• NOS genuine bolts for the Sugino stem, black.
A big thanks to Barspin-Danne for the powdercoating!
| FRAME | 1983 Tange HotHeart. Pearl cherry red/white. |
| FORK | Tange Champion 1¨ threaded. Pearl cherry red. |
| STEM | Sugino. Black. |
| HANDLEBAR | WIN V-bar. Chrome. (NOS) |
| HEADSET | Hatta 1¨ threaded. Chrome. |
| GRIPS | O.G.K. Black (NOS) |
| CRANKS | Sugino 1-piece 178mm. Chrome. |
| BOTTOM BRACKET | Hatta looseball bearings. Chrome. |
| CHAINRING | Sugino 44T. Black anodized. (NOS) |
| SPIDER | Sugino. Chrome. (NOS) |
| CHAINRING BOLTS | Sugino (stamped). Chrome. (NOS) |
| PEDALS | KKT AMX 1/2¨. Black. (NOS) |
| CHAIN | D.I.D. 1/8¨. Black. (NOS) |
| SEAT | Elina MX. Black. (NOS) |
| SEAT POST | Aluminum fluted 22.2mm. Black anodized. (NOS) |
| SEAT POST CLAMP | SunTour Arrow. Silver. |
| REAR BRAKE | Dia-Compe 890. Black. |
| BRAKE PADS | Dia-Compe. Black. |
| BRAKE LEVER | Dia-Compe Tech-2. Black. (NOS) |
| BRAKE CABLE | Dia-Compe. Black. (NOS) |
| RIMS | Ukai Speedline 36H. Black. |
| HUBS | High flange. Front; SunTour, rear; SR. 36H. Loose ball bearings. Black. |
| SPOKES/NIPPLES | Chrome 194mm spokes. Chrome brass nipples. (NOS) |
| FREEWHEEL | SunTour 16T. Chrome/black. |
| TIRES | IRC BMX Racer skinwall. 2.125¨ front and rear. Black. (Front is NOS) |
| DECALS | Kuwahara E.T. repop decals from France. |
Sweet build,I love it.would you consider selling ?
Your bike is awesome. I am after some advice, I have a Kuwahara ET as well but I am not sure if it is an original frame. I have tried to do some research but am a little confused about the gusset. Mine has the heart shape to it but all the ones I have seen are all circular. All the parts to it are all the original spec as far as I can tell except the wheels. Also this bike has never been used and has been stored for many years so it is like brand new. Any advice would be much welcome.
Thanks.
Fantastic build … but, why did you destroy a HotHeart? The HH is one of my favourite bikes!
Hi there! I couldn’t find a genuine E.T-frame, that’s why.
I’m building a Tioga Rhino (undestroyed Tange HotHeart) at the moment. 🙂
Where did you get the chain tensioners from? All I can ever find are silver/chrome ones. The copper colour (correct) ones are impossible to find! Please please tell… Thanks, Carl
Hi Carlos!
I bought the chain tensioners from Ebay a few years ago. It’s actually the same brand/model used on the original E.T. bikes 🙂 It might be hard to find them now.
Cheers! ////Tobbe
I cant believe how lucky you were to find them. If you ever see any more, let me know!! Your’s are perfect and i want some!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol… Cheers
Hi. Awesome build. I have quite a few parts and the original frame from my ET Kuwahara my parents bought for me back in the early 80’s. I was having a hard time remembering two things, the original grips and stem. Finding your build just gave me that, “OH YEAH, I REMEMBER NOW” moment. Did you powdercoat the red and paint the white over it? It appears to be how mine was done. Wish I still had the forks though. Can’t remember what I did with them. I always wondered about the different tires and why they did that.
Thanks
Darren
Hi Darren!
The frame was first powder coated in white, then it was painted with “pearl cherry red” car paint (except for the rear end), then painted with white paint faded in front, then clear coated with 2K car paint.
Ride on! ///Tobbe
The only thing different on mine was that mine came stock with a black MX900 caliper
Darren
You’ve done a wonderful job on this bike! I had one of the originals when I was a kid, and the only thing I recall being different is that the top tube clips for the rear brake cable were the plastic snap kind, not the chrome ones you’ve used. Everything else looks perfect, and it’s brought me back to the day my father and I purchased the bike and I rode it for the first time. I got beat up a couple of times defending my bike from would-be thieves at the local BMX track in my Canadian hometown. While the E.T. was premium “Factory” model, I recall the bike being frowned upon by some of my wealthier friends as it wasn’t as “pure” as some of the other Kuwahara racing models with road-style crank arms and full chrome alloy frames (the E.T.’s rear triangle was steel, apparently). Being a kid, I ultimately succumbed to the peer pressure and peeled off the E.T. decals, changed some parts and–better sit down–repainted the bike black and white. If only I’d known what I had…
How did you find the parts? I have an original but need some components to restore it. Any help?
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