What happened to Kuwahara BMX?

What happened to Kuwahara BMX?
Today we are talking about Kuwahara BMX and what happened to them, specifically the American division of Kuwahara. This brand was synonymous with 80s BMX and E.T.
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[@MossieRidesBikes]

Anyone here actually own one of the E.T. bikes? I'd love to hear about it!

[@jacksondaniels8169]

Not I, but my neighbor in Houston Stan Adam's raced for them for about 4 months in 82 or 83 ish. He moved on to Navajo Bikes, which was the last known bike I recall because my family moved in the summer of 84.

[@Aspkkr]

I have the 40th anniversary edition, not exactly the same but scratches the nostalgic itch.

[@disturbedme101]

I got a factory.....then went to the quad angle.

[@mmasor9326]

Had one handed down from older brother and I rode it for a 3-4 years before it got stolen outside a 7/11. It was the lightest BMX bike i ever owned and losing it still burns 30+yrs after.

[@evelghostrider]

I live in Belfast Northern Ireland and had my first bmx bike in 1983, it was the red and white ET bike without basket..

[@MarcSherwood]

I've had a few Kuwahara BMXs over the years. One year it was quite cold here, and the ditches froze over. On my walk home from school, I saw a pedal sticking out of the ice. I came back with an axe and got the bike out. It was a factory Kuwahara! I called the police to report the bike, and they came back a few days later to let me know that the bike was stolen, but the owner had already been paid back from insurance. The owner told them that I could keep the bike. I learned who it was, and rode over with ~$50 (paper route money) as a thank you to him. I have the best memories on this bike.

[@DeadHeadmusic69]

I wanna find one in the ice, but there's no ice here unfortunately. I been looking

[@robbchastain3036]

Such a cool story, your integrity at that age is commendable.

[@MarcSherwood]

@@robbchastain3036 I had a few bikes stollen by that time, and knew how much is sucked to lose a bike that was properly loved.

[@sethchapman8001]

Curious if your Kuwahara was really lightweight? The one that I saw/rode was really light.

[@bikeempowerment]

How do I send you a pic of me on my Kuwahara?

[@honestreviewer3283]

I was lucky enough to have a Factory Kuwahara E.T. in the 80s, replete with a set of black Kuwahara pads with lightning bolts. It wasn't as good as some of the other Factory models because the rear triangle wasn't chromoly (it was a loop tail, though) and some of the components weren't as good (e.g., it had a one-piece crank and KKT pedals, and it didn't have the Dia-Compe "MX" brake but a lower-tier Dia-Compe rear caliper) but it was still a very sought after bike because of the movie, and I got beat up several times defending it from being stolen at the BMX track. I wish I still had it as today it is such a classic; I'd just have it hanging on the wall in my garage. I'm 50 now and was a pretty serious road racer in my 20s, but I recently acquired a 22" Wethepeople Audio and use it at the pump track to mix up my workouts and keep my bike handling skills sharp. (It took until I was ~50 to stop giving a fuck about what people think and get another BMX. To think I could have been having this much fun all along!)

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

Nice memories (: Imagine having to defend a GT proline at 8, it was a mess my big bros got it back for me once 😅

[@andrewp7509]

You weren't beat up cause they wanted to steal that ET bike .p

[@honestreviewer3283]

@@andrewp7509 Whatever you say, clown features.

[@michaelthorne1347]

Cool video, thank you!! In ''82 or '83, a Kuwahara E.T bmx was on display in the front office of the local *orphanage* in my hometown. It was going to be a christmas gift for one lucky kid resident from a place that has has since been closed down. I only saw it twice as a young boy, but I probably think about that bike more than any other bike I've ever owned. Core memories.

[@eskimoprizefighter1]

Got a Kuwahara Bravo II for Christmas in I believe 1987 (I was 11). I still have it in pieces in my shed. I have always dreamed of restoring it.

[@ericgelders]

The movie 'E.T.' made a BIG impression on me as a 10yo kid, and seeing those BMX bikes ride 5:25 - 5:45 I knew that's what I WANTED! Now early 50s, I made it through the ranks with several BMXs and mountain bikes, and I'm still riding ✌

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Kuwahara came back in the early 2010s to American BMX racing with a strong team racing a modernized Kuwahara, sponsored a few top pros, but vanished again by 2015

[@allancunningham3641]

Yeah..can remember seeing a few at this time in Scotland too.

[@FBTRCanada]

The last year of the US Factory race team was actually 2017. That team was owned & operated by the Daniels family who also imported & sold that generation of Kuwahara BMX to the US. Troy Daniels was a top Pro & Factory Kuwahara racer in the l80’s who travelled the world representing the brand in BMX’s heyday.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

@@FBTRCanada Nice thanks for the correction

[@nicholasbuttery511]

In The ET Film all the BMX Riders that used Kuwahara`s changed the components for the chase .

[@Mikishots]

Love these vids. I'm 54 now and I rode a Hutch Pro Raider on Araya Turbos back in the day (had a set of Z rims too!) A couple of kids in the neighborhood had Redline and Skyway bikes, but they were too pricey for my parents 😂. AME grips! Man, I haven't heard that name in frikkin decades. They were the best, and after looking at the website, they haven't changed much at all in 40 years. They were awesome grips. Great videos. Any possibility of a Hutch vid In the future?

[@MossieRidesBikes]

I appreciate the support! Hutch is definitely on the list of future projects.

[@charltonmoore452]

I had a Robinson during this time, with Turbo wheels and Suzue hubs with DB Turbo cranks . It was really light. I believe I had ODI and AME.. Those were the days!

[@waltersobchak7275]

That hutch was still miles better than skyway and most redlines

[@clintc5416]

Oh man, this brings back great memories! My friends and I rode our BMX bikes everyday at what we called the “Dirt Course”. We had Redline, Schwinn Predators, Hutch Pro Stars, etc. It was a great time to be a kid!

[@hernanhernandez3861]

These videos are great. Who would have thought someone would do a history piece on legendary BMX bicycles? I was obsessed with BMX bikes in the 70s...

[@tommccallan8802]

Need to do a video on the "NOMURA" bmx frame. One of the most unique frame ever made...aluminum with an big oval down tube..20in and cruiser only made in 1980 to 1984

[@sethchapman8001]

I am 52 and have fond memories of Kuwahara. One of the bike shops I frequented had one in the shop. I got to test ride it quite a few times. I remember it was one of if the lightest BMX in the shop. Not sure if it was due to frame weight or components, but it stood out to me.

[@Seansworld17]

There was nothing like living in the moment as a kid at the end of the 1970’s riding on your friends Mag Scrambler. It was such a good looking bike! Then there was Kuwahara and Mongoose and no one mentioned Hutch cause they were far out of reach. Talking about it is awesome but living and riding those fresh bikes back then was a feeling I’ll never forget.

[@FMFGUF]

Here in the UK, we progressed from Raleigh Grifters to Raleigh Burners, which were the most popular BMXs at the time; Mongooses were considered pretty fancy. I cobbled together a BMX and fitted a new set of Acorn mag wheels, but they were terrible compared to Skyway Tuff II ones, with way too much flex!

[@BoomBoom-mx3cv]

I had a diamond back viper dk gooseneck, “now called a stem”, CW bars, laid back seat post, I also had some one piece cranks and extremely light rims. But what I really wanted was a Hutch trickstar. My mom bought me the frame and my dad made her take it back 😭😭😭 that bike is worth “I’ve seen 12 to 15,000$,” and I’ll never get over it lol. I’d love to see something on the hutch trickstar.

[@domone1201]

Me too, Diamondback F1. DK neck, Arayas, Ame grips etc..Wish I still had it.

[@trevorcourt1403]

These videos are so informative keep em coming I’ve learnt so much about the bmx days, brands & riders

[@machupikachu1085]

I grew up in Canada and Kuiis (Kuwahara) was the most popular premium brand name BMX where I lived. They were everywhere. All the kids with the big box bikes dreamed of one, and all of the serious riders started with one and moved on to more bespoke or obscure brands like GT, CW, Mongoose or Patterson.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

I grew up in Canada also, kuwahara were definitely something I dreamt about while riding my crappy tire Raleigh. I remember wanting a Redline pretty bad at one point. CW became Revcore didn't it?

[@michaelohara6614]

I drooled over Kuwahara. Parents bought me a Team Murray. I worked and bought a 1982 Skyway frame @ fork.

[@WesleyGravolet]

Dude..my parents bought me a Murray as well, changed all the parts and frame within 6 months w allowances..go figure!

[@Snowdog1010]

I had a Kuwahara tandem at one time. Purchased in 1987. White base with rainbow paint scheme. Suntour drivetrain, entry level parts.. Got it up to 40 mph on the flats once (with a tailwind). Good bike.

[@LakeLyfe315]

I didnt have a fancy bike like this but man, i did love my sick white and black huffy!

[@derekhobbs1102]

A friend's dad had a small bike shop here in South Australia about 15 years ago, and he was a Kuwahara dealer.

[@WorldwideDarts]

I was always the Redline guy back in the day. One of my best friends had a green Kuwahara and it was a really nice bike. He had it decked out for freestyle riding. Skyway mags, MKS Grafight pedals, etc... Sadly the entire BMX industry went belly up in the later part of the 1980's but thankfully it came back. Nowadays I'm a HUGE Se Bikes fan and have a 26 inch PK Ripper that I cruise around on from time to time.

[@robbchastain3036]

Just a note to say to you, Mossie, that there is no shame in any fundraising game as giving platforms are voluntary and people like to give in different ways. And I like support a handful of channels at like two bucks a month and I see it as the price of a good magazine subscription, 24 dollars a year. And whether it is Patreon of KZbin channel membership, it's coins in the guitar case for the busker and I like your songs about bikes and the people who crafted them for us. And as with your Skyway story, it is great to know that a couple of machinists who rode motorcycles cooked up Tuff-Wheels for kids to fly like eagles on their BMX bikes. Incredible. Kudos, too, to this Kuwahara importer who put a great bike into the hands of kids in the '80s. And I'm looking forward to seeing some photos from your viewers and I'll have to find a couple. But hey, give me credit for representing, my thumbnail is me at age 15 on my Sting-Ray, doing my Evel Knievel thing all by my lonesome when my Dad happened to walk over and snap a few photos. And I'm so glad he did, otherwise people would think I'm fibbing when I say I rode the wheels off a Sting-Ray from '67 to '75. And that was in Frankfurt, West Germany, a military housing area. And to think that Ignaz Schwinn was a bike-builder in Frankfurt before he emigrated to Chicago to set up shop in the late 1800s. And Schwinn bikes, all those colorful Sting-Rays, empowered a generation of kids to ride their bikes like motorcycles and the beat goes on with BMX and MTB bikes to this very day. 😀

[@MossieRidesBikes]

I really appreciate the input and that's an awesome picture!

[@jacsonwall]

They do have US distribution to this day. I know because I can purchase them in my shop and I live in Idaho.

[@MossieRidesBikes]

Oh that's awesome. I tried emailing them to get clarification but haven't heard back. I appreciate the update!

[@thestumaji656]

I raced a Kuwi back in 77-82 i broke my first frame which is at 4:41 it had the single gusset my new frame is the one at 5:02 with a gusset on both sides but I upgraded to a PK Ripper in 79. I gave my Kuwahara to my best friend's kid in 2017 when I moved, I'm pretty sure he still has it.

[@everythingexplored5233]

Just discovered this channel . If you are interested when I was part of the whole bmx scene from around 81-88 in the U.K. most bikes were in order of common to rare (and people who had rare bikes were the cool guys lol) Common 1.raleigh burners 2- Gt 3- mongoose 4- firebird 5- skyway 6- hutch 7- diamond back 8- torker Rare Se quadrangle pk ripper Vector (I had a vector mk2 in smoked black) Vdc changa Profile Robinson GHP

[@JROC734]

My first BMX was a 96 DYNO VFR, then a 97 GT Interceptor, then a 97 Diamondback Reactor. My friends had many different brands. Auburn, Robinson, DYNO, GT, Fatboys, S&M, DK, Mongoose, etc, etc. One bike I always desired from the magazines, but that no local store to me sold was ELF. You should do a video on ELF. I haven't heard of them in many years. I also used to want a HARO, and a Redline, but never got one. I got into motocross as I got older.

[@toddc7879]

I use to own a kuwahara not sure what model. I bought as a frame only put tange forks and acs z rims and changed rims out to araiya rims later on. I wish I had pictures of it and kept it. Beat the hell out of it and never broke anything. Love the channel and you bring back great old memories. Just wish I kept all bikes I had.

[@MG-sg2ci]

The scene in et where they would ride up the bank in the alley to get to the forest was my jump we made lol.

[@traviswoyen2243]

I have a 1987 Kuwahara Magician EX that I bought new and my brother's 1986 Bravo KT - he bought that as a holdover in 1987 for a pretty sweet deal. The frames are very similar, although the Magician is trimoly and the Bravo 100% chromoly. The Magician also has an extra tube between the downtube and seat tube. I ultimately cracked a weld on the seat stay and seat tube, but that was in the early 2000's doing flatland as about a 210-lb adult. They came with those horrible foot-destroying little fork pegs like the Redlines had. Component-wise, the Kuwahara line matched pretty close to what GT and Haro were doing at their respective price points. The Bravo has an ACS rotor, Peregrine mags, Dia Compe 880 side-pull brakes, Tech 6 levers, Cheng Shin Panaracer-style tires, and horrible hard plastic A'ME tri knock-offs. The Magician, as more of a budget model, has Lee Chi placebo brakes and levers. I broke the original brake levers and plastic pedals that first summer of ownership, but all in all that bike took a lot of abuse over the years. I never significantly bent the steel 48-spoke wheels, I did slightly tweak the original handlebars (replaced with Peregrine Q bars), slightly bent the seatpost, and that was really about it. I restored the Magician about 20 years ago now, and it's pretty much been hanging in the garage since then.

[@davidweintraub9864]

“The magician” was homeless in the mid ‘00s I gave him a job and a chance. Lost touch with him around ‘08

[@steves7896]

Back in the day, in my grade school circles, Kuwaharas were thought of as exceedingly exotic and almost unattainable. More than anything else, everybody wanted their bikes to be as light as absolutely possible. And the word was that Ks were at or near the top of the list of BMX brands for lightness. I rode a lead sloth of a Schwinn Stingray. 😆

[@Pablo668]

I had a Kuwahara mountain bike back in the late 80's. I loved that bike. I lived in Japan for a couple years aroun 2004/5. The brand Nishiki was mentioned in this vid. I had a Nishiki mouintain bike while I was there and it was awesome. Very light, very fast.

[@majikbikemike]

I've still got my Kuwahara Roc D'azur great bike. Loved the Nishiki Alien.

[@Mardy72]

I still have my 1982 24" kuwahara cruiser. Restored it about 10 years ago. Still all original frame stickers, araya rims, kkt pedals, diacomp brakes, lightning bolt elina seat. I raced the cruiser class in 85/86 on this bike. I'll never sell it. I still ride it regularly 👍

[@Jackjack-zl4nt]

Hey where did you race back in the day..i was in brisbane boodall back in the day,85-87😊 good times

[@Mardy72]

@@Jackjack-zl4nt I raced around the NSW mid north coast from about '84 to '88

[@Aspkkr]

I was 12 years old when E.T came out and was already big into BMX. The way I remember it being was we all wanted a Kuwahara but simply didn't have that kind of money. One kid had an E.T one but of course he didn't let anyone ride it so I never got to experience one until 2 years ago when got a 40th anniversary model just because I could lol. I ride modern BMX now so I still have actually never rode even the one I own but it looks cool.

[@YTInnovativeSolution]

Dude.. I recently found your channel and subbed instantly. I was just about to request a Kuwahara video. Dropping my comment before viewing. I used to have a Kuwahara RF. It is a quad tube frame from the neck to the seat post. Pictures of it can be seen in freestylin magazine from 1984. I was told it was only one of fifty such frames ever made, but I could have been lied to about that. Joe Sosa was the pro rider who sold it to me long long ago.

[@minxlabrada]

Good research. Wild story about why we don't have gobs of ET bikes all over. Recently ordered some Kuwahara stickers, to "cosplay" my Race Inc 26" as a Kuwahara. Not sure if I'm doing the fade paint job. Also bought a front basket and an ET mask. So do the math on that.

[@princequestly2218]

It’s so funny I wanted a Kawahara after seeing ET and by the time I ended up getting a bike of that caliber, you couldn’t even find them anymore, or at least not at any of the shops in my area on the East Coast. and I got a hutch pro-star instead which I ended up being very happy with.

[@voodoocars2134]

I had a KZ-1 back in the day

[@domone1201]

If they had sold out to Kmart, we wouldn’t be watching this video.

[@billbaden742]

Kuwahara...I still remember the adds in 1979-80 BMX Plus magazine

[@diplenski]

i forgot how cool the bike scenes were

[@cyberteque]

I had a Kuwahara mountain bike back in 1984(?) wasn't a "diamond back" frame damn good bike! the gun/bike shop I worked at sold Kuwahara and Apollo bikes I assembled hundreds! great bikes

[@lesjayco7785]

I had a Kuwahara in 1986 with tear drop tubing. I was told at the time it was a Tange Aero frame.

[@dshow1658]

Me and my BRO had a red with blue parts and blue with red parts . We had them built for us by a shop called Denny’s Bike Shop . Fort Wayne IN.

[@timoneil6582]

Very cool! I had a chrome frame/fork that I traded other parts for and built it up with parts from my old Mongoose. Chrome with blue Tuff II's, Ashtabula cranks (I was poor, no Flights for me) and KKT pedals. It was an awesome bike, but I ended up trading it for a Thruster. Edit to add: For the life of me, I couldn't recall the name of the Thruster and it just came to me. Vanishing Point! It was light as a feather with Araya alloys and aluminum 3 piece cranks. Partially stripped freewheel made sure I cracked my nuts or knees on a daily basis.

[@uncensored5104]

I knew a factory rider here in the UK later 70's/early 80's. Kuwahara (or the UK importer) use to give him bikes & parts for free to race! All the kids were in awe of him at the local track.

[@mikesgsg2912]

My brother had a Kuwahara ET ., he left it in the back garden to long with out care , so dad took it to the dump one day end of . .. Back in the nineties he did pick up a Laserlite , he still has that but it hangs in a garage getting surface rust ...

[@Louie2309]

I was sponsored by a local bike shop and the day before a big meeting the owner came to me and said I want you to ride this bike to get it some exposure. It was the first Kuwahara in Australia. It looked good. Had all Shimano components, nothing top of the line, but good quality and the chrome frame looked good. It looked like a pretty good bike and it was cheap. Everyone called it the Japanese Mongoose. For some reason, I couldn’t get this bike to wo4k for me. I used the same hearing I had been practicing on during the week and I just couldn’t get it off the line. I really should have changed the gearing after the first race , but persisted. That brand never really took off. I don’t know if it was because it was Japanese when all the cool bikes were American and I think it was priced to cheap. It wasn’t considered a race bike but as an everyday bike and it had the stigma of a Kmart bike.

[@DaveCM]

As an avid cyclist, I fully understand why they rejected selling them in big box stores. That would have been the death of the brand for BMXers. Schwinn could come out with the best bike on the planet and few people would buy it because of its big box image

[@andyrails9742]

I can remember in the mid eighties, in a very small town in far north Queensland Australia, two brothers Scotty and Michael, each had a kuwahara BMX. Oh man I was so jealous of their bikes.

[@thesausage351]

I’m in NSW and one of my favourite bikes, and a bike that is my grail bike is a TBC Cobra, did you ever encounter any of those? I had a heap growing up and they’re probably my favourite bike ever.

[@andyrails9742]

@@thesausage351 Before now I'd never heard of the TBC cobra. But I just checked out a couple online. The cobra was a sweet looking bike indeed.

[@Mardy72]

I had a cobra in (I think) 84/85

[@thesausage351]

@@andyrails9742 yeah made in Toowoomba (Bicycle Company) as Australia’s answer to the Mongoose (Mongoose/Cobra) and was a pretty cool bike. I always wanted a metallic green one, I thought they looked wicked, but I now own a completely original chrome first gen, a chrome second gen frame and forks I’m restoring and also a badass race frame that is pretty rare. I still want more though haha

[@thesausage351]

@@Mardy72 nice! Mine were all used, I was poor and got mine from either the dump or on council clean up day. There seemed to be a heap of them in my area for some reason, I had about 6 frames at one point and a friend had another 3 or 4.

[@Checkofoto]

I had a Kuwahara Mountain Bike in 1985...no joke.

[@MountainStandardTime]

I had a Cycle Pro Macho bmx bike. Can't believe I remember that

[@boostedlss6450]

In the 80's I had an old friend with a wicked proto Kuwahara 26" mountain bike, ridgid, in aluminum, it was sweet.

[@honestreviewer3283]

Also, there was an "Apollo" version of the E.T. bike (at least in Canada there was). The Apollo Kuwaharas weren't genuine Kuwaharas because their frames were steel (not chromoly) and they had lower-tier components (they were easy to recognize because they had a lugged frame and a riveted badge on the head tube, whereas Factory Kuwaharas had a TIG (or MIG?) welded frame and just a decal on the head tube). Basically, at least where I grew up, if you had an Apollo and you showed up at the BMX track with it, you'd get the shit kicked out of you on basic principle.

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I remember these, but yeah I'm Canadian ...

[@robincoope5352]

The Canadian story is interesting because by 1983 there were both Factory Kuwaharas and Apollo Kuwaharas available in Canada. In early 1983 I got a Factory Kuwahara Laserlite (thanks mom and dad!) which came from Cap's New Westminster, the BMX oriented store in Cap's Vancouver area bike retail empire. I think Cap's had the Apollos as well, so it wasn't a mass market brand, just lower end. I do remember that the ET bike that must have appeared later that year, was branded Apollo in Canada, with the mild steel frame and lower end parts. Thinking about it now, they could have gone mass market with the Apollo brand ET bike and not damaged their high end image as they had Factory Kuwahara brand and everyone in Canadian BMX knew exactly what the difference was. Thanks for making this Mosie, I've been vaguely curious about this topic for many years.

[@tylerbruce5731]

​@@robincoope5352Yeah I remember 'factory Kuwis" being the bike to have. I had to make due with my Norco Force 3.

[@mrsparkle19]

Valterra took the opposite Approach with its skateboards. Sold an insane number of those Back to the Future splatter boards at mass retail and got countless kids into the sport. But never made a high-end product sold through skate shops.

[@steves7896]

Oh yeah! All the names keep coming back. Thanks for the memories!

[@deanj9345]

Good stuff nice video. What about Nichole Kidman's Malvern Star Super Max from BMX Bandits, some Australian Content.

[@pan8a]

Can you please make a vid on the history of diamondback. I know diamondback wasn't started by a dad or a welder. It was started by a businessman. And could you also do a video on Bassett? I thought Bassett was a new company but it turns out they've been around since the '70s

[@billscott6819]

Kuwahara never came off as wack back in the day. Huffy and Schwinn did.

[@sideways8films488]

They really never had any factory riders either I can only think of Clint Miller for BMX and Randy Tishman for freestyle.

[@kyebingham4479]

First bike i bought with my own money was a kuwahara torker 2 had a double top bar prob only bike i rode i didnt ever crash. Very nice bike.

[@TenFalconsMusic]

. I had a '85 Kuwahara Bravo (everything white exept the crank & gooseneck). Loved that bike, but sold it to buy a bass guitar.

[@RickThompson-l5t]

So strange. I can’t recall seeing the Red and White ET Kuwahara. They were popular in the early 80s and I had several friends that had them (black and chrome). Boy, what a miss by them to not cash in on the volume sales opportunity. On a different note, I have another video idea. I picked backed up MTB riding a few back and purchased and Intense Primer. I had the opportunity to try a lot of different brands and liked the Intense the most. We were up riding at the trails in Bentonville and I came across another mountain biking family and the dad liked my bike and told me the back story of Intense in BMX. His son was apparently sponsored by them and things went sideways so he was a little bitter about the relationship but liked the bikes. My knowledge of BMX bikes is kind of frozen in the late 70s to mid 80s. If Intense is of interest to you, maybe you could do a video on them. Thanks again for the awesome content.

[@hessex1899]

I was at Woodward with Greg Flowers. Super nice guy. He helped me dial in grip stands back in the day.

[@T-RavisComics]

I won a Kuwahara at a race one time. I had it for years it was a good bike

[@HUKIT.]

I surely don’t miss the v-bars from back then.

[@stevencuenca1980]

Haha 4inches tall and stiff😂

[@Tradhunter]

Wow what a blown opportunity kids would have enjoyed the bikes if they were available. I was in elementary when movie came out.

[@alantaylor353]

I had a Kuwahara BMX as a kid, I bought it off my friend for something like £40.! I can't remember what model it was, it was silver, that I do know.! It was a really good bike, I loved it... Until one of the pedals snapped one day & I smacked my nuts on the crossbar.! 😉 I replaced the pedsls, then gave it away when I got a Muddy Fox mountain bike for Christmas.! That Muddy Fox was a fantastic bike.!!

[@ashleystyles6888]

Weirdly by 1985 the brand was the bmx that noone wanted. I "get" the ET connection but we all wanted a haro a skyway or a GT by 1983/4

[@robbchastain3036]

I had never heard that sad story, Mossie, thanks for telling us and yes, those bikes would've been perfect all lined up and ready for kids everywhere to see them on shopping trips with their parents. And I respect the man's loyalty to local bike shops, but when you have crates of bikes which those shops rejected, it is time to pick up the phone and let your fingers do the walking. And yes, I can understand teen BMX riders being not really drawn to a bike in E.T. colors at the time, but younger kids who liked the movie would have gone nuts about it, no doubt.

[@hiroyopoetker]

I have lived in Japan for over 20years and in the early 2000s Kuwahara was still making bikes, DH bikes. But it seems they have transitioned to making compared bikes and honestly don't know if they are in business anylonger!

[@salamhobbist4950]

They should make a bigger size ET version 24,26 & 29 🤔

[@tomfahy3617]

AWESOME that Cohen didn't sell out to the big box stores.

[@umustwantme]

I sold my Magician about 7 years ago. Rode it regularly up to that point

[@swiatekx3]

Could Kuwahara been the next Mongoose if they took it to the mass market ? Great story and it reminds me of the huge miss of a company called Blackberry made. Anyway love your videos and telling the history of our sport being either BMX or Mountain bike . Yes you should do a story on Mike Devitt .

[@johnclift163]

Never had one, but i always wanted one

[@APWPaint]

Also if you were a hard core racer, those "TV" bikes just didn't play. We saw them as bikes that should have been at Kmart next to the Huffys and Murrays.

[@w.stuart668]

my first kuwi was 1980 or 81 with the single gusset cro-mo frames which cracked at the gusset, then rode several kz1's after that. was my choice of bmx.

[@evelghostrider]

My first bmx in 1982 was the kuwahara ET bike.. had it for years until my diamond back harry leary turbo took over...

[@anthonymasluk2295]

Wow I was born in 82 your parents must have been rich for you to own that bmx welldone

[@DavidHicks-ql2iy]

I still have my Factory KUWAHARA Kz1, that I raced from fall of 1981-1984. I wish I could post a photo here. It was the blue one.

[@mattjacomos2795]

Interesting story. I suppose BMX was still in it's massive growth phase when the opportunity to tie in with the movie was missed. To be fair, this was the early days of merchandising. My younger brother actually owned a black Kuwarhara BMX here in Australia back in the day...

[@two-bit463]

I had one and they vanished into thin air ! Ah Choen explains it all

[@JamesRobertMTB]

Would love to own a retro bmx, so sick!

[@thesausage351]

Grew up in Australia and had literally hundreds of bikes over the last 40 years and I don’t believe I’ve even see a Kuwahara in the flesh in my life. I’d like to own a ET bike but they just don’t seem to be anything special, component wise to justify the price.

[@potsy9973]

I had Torkerll and Profile and GT Redline ect. and had a good idea whats good. My brother he got a Kuahara new for xmas in 87. It was a quality chromoly bike maybe not up on par with makes like GT but it was a great dirt jumper light and reliable. I remember Sears sold them when he got his new bike.

[@Castellanocreep]

I got to the track still and kids are riding kuwahara bikes

[@MountainStandardTime]

Can you do a review of JMC bmx bikes? I lusted over a neighborhood kid's bike in the 80s. I asked him about it and he said it was a JMC. He still has it.

[@SmoothbassmanStudios]

What a huge missing opportunity!! That bike would have sold millions!!!

[@BrianMDIY]

Crazy, because I had a Kuwahara ET that I used for my paper route as a kid. I got rid of it after a while because having a movie bike was as lame as riding a Huffy (probably more like "Team Murray" lame). Also mine was a little deeper red almost burgundy. Honestly nobody really knew the Kuwahara name at that time. Circa 86-87ish prolly.

[@gr8scotrolls]

I add the pink Magician in the late 90's, the split top tube made frame stands much easier.

[@matthewshaud1741]

It's strange, I only saw one on display at my local bike shop and it sat there for 2 years.

[@scottwilliams5196]

I remember when they showed up with tons of ads. They seemingly came out of nowhere with money to spend. I thought they nabbed a couple big name riders, but i cant recall who. I never knew anyone who owned one though.

[@DeryckAllen]

Thats what loyalty gets ya.

[@MangoJim90]

I remember it was about 6-7 years ago when I was searching for 20" full suspension bike for myself (mini sus) and almost the only thing google could find is Kuwahara Gaap 🤩 there is the end of story) I couldn't buy it so I ordered custom hardtail frame which can take 20*2.8 and 24*2.4 wheels 🥰

[@tylerbruce5731]

What I think is interesting as a side story here is bikes percieved quality and value vs actual quality. We still get some of that today (looking at you Yeti and Santa Cruz) buy Id say consumer knowledge is now pretty good so name branding has maybe less of an impact vs back in the 80s with BMX. I had a chrome Norco Force 3 with what Norco called tri-moly frame. Assume is their version of chromoly. Though cant find much info. No one cared about that "level" of bike. Everyone wanted a Kuwi. Be awesome to see some independant in depth analysis of these 80s BMXs. Mostly appears info comes from marketing ads, team factory riders or media hype (eg ET).

[@MrJaz8088]

Redline or Mongoose, was most popular, only 2 kids at my school had kuwahara's the rest had Diamond Backs, PK Rippers or cheap Bigfoots 1979-1985

[@theriderdtm8650]

Walaweh ❗️ Basikal lama.... Di 🇲🇾 ada 3 model Shogun,Ninja&Samurai ✌🏻😁

[@RC51Rod]

Are there any videos about Azuki?

[@davidleeashkenazi8992]

E.T. still scares the shit out of me

[@joemcgarvey7655]

I still have a Kuwahara tandem.

[@edmundhodgson2572]

yeah. KZ1, still got it!