Nice!

Incredibly cool. That's a very early KHS. Love the colour and the decals. Great score!

You need to tell us about these bike magnets you walk around with.

Near as I can figure it's an '82. But I don't know how accurate that is.

That is pretty!!

I hope your luck is better than mine. The last time something followed me home she had 4 kittens the next week.

That is a nice one !

Mine was an 83 with 531 DB and Campag dropouts. Too small for me, went to a friend.

Never really thought much of the decals.

I always get a kick out of KHS, when you unpack the letters (so literal): Knowledge, Health, Strength.

I was expecting to see an adorable, orange long haired kitten or something! So disappointed.....



Good looking bike though

One wonders if KHS was in cahoots with the Centurion importers, passing the Turbo name to Centurion.

Or was it that KHS never trademarked the Turbo name for a model of bicycle?

Tange #2 tubing is a good sign, seamless butted Cr-Mo, and that fork crown looks Masi-ish, but what of the fork blades?

So who built these frames for KHS? Was KHS another American importer or an actual Japanese company?

The steerer tube says Tange.2.C if that helps at all.

They tout an award as being the first Taiwanese manufacturer using Reynolds 531 or something.

I think that, if this has kittens, the OP would be happy! Nice one!

N + 1 + 4

Kittens are cute, but they grow up. Then their bike is too small.

KHS is a Taiwanese company, of interest to me because I'm of Taiwanese descent and most of my family lives there. I believe it was started by the Hsieh family in Taiwan, but not sure at that point whether the bicycles were produced in Taiwan or Japan.

Didn't John Howard go in with KHS to design one of their race bikes?

Moulton->Tesch->KHS

https://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com...or-dave-t.html

This is not a John Howard though.

I managed a shop in Berkeley in the early 80's. Those decals were prior to when we sold them, '82 or earlier is a good guess

That's revisionist history by the current company. KHS also made (makes?) musical instruments, and was licensed by Yamaha tomake scooters. I was taught, and the interwebs confirmed, that KHS is derived from the Chinese: Kong - Contribution, Hsue - School, Sheh - Society

KHS made all of their own bikes from 84 on, perhaps earlier. They also made bikes for Sears, and some of Univega's lower end models, I believe.

Correct, Wen (sp?) Hsieh came to the US to start KHS America. He hired me as a sales rep in the mid-80's for the SF Bay Area. As I recall he had a PhD in Chemistry. The bikes were made in Taiwan, some early high end models were made in Japan. I have a KHS Special tourer that has a made in Japan sticker on it and has the earlier decals that the OP shows.

Yes, the John Howard Triathlon was the model. KHS sponsored his "fastest man on a bike" ride, he stayed on as "consultant" for a few years.

I find KHS appealing because they seem to be unusually self-contained. They've survived with company continuity since the 70's. They didn't get killed in the 90's by the big 3 from above and Walmart from below, like most other companies. Most of their bikes go right down the mainstream, and those that are less mainstream are purposeful, not goofy.

That's in remarkable shape. The only KHS I've seen in person/ridden was gas pipe with stamped DOs and no der. hanger. Still plenty fun. Neat to see this one. I owned one Tange Champion 2 bike and loved the ride, though there's more to that than the tubing.

KHS is still manufacturing / distributing in Canada, so these vintage models are a nice throwback.
[MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION]: Thanks for the thorough overview. Very informative.

I mentioned that the president of KHS America at the time, Wen Hsieh, had a PhD in Chemistry. If you dig around, you won't find any bikes with chrome on them from the early 70's until at least themid-80's, perhaps later. He was worried that the acid baths used during the plating process would attack the brass brazing and weaken the frame.

I've never seen one that old. It looks like a very nicely made frame. Fender eyelets are a bonus, I bet it would make a great fendered roadie.

That was pretty much my plan. Put some 700s on there with fatter tires, longer quill to get the bars up a bit, fenders, rack, bags, etc. Turn it into my daily 'casual' commuter or something I would take on a ride with the family.

As far as dropouts, I don't know what constitutes quality (lack of experience on my part), but they aren't blended into the frame or fork.

First pic is a bit out of focus, sorry...




And just for fun, the cable guides on the BB are stamped with 'Shimano.'