Kuwahara Count
 

Hello, my name is David, I'm 42, living in Pennsylvania. I've come to this forum to find out as much information about the 1980's Kuwahara Count that I own. My brother bought this brand new back in '84 or '85 (maybe) which he gave me several years ago which has sat in my shed for the last couple years. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible to try and make a decision what to do with it. It's nice to be a part of this forum and thanks for any advice and help. Enjoy the photos and I can upload these in higher resolution.

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I know nothing about the bike per se, but if you want to see date codes on each component, go to:

vintage-trek.com & on the left click on component date codes, and it will tell you the numbering system for component manufacturers. That way you can see what year the bike might be if the components are original to the bike. It's a starting point.

I have an '85 and an '87 Japanese bike and your Suntour AR front derailleur looks consistent with the era of your bike. Your Shimano Deore rear derailleur is a mountain derailleur and is of later vintage - like early 1990's. Maybe 1990. So betting the rear derailleur has been replaced. Your shifters appear to be Suntour also.

Look under the bottom bracket shelll or the rear dropouts for letters or numbers, indicating serial number. Post it here.

Chain rings are drilled, so look nice. What does the writing say? Something "GT"?

Hi David- Nice looking bike. I don't know much about the brand except that they were a major builder for other brands in the 80's, but it looks like you have a good-quality Japanese 80's steel. The non-aero brakes make me think nothing later that '85. VeloV is right, the RD is a replacement. The pedals are definitely non-original and, to most, an upgrade. If you're wondering about value, there's a separate forum here for that. IMHO: $125 as-is, $200 with an overhaul, maybe $225. The private label headset is a nice touch.

Simply out: Your components and bike a good quality but not a show stopper. Fix up and ride.

I'm curious whether or not there's a tubing decal and if so, what it says.
[MENTION=323735]romperrr[/MENTION] Interesting that you noted the headset as a positive. I very recently had my first experience with this exact Kuwahara "toothy" headset and was less than impressed. Yes, it's got the name on it but no, it isn't noteworthy in terms of quality or function.

That said, it's a really cool-looking and uncommon bike. Find a Suntour RD, clean it up and ride! :)

We sold Kuwahara road bikes in our shop in the early 80s. The Duke was the cheaper one with steel frame, and steel rims, and sold for around $200. The Count was much nicer with a full cromoly frame and fork, and all around nicer components. We liked them better than the typical Japanese bike of that era, at that price. Little touches like spare spoke chainstay protectors on the early 80s models. Sold for, IIRC, about $340-380. Howie Cowen ran Kuwahara in the USA, and added a little more value to his bikes than other brands,I thought.

There should be a serial number on the bottom, non-drive side of the seat tube, format yy mm xxxx, where yy is the year and mm is the month.

Is that a holder for a spare spoke on the chainstay? If so, cool. I don't know many 80s bikes with that feature, especially bikes not full touring like some of the the Fuji Touring line.

Neat bike.