Guide
Kuwahara Decal Sets
There is so much mis-information out there from sellers and collectors alike who just don’t know the facts about Factory Kuwahara-Produced decals. This guide will help you understand where, what and what not to buy.
THE FACTS – BACK IN THE 80S
Kuwahara produced Factory Decals in the 1980s (and of course 1979) and these decals were placed on Factory Frame sets on the production line. After these bikes hit retail, if you needed a replacement decal set, you’re only choice was to purchase decals from a local bike shop if they had any. And most and almost all these Shop decal sets were NOT Factory produced Kuwahara decal sets and were produced by other parties.
In Fact, there were many knockoff decals being produced and sold back in the 80s. Hence the many knock off 80s BMXs you can still find with Kuwahara decals on them.
KNOCKOFF “NOS” DECALS ON THE MARKET
You will most likely not find ANY “Official” or “Legitimate” NOS (New Old Stock) “Factory Kuwahara-Produced” decal sets for sale on the market anywhere online or in store these days. You just won’t find them especially as ‘regular’ stock but one or two might pop up here and there. And if you do find them, you were lucky to find one as they did not really distribute them worldwide. But for the most part, sellers claiming that they have them is uninformed and has a knock off or third party set in hand or they are falsely producing them and calling them NOS. (If you have one, show us as we can tell if you if it is a factory or a 3rd party one).
The Decal sets you see online by “un-authorized” sellers claiming they are NOS is a misleading statement and fools the best of us. For the most part, these sellers are reproducing them and passing them off as NOS usually printing them on yellow paper to try and legitimize them. Sure, some of those decals you see selling in Malaysia, Thailand or eBay could be NOS (New Old Stock) decals and are actually from the ’80s. BUT, they are NOT Legit Factory decals produced by Kuwahara. They are Knockoffs. The Words “New Old Stock” just means that they are ‘new’ old stock. It does NOT mean they are Factory decals produced by Kuwahara in the 1980s. In FACT, they are far from being close to anything resembling Factory Kuwahara Decals. And you can easily tell. And we have purchased them to see for ourselves.
HOW TO TELL FACTORY DECALS FROM KNOCKOFFS
Examine the decals closely and you will see that they just aren’t the same as fonts and sizing are different from originals. Most of these ‘NOS’ decal sets have the Kanji head tube decal which is not a common decal you will find on any Factory Kuwahara but the most noticeable differences are the “K” used in the Osaka Japan decal as well as the fonts on the 4130 decal. Plus the missing placement dots.
We try to keep an eye on every eBay, listing that comes up as well as other online sources and we have NEVER seen a Factory Correct Kuwahara decal set come up for sale. As mentioned in our research, we have also purchased every decal set out there on the market.
If you have an un-trained eye for these fake decals, it may be quite challenging to know or spot the difference and this is how many new comers, and even collectors get fooled.
The best way is to compare them to an original decal set on a survivor Kuwahara bike however, an easier way would be to compare to current Factory Correct decals from the Vintage Steel website as their decals are already flat and laid out so you can closely examine them.
IN CONCLUSION
It turns out, Kuwahara is constantly shutting down unathorized sellers of their decals, pad sets, and other products online as these sellers are unathorized and reproducing incorrect decals, pad sets etc. and claiming they are NOS decal sets from the 80s but also because it hurts their brand as well as the licensees and companies that support them.
Hopefully this knowledge helps you better decide on choosing the proper decals for your Kuwahara before you get fooled into supporting the fake decals these un-authorized sellers produce.
ps… We have updated this guide for all collectors and newcomers out there that visit this site and have voiced their concerns regarding the lack of information out there on this topic. Hopefully this guide will not only save them money, but also help them do their Kuwaharas justice as there is nothing worse than having some bogus decals on your iconic 80s pride and joy.
As of 2020, Official Factory Correct Kuwahara Decals can only be purchased from Vintage Steel BMX (previously known as BMX-Rider) as they are the ONLY seller that has a Worldwide License to sell their Accurate and High Quality Kuwahara Decal sets for Vintage Kuwahara BMXs.
We say “Vintage Kuwahara” because Flite BMX in the USA also has a license to sell Kuwahara decals, but these decals are based on Kuwahara’s new school and retro line up of BMX. These designs are completely new and different from the ’80s Factory produced decals and honestly, just don’t look the part.
SUPPORTING THE KUWAHARA BRAND:
Buying from or Supporting any of the Un-Authorized sellers illegally producing and selling Kuwahara decals in the UK, Thaliand, Malyasia and elsewhere, not only spreads In-Accuracy in the Vintage BMX hobby world, but helps these sellers continue to produce and sell knock-off decals further degrading the Kuwahara brand and the poor BMXs these decals end up on.
Support Kuwahara and its Licensees as it only helps the Kuwahara Brand and its products.
Authorized / Licensed Kuwahara Resellers:
Vintage Steel BMX – VintageSteelBmx.com
Jump Sports – eBay
WARNING: With all of our research pointing to one respected seller, we must still warn and inform the un-knowledgeable newbies and the un-convinced, of the falsely advertised Counterfeit decals being sold online as reproductions as well falsely advertised as NOS.
In Thailand, 2 sellers, called “Sxo-Shock” and “S-World” have been selling fake “Nos” Kuwahara decals without Kuwahara’s permission. There were also a few other sellers in Malaysia, UK and Indonesia.
Don’t be Fooled! These are reproductions at the worst quality. Never approved or produced by Kuwahara themselves in the 1980’s.
NOTE: Be also AWARE that poor quality reproduction Kuwahara decal sets were being printed even back in the 1980’s.. so if you do find a subpar Decal set advertised as N.O.S., it truly could be new old stock from the 80s.. but a legit poor quality repop decal from back in the day! But most likely a Counterfeit.
CONCLUSION: If you have any doubt, compare to a Vintage Steel BMX set or contact us for any help.
To see pictures of these Counterfeit decals click here.
There are 4 generations of Kuwahara decal sets produced between the years 1979 and 1988. Generation 2 is the most common decal set you will find on the popular 1982 – 1984 Laserlites and Novas. However, ALL main tube and fork decals are the exact same size for any 16″, 20″, or 24″ frames and forks.
*the following photos have been used with permission
Generation 1
Years Active:
1979 – 1980 (Version 1)
1980 – Early 1981 (Version 2)
Factory Models (Version 1):
KE-1, Early KZ, and KM-1
Factory Models (Version 2):
Late KE-1, Early KZ, and KM-1
Features:
- Japan Flag on left side of main tube decal text.
- All fonts used on all frame areas are considerably different from other Generation decals.
- Does not include the ® symbol.
- Silkcreened on clear vinyl stock.
- Red color used is darker than standard CMYK red.
- Version 1 decals have square Die Cut corners whereas Version 2’s are rounded.
- Version 1’s Head Tube decal has white to the edge of the die cut whereas Version 2 has clear edges.
- Version 1’s holes in the letters A and R are knocked out (not filled in with white) on the Main Down Tube decal unlike Version 2 which are filled in with white.
Generation 2
Years Active:
Early 1981 – Aug. 1983 (w/o ® Symbol)
Sept. 1983 – Late 1984 (w/ ® Symbol)
Factory Models:
KZ, Laserlite, Survivor, Nova (w/ ® Symbol only), KYZ, Apollo (16″,20″,24″), 24″ BMX, 24″ Cruiser
Features:
- Japanese Flag positioned above the “K” of “Kuwahara” on main tube decal.
- All fonts used on all frame areas are considerably different from other Generation decals.
- Chrome-Moly “Lightning Bolt” seat post tube & handlebar decal included (on Laserlite, Survivor, & 24″ models only).
- Litho printed on clear polyester stock with a protective laminate.
- Red color used is darker than standard CMYK red.
- Yellow color is darker than standard CMYK yellow (more like a yellow/orange).
- Did not include the ® symbol until mid October 1983 which was placed at the bottom right corner of all decals except the 4130 decal.
Generation 2 (Flagless)
Years Active:
1982 (w/o ® Symbol)
1983 – 1984 (w/ ® Symbol)
Factory Models:
ET (w/o ® Symbol), Pantera (w/ ® Symbol), Exhibitionist (Cut-Out) (w/ ® Symbol)
Features:
- Japanese Flag is not included on main tube & fork decals except on Exhibitionist model.
- All fonts used on all frame areas are considerably different from other Generation decals.
- Chrome-Moly “Lightning Bolt” seat post tube & handlebar decal included (on Exhibitionist model only).
- Litho printed on clear polyester stock with a protective laminate.
- Red color used is darker than standard CMYK red
- Yellow color is darker than standard CMYK yellow (more like a yellow/orange).
- Did not include the ® symbol until mid October 1983 which was placed at the bottom right corner of all decals except the 4130 decal.
- “4130” and “Japan Flag” seat post tube decals were not included on ET and Pantera models.
- Headtube had slanted “Kuwahara” words on ET and Pantera models only.
- ET fork decals had 3 stripes at top of words.
- “The Bicycle Source / USA” decals included on Exhibitionist models only in the USA.
Generation 3
Years Active:
March 1984 – Feb. 1986 (Bravo Only)
1985 – Feb. 1986
Factory Models:
Laser-Lite, Laserlite-3000, Exhibitionist, Nova, Nova Titlist, Bravo, Bravo KT, Magician, Scamp, Scamp Jr., Apollo
Features:
- Japan Flag was replaced with a 3 colored ‘flag’ integrated into the K of the main tube and head tube decals.
- All fonts used on all frame areas are considerably different from other Generation decals.
- Includes the ® symbol at the bottom right corner of every decal.
- Litho printed on clear polyester stock with a protective laminate.
- Decal sets came in many different colors combinations
- Model names were depicted in a new Script font and placed on the handlebar and seat posts.
- Chrome-Moly “Lightning Bolt” seat post tube & handelbar decal were replaced with the a new
“Kuwahara” Script font decal.
Generation 4
Years Active: 1987 – 1988
Factory Models:
Bravo Pro, Bravo Team, Magician Pro, Magician EX, Hopper
Features:
- Japan Flag was replaced with a 3 colored ‘flag’ integrated into the K of the main tube and head tube decals.
- All fonts used on all frame areas are considerably different from other Generation decals.
- Includes the ® symbol at the bottom right corner of every decal.
- Litho printed on clear polyester stock with a protective laminate.
- Decal sets came in many different colors combinations
- Model names were depicted in a new Script font and placed on the handlebar and seat posts.
- Chrome-Moly “Lightning Bolt” seat post tube & handelbar decal were replaced with the a new
“Kuwahara” Script font decal. - Colored shadows and grids were added beneath each decal except for the “Kuwahara” script decal.
FACTS: SOME INTERESTING AND KEY DETAILS TO NOTE – All models produced September 1983 and later included the ® symbol in all the decals (except the “Lightning Bolt” seat post & handlebar decal which did not include the ® symbol until 1984 ish) except the “4130” seat post tube decal. This ® logo was found ONLY at the bottom right corner of each decal. Factory original decals also include little ‘placement dots’ on the main tube decals of all models, on the ‘model name’ decals (Laserlite, Survivor, Nova, & Pantera) and on the fork decals of E.T. models only.