Stamping (Frame): Laserlite ‘stamping’ started in mid October 1983.  They were stamped with the “K” on the rear dropouts, a “Kuwahara” on the left side of the seat post tube, and brake bridge. “Laser Post” on the right side of the Nitto layback seat post and “Laser Bars” on the front right side of the handlebars.
Stamping (Forks): Kuwahara “K”  ‘stamping’ started in about March of 1984 on Tange forks completely different from the TRX forks of previous years.  These were introduced in the months after the KZ-84 frame was introduced in March of 1984.
Top Tube Differences: KZ-84 top tube is longer than the KZ-83 and KZ-85 and has a shorter Seat post tube, including shorter rear triangle top tubes. In 1985 they brought back the KZ-83 geometry which we call the KZ-85 and is not an official Factory model name.

Frame Facts: Survivors and Laserlites shared the same frame from 1982 to early 1986.  Bravos also used the exact same from from 1984 (KZ84) and Bravos and “Super” Novas used the exact same frame from October 1984 to February 1986 (KZ85).
Frame Geometry: The Late 1984 Laser-Lite lost all its oval tubing of previous years and was identical to the Bravo and Super Nova frame of that year with round top and bottom tubes.  They also went back to the same geometry and top tube length as the KZ83 frame.
Interesting Facts: By Late 1984, Kuwahara was using the exact same frames for the Bravo, Super Nova and Laserlite as they are identical in geometry, weld craftsmanship and weight when put through a comparison test.
Tange Made: February of 1986 is the very last month and year of the Japan made Tange frame sets right before they switched to Anlun made Laserlite-3000s.
True Laserlite: A true Factory Laserlite was a KZ-83/84/85 frame set released with high end parts, which is clearly documented in review magazines and advertisements from that era. It is the retail stores and distributors who ‘dumbed down’ the parts on Laserlites to make them more affordable for buyers or met the demand of the market.

Buyer / Collector’s Advice: If you are buying or showing off your Laserlite, look at the parts. If it has all the parts of a Survivor, then it is NOT a Laserlite. Even though the frame set is the same, it is not a Laserlite as the model (Survivor or Laserlite) is depicted by the parts.. NOT the frame set. Meaning… A Laserlite is the KZ-83/84 frame model with high end parts. A Survivor is the KZ-83/84 frame model with low end parts. Without the correct high end Factory parts… it is NOT a Laserlite, but a Survivor.
Interesting Facts: “Dumbed Down” Laserlites were available with low end parts similar to the Survivor (through bike shops only) because bike shops replaced the high end parts (mainly the cranks) and sold them with 1 pc cranks to meet the demand for Laserlites by making them affordable. We also believe these bike shops sold Survivors as Laserlites to meet that demand. Our research is based on seeing original un-touched Laserlites with these low end parts (Survivor build) configurations first hand. On another note, since a Survivor and Laserlite use the same frame & fork, these builds can technically be passed off as either model depending on the parts. Another thing to consider is that many Survivor owners, removed the “Survivor” top tube decal back in the day because it wasn’t as cool as the “Laserlite”. Also, many sellers have replaced the highly sought after Redline 400 cranks with 1 piece cranks which is another reason why Laserlites may look to have all the “Factory” parts but are missing the 400 cranks.