Kuwahara Serial Number Identification Guide Factory Kuwaharas were made in Japan by a few different companies like Tange and Koizumi. Here is a breakdown of the serial numbers found on Kuwahara frame sets and forks between 1979 and 1985. A Bike Index user saw a posting on Letgo and emailed me suggesting that it was my bike for sale. I contacted the seller, who agreed to meet me. I called the police on my way to the meet, and the officers came shortly after I looked at the serial number and confirmed.
on BMX Products, Inc. Frames
Manufacturing codes for a hobby I am involved with - Vintage BMX Bikes. The serial number only was reset in September 1981 as the new. A while back I spend some time investigating how to read mid-school and new school serial numbers on Mongoose BMX bikes. After buying and restoring a number of older mid-school and new school GT BMX bikes I also need to to figure out how to crack the GT serial numbers to.
Identifying the serial numbers on the early Mongoose frames is actually quite easy and intuitive. For the most part the early Mongoose frames from 1975 and into early 1976 were done with hand stamped 5 digit numbers starting from 10000. For example, a frame from 1975 will have the numbers like 11994.
A feature of an early 1975 frame is the brake tab. The brake tab on these frames is rectangular in shape. Some time late 1975 and onwards it became a single layer of steel, more oval and thinner in shape.
The early 75 coaster brake tab is also thicker and is comprised of two layers of steel welded together
Another feature of an early 1975 frame was the chainstay brace where it connected the seat tube. Note the flared shape of the 75 frame vs the later style (which carried on through all the later years of this frame style) and the extended seat tube.
A further feature was the headtube was offset to extend more to the bottom than it was to the top. It is our guess that it was done this way to allow clearance for the squarer shoulder on Ashtabula forks. This feature carried over for the first few years till the ashtabula forks were replaced with the more rounder style Tange made forks.
In early 1976, the letter C was added to denote Cromo ' During the early production of the Mongoose frames they were made using 1010 steel tubing,when we found problems with the heat from welding and breakage at the weld points they were changed to Chrome Molly tubing. Both frames looked the same but we need some way of determined the difference due to the frames being nickel plated or powder coated paint ,it was impossible to tell the difference in the material for warranty reasons. The letter C was used for chrome molly.' so the serial numbers would look like C17834.
Another feature of an early frame built in 1975 - 1977 was the extra single gusset above the bottom bracket.
In May 1976 the serial number process changed again with the addition of a month code. From here frames were stamped with the letter C for Cromo, a letter for the month, and a number for the year of production. It was around feb/march 77 that the extra single gusset was dropped from the frame.
Of course these are general guidelines in identifying Mongoose frames and there are the anomalies to this process of serial number identification.
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The serial numbers were hand stamped on the bottom bracket tubes then packed in (empty beer) boxes waiting to be welded to frame tubes.
The frame components were manufactured in different stages and or departments and some of the parts were exhausted quicker than others, it this process that lead to some of the frames “crossing over” to different years, especially during the end of the year.
RECO (Racer Engineering Company) manufactured frames for BMX Products, Inc. for the first 3 years of production, after that the frames were made “in house” by BMX Products, Inc. RECO was a frame welding company that BMX Products, Inc. used to make their early frames. BMX Products Inc. in the early years moved into the unit next door to RECO and eventually bought them out.
So serial numbers that ran from May 1976 through to March 1981 will have three digits in sequence overtop the serial number of that frame. Let’s look at some serial number examples below to get a better understand how the process worked.
This guideline also applies to Team Mongoose, Supergoose, Jag, Blue Max, Roger DeCoster, Super-X, and Moto-Trac frames.
Each frame had a combination of three key numbers or letters. For example:
CH8 123456 Again, the C stands for Cromo where the frames were manufactured. The next letter in the sequence is the month code. A = January B = February C = March The next number is the last number of the year the frame was produced. 6 = 1976 7 = 1977 8 = 1978 9 = 1979 0 = 1980 1 = 1981 The rest of the serial numbers are sequential and are the number of frames produced in that series.
NB: Super X has an “X” instead of a “C” in the serial number.
The Team Mongoose and Supergoose frames are a little different. The same coding applies to the first part of the serial numbers as we discussed above, however, if a capital T is in front of or above the CXX it indicates that it is a 100% Chromoly frame. The Team Mongoose, Team Minigoose and Supergoose, all should have a T in this area. (Moosegoose, Two/Four, Two/Six, and the Kos Krusier also have 100 % Chromoly tubing).
Another feature of a Team / Supergoose frame is the flattened seat stay where the chain passes it. This was done to give better clearance for the chain. Very early team frames had a 'T' but without the flattened seat stay, but these are very few and were in 1977 mainly. NB: a Supergoose is just a full cromo team frame that has nickel (79/80) or chrome plating (81 onwards) as its final finish. As opposed to a candy coated full cromo frame = team frame. NBB: In 1982 and onwards, a Team frame was also offered in 'Show Chrome' as well as red or blue candy coat. (there are a couple of known Supergoose frames without the flat seat stay.
Serial numbers from 1981
In April 1981 and onwards the frames were coded differently. The 'C' was dropped and they started out with a single letter followed by a sequence of numbers. (nb: The frames were still made in Chatsworth up until 1984 when they moved to Moorpark. This applies to all frames made, EXCEPT those starting with the letter 'M' as these frames were made in the Merida factory in Taiwan.) As before, the letter indicates the month and the first number or the second digit in the sequence indicates the last number for that year. Also of note is the 'T' (for team), was also dropped. When they dropped the 'C', it was realised that there was no need for it, as there were other ways to ID a Team/Supergoose (full cromo) frame. There was a few 'crazy' months around April, May and June in 1981, when there was mix of old and new dropouts being used. So there is actually a month or more where there was a 'Team/Supergoose' frame that had no 'T' in serial but still had 'old style' dropouts..
The easiest way is to check the brake bridge for the extra two slotted holes that were added. These extra holes were only on the full cromo frames that had the 'step down' type dropouts. (If your frame has holes in the dropouts, BUT does not have 3 holes in the brake bridge, its NOT a supergoose, even if its chrome) See dropouts page here.
J2009981: according to this serial number the frame was manufactured in October of 1982.
Sometime in 1982 the bottom bracket brace was replaced with an open design (see picture below). USA made frames from post gusset era, still had the month first, then the year but they were stamped not on the bottom bracket but on the brace behind the bottom bracket. All USA made frames after they dropped the “C” were month, then year, then serial number.
As a general rule anything with a Gusset behind the head tube was manufactured in the USA.
There are a few key components to look for on a BMX Products, Inc. frame.
Gusset at the front behind the headtube.
A round hole below the upper seat mast.
Unique Heliarc weld pattern ('heli arc' is another name for TIG. It's proper name is GTAW, or Gas Tungsten Arc Welding. The 'heli' in heli arc comes from the shielding gas helium that was used. )
NON GUSSETT FRAMES (POST 1982 FRAMES)
To start with, any frame with a serial number starting with 'M' was made in Tiawan in the Merida factory. In 1982, BMX Products started to manufacture a new range of non-gussett frame starting with the Pro Class 20' frames. Then next came the first Californian and Expert frames and were USA made, while they were getting setup for Tiawan production. The top of the range frames were USA made, (ie: Pro class, Rupe, Supergoose). USA made frames continued the standard USA numbering. After the company was sold to Service Cycle, it seems all frame production was moved to Tiawan. We have been told that when the company was sold the new owners only wanted complete boxed bikes and the rest of the stock of frames were destroyed.
So to start the decoding of these serial numbers.
First Letter = 'M' (Merida factory in Tiawan)
First Number = (year of manufacture)
Second Letter = (Month of Manufacture) up to feb 1985
Second Letter = (Model) only after march 1985 (only for C=cali or E=Expert)
Third Letter = (Month of Manufacture) only after march 1985
Remaining numbers = serial number of production (NB: these numbers started again from 0 every month)
Here is a typical example.
M = Merida (Tiawan Made)
3 = 1983
E = May
3533 = production serial number
NB: There are a few anomailes to this, that do show up from time to time. if you are unsure, then email us your pics and serial number.
Here is an email I got from an actual employee of GT:
If the bike frame was manufactured at the Santa Ana CA facility, the first three or four digits of the serial number should be letters abbreviating the model or size of the frame such as 'XL', 'XXL', CR24, or something like that.
The next part of the serial number is eight numeric digits. The first four numbers should be a two digit month followed by a two digit year.
The last four digits are the serialization digits 0000 to 9999 depending on what number the frame was of the years production.
If the frame was made overseas in Taiwan, it gets more complicated. If the number starts with a K, the frame was made by Kinesis.
That's the only one I remember off the top of my head.
There were at least four companies in Taiwan that made the GT lines :
Robinson, Dyno, Powerlite and Auburn included)
The first digit would be a letter designating the factory that made the frame. There might also be a second letter digit specifying the factory that assembled the bike, if applicable. The model and year of production was also coded by a letter, so you won't be able to spot a two digit month and two digit year. Before I left, I was writing a specification to standardize all of the serial numbers because GT was starting to send most of its US production to other US fabrication shops. The information might also come in handy for deciphering other makes because the factories in Taiwan make bikes for a lot of different companies. I am tinkering around with the idea of starting to make my own frames, kind of on a 'one-off' basis. I am also teaching welding at a local community college. By the way, did I tell you that the guy ran GT's in house fabrication for the last ten years (he recently retired) was none other than Gilbert Axt. Who? Do you remember Race, Inc.? That was Gilbert. He also did the original PK Ripper for SE Racing. History, man. It might be a really cool thing if I can track down Gilbert now and interview him for you. THAT is the kind of stuff that belongs in the BMX Museum!
Later. I'll write you when I get a chance. Dan Garcia
and here is the updates, thanks to love thegoose! (Michael S) well we get a good bit of gt serials that could be identified by the owner, if they only had the tips that some of us have learned, so i will post what i know, and anyone with more knowledge can add to it.so here we go. here is an example to go by. on the dropout you have 'M1' followed by '08922198'.this one is simple. M1 stands for 'mach one' that is your model gt. it can also be a 'I' for interceptor and so on. next on the serial is '0892' this is easy to decode too, 08 means 8th month, which would be august. then you have '92' next in the lineup, this would be 1992 the last 4 digits, are your build number, this one would be the 2,198th one built. Here is another example. if your serial is KGCG2297 this one gets a little complicated. but still easy once you learn the code to it. the first letter is who made the frame itself, in this case it would be 'Kenisis', an overseas company.this could be replaced by another letter but at least we know what that one is there for. next is the letter 'G'.this isnt always there, but if so, this is where it was assembled, (ever notice the built in usa sticker on your gt or dyno?) this is what that letter is there for. it wasnt made here, but was built here. next is the letter 'C'.C is the 3rd letter in the alphabet, and march is the 3rd month, so march is the build month. next is the letter 'G' this is the year. G is the 7th letter in the alphabet, so this would be a 1987. here is one more.your serial resembles this:f6030578. to start, if you have a 'baseball' looking stamp behind your serial, this frame was made overseas..no its not a pacific, so dont cry, or get mad..and lets continue. on this serial, the first number is the last digit of the year, so 6 stands for 1986 next is '03'..this is the third month.which is march. so you have a gt built in march of 1986. but still use the museum as a guide to id the frame, cause sometimes you can find the year, but getting a posotive id on the model isnt possible without knowing which style frame you have. this doesnt apply to new gt's, but hopefully some people with info on those will chime in. this isnt always going to match your serial, you may have a 'fake'.its not likely but it happens. also on earlier models this can differ. this is for the 2 most popular style serial's i see on here. also, common sense tells you that if you have a suspected 'gt' frame, look it up and compare it in the musuem, knowing which style frame you have will help with the process of id'ing your bike with the serial, especially if the serial has some damage that prevents you from getting the full number. hopefully this bit of info can be used for everyone, and this will save you from those late nights sitting around waiting for a response to your post looking for an answer to the idendity to your gt..although i do feel smart and proud when i can answer these posts. well, thats it for me, if anyone else has info on serials or if you see a mistake in this guide, tell me so i can edit it. happy holidays people.
