Full Version: redline made in japan?
I think its an 84' redline pl-20 700p and it has a japan sticker by the neck. can anyone give me anymore information as to why this japan sticker is on this bike. 2nd question is this bike a real 84 redline. i tryed googling the serial number but had no luck serial number is: RC 12062 if anyone can help i would appreciate it.
RA = Japanese made '81.
RB = Japanese made '82.
RC = Japanese made '83.
etc etc.
Yep, Redline had frames built under licence all over in the 80's. Including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
RB = Japanese made '82.
RC = Japanese made '83.
etc etc.
Yep, Redline had frames built under licence all over in the 80's. Including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
i'll save and use this for reference. thx kurt
Redline starting building bikes in Japan in 1979. Every single complete bike that Redline produced came out of Japan until they switched to Taiwan in the mid 80's.
http://www.fiodan.com/vintage/kastan_interview.pdf
http://www.fiodan.com/vintage/kastan_interview.pdf
QUOTE
LK: And late 1977--I think it was that I went to Japan as a guest of Shimano along with one of the Cook
brothers, who were the first ones who copied our fork by the way. They’re not real high on my list. And a guy
named Gerry something that had a place called Laguna Distributors. Chuck Raudman from Skyway. A guy
from CYC, Terry somebody or other. And when I came back from there, I was so impressed by what the small
Japanese companies, I mean they were just little tiny hole-in-the-wall shops just like we were. There was none
like Shimano, there was no big factories that were doing anything. And I got real excited about doing things
over there instead of making frames and forks over here and then importing 35 parts to make a bicycle. I got
the idea that what I’d like to do was make some kind of a deal with a small factory over there. Teach them how
to make frames and forks for me, and let them assemble complete bicycles for me. So, when I got back from
there, my partner and I disagreed on that so I bought him out of Redline in 1978
VintageBMX.com: How many people were working at Redline back in the day?
LK: About 20, before the bicycles, there was only four of us.
LK: When we started in the bike business, we really cranked up for a few years.
VintageBMX.com: There were about 20 people employed by you. What year did you finally decide to send
your production overseas?
LK: I went over there in April of 1979 and stayed over there two months in Kobi, Japan, and trained six kids
that worked for Kalamura, how to tig weld. There weren’t any machines over there. I had to bring them all from
here and there was a little room in their office building where it was the only place where anyone spoke any
English at all. They had two factories but nobody spoke English there. So we moved these, I think there were
six welding machines, into this little room that was no bigger than a double car garage, and that’s where all the
Redline production was done for quite a few years after that.
VintageBMX.com: By 1980 you were building complete bicycles in Japan
LK: Yes.
brothers, who were the first ones who copied our fork by the way. They’re not real high on my list. And a guy
named Gerry something that had a place called Laguna Distributors. Chuck Raudman from Skyway. A guy
from CYC, Terry somebody or other. And when I came back from there, I was so impressed by what the small
Japanese companies, I mean they were just little tiny hole-in-the-wall shops just like we were. There was none
like Shimano, there was no big factories that were doing anything. And I got real excited about doing things
over there instead of making frames and forks over here and then importing 35 parts to make a bicycle. I got
the idea that what I’d like to do was make some kind of a deal with a small factory over there. Teach them how
to make frames and forks for me, and let them assemble complete bicycles for me. So, when I got back from
there, my partner and I disagreed on that so I bought him out of Redline in 1978
VintageBMX.com: How many people were working at Redline back in the day?
LK: About 20, before the bicycles, there was only four of us.
LK: When we started in the bike business, we really cranked up for a few years.
VintageBMX.com: There were about 20 people employed by you. What year did you finally decide to send
your production overseas?
LK: I went over there in April of 1979 and stayed over there two months in Kobi, Japan, and trained six kids
that worked for Kalamura, how to tig weld. There weren’t any machines over there. I had to bring them all from
here and there was a little room in their office building where it was the only place where anyone spoke any
English at all. They had two factories but nobody spoke English there. So we moved these, I think there were
six welding machines, into this little room that was no bigger than a double car garage, and that’s where all the
Redline production was done for quite a few years after that.
VintageBMX.com: By 1980 you were building complete bicycles in Japan
LK: Yes.
thx BMXProducts! 
I jst saved the pdf file and will be reading! big thx!!!
I jst saved the pdf file and will be reading! big thx!!!
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.