So what has that got to do with anything I've asked for help with? You've just pulled some information from the Internet.
I can do that as well
"ok boys and girls. a HUGE disclamer here! this is a unofficial story but as i hear it, pretty accurate none the less. its been discussed in some mags in the past and around the industry but its been many years since it went down so i figure its safe to tell now. the other point i wanna make is this is kinda one sided as i never discussed this with the folks i know at kona. my hope is not to piss anyone off in bellingham but to let you homers in on just how mello a guy dt is and provide a little history. fair enough? good. here goes.....
once uppon a time, kona sponsored the misser brothers. as rad said, kona didnt have a world cup ready bike, turner did and it was considered the to be one of the best on the hill if not A # 1, so kona worked a deal with dt, bought a few, painted them gold and went racing. i beleive it was '97 that thomas rode the Afterburner to a couple of world cup wins and a championship. good deal for everyone involved and congrats! this was turners first rainbow stiped bike and id say they were damn proud even though they couldnt outright say "we won!" to the public due to the lack of turner stickers on the frame but we all knew what was what.
so sometime that season or just after, a deal was struck between turner and kona to produce some misser replica frames with turner geo and fittings but made by kona via licensing agreement. so the drawings are sent to bellingham from colorado, then the base for turner bikes, for final review before a deal is signed. now heres where it goes bad. dt goes to the kona offices for a chit chat, presumably to sign the deal and is told its a no go but thanx just the same for all the help. so he picks up his loaned drawings and empty checkbook and starts headin out the door. oh but wait! what do his wandering eyes see? a friggin stack of turner copies with kona logos and a "misser replica" sticker on the fresh gold paint. nice! ok, so maybe they werent painted yet but ya get the idea. (edit: now that i think about it, maybe he hadnt in fact given them anything, yet they had some drawings for the frame on a table and told him where the dougnuts were rolling. yep, i think thats it.) all i can say is way to play it straight up guys.
does turner sue? no. do they talk crap? no. when asked about the whole thing, dt says in a MBA interview soon after that being copied is the highest form of flattery. well by now he shoulda been used to it as most everything out there at the time was a rocker bike of some sort and alot still are. consider yerself flattered mr turner! and thanx for the lesson in class. personally i woulda put a lit bag of dog poop on their doorstep, rung the bell and skedaddled! that woulda showed em by golly!"
So yes it's a turner on the drawings but it was made by Kona. Cheers then and good night.
