West Coast Racing - KAMIKAZE

[1978]

Some of you might have seen my cry for help in the ‘Retro MTB Chat’ section regarding this frame, it was a unusual situation for me, a bike from the early 1990s that I couldn’t identify! I was in my very early teens in ‘92 and had been a subscriber to MBUK, MBI and MBA since the late 80s. I also spent all of my spare time either riding bikes or hanging around in Sharrock’s Cycleworld, a shop that was only a couple of miles from home and stocked Salsa, Yeti, Mountain Goat and Klein to name but a few.

I didn’t get much response to my appeal, which cemented my assumption that it probably wasn’t a production frame. The previous owner told me that he purchased the frame in 1992 from a Cornish frame builder following an article he saw in MBUK. He discussed the dimensions he wanted with the builder and once complete, he had the frame shipped to Cykik in Glasgow, where it was kitted out with some very tasty parts. I had very little to go on, I didn’t know of anyone (custom) building in aluminium in the early 90s, and the frame number was just the build date 030692.







A couple of people suggested that it might be a Bigfoot/Ozone, but I am familiar with those and it didn’t share any common features apart from the e-stay configuration. The horrible Chinese aluminium frame invasion was later than this and the frame was too well built to be from that neck of the woods.

That was when Neil (Neilios) came to the rescue. Having spotted the Cykik sticker on the frame, he asked around some of his mates that used to work/ride for Cykik, and the frame was identified within minutes! A friend of Neil’s had bought one new and confirmed that the builder was Dale Reardon of West Coast Racing and that the frame was a KAMIKAZE!

 

[CTK]

Re: West Coast Racing - KAMI:KAZE



Whats the plan?

 

[sinnerman]

Re: West Coast Racing - KAMI:KAZE

Some of you might have seen my cry for help in the ‘Retro MTB Chat’ section regarding this frame, it was a unusual situation for me, a bike from the early 1990s that I couldn’t identify! I was in my very early teens in ‘92 and had been a subscriber to MBUK, MBI and MBA since the late 80s. I also spent all of my spare time either riding bikes or hanging around in Sharrock’s Cycleworld, a shop that was only a couple of miles from home and stocked Salsa, Yeti, Mountain Goat and Klein to name but a few.

I didn’t get much response to my appeal, which cemented my assumption that it probably wasn’t a production frame. The previous owner told me that he purchased the frame in 1992 from a Cornish frame builder following an article he saw in MBUK. He discussed the dimensions he wanted with the builder and once complete, he had the frame shipped to Cykik in Glasgow, where it was kitted out with some very tasty parts. I had very little to go on, I didn’t know of anyone (custom) building in aluminium in the early 90s, and the frame number was just the build date 030692.

A couple of people suggested that it might be a Bigfoot/Ozone, but I am familiar with those and it didn’t share any common features apart from the e-stay configuration. The horrible Chinese aluminium frame invasion was later than this and the frame was too well built to be from that neck of the woods.

That was when Neil (Neilios) came to the rescue. Having spotted the Cykik sticker on the frame, he asked around some of his mates that used to work/ride for Cykik, and the frame was identified within minutes! A friend of Neil’s had bought one new and confirmed that the builder was Dale Reardon of West Coast Racing and that the frame was a KAMAIKAZE!

Mate thats cool, the frame and the story...

What are your plans for it....? Its a dame shame that article couldnt be found, would be cool and the next thing to keep an eye out for id say...

Is there anyway you could find contact with the man himself, he might have a lot more info, even proofs of the original artwork for the decals fitted originally.

 

[1978]

Re: West Coast Racing - KAMI:KAZE

There’s lots more to the story yet mate, just typing it up as we speak!

 

[1978]

Re:

Having determined the builder and the name of the frame, I thought a quick google would reveal hundreds of photos of these bikes and all would be clear.... However not one image, or reference to the frame or manufacturer appeared in internet searches! So a different approach was needed.

I tracked Dale Reardon down on social media and sent a message hoping that I’d found the right fellow! A couple of days later I received a response:

Yes that’s one of my frames for sure, I built them around 91 there should be a number on it stamped on the underside of the bottom bracket, I will send you some pictures, they were featured in MBUK magazine which I still have will have a look.
There were problems with them from cracking which put a hold on making them and then I went to the states to continue with building race cars so that put an end to it. The frames were marketed as Kamikaze frames.
Good to see you have one
I will have a look for some pictures
Thanks for contacting me
Regards
Dale

I’d found the right man for sure!

 

[1978]

Re:

Dale and I chatted via message for a while about the frames, he built less than 20 in total and he seems fairly certain that this is the only one that has survived. He was really pleased to see one after all of these years!





The frame is built from 6082 which usually requires heat treating, however having thoroughly tested the prototypes over a period of months, it seemed that this wasn't necessary and the decision was taken to go ahead with production. The frames were featured in MBUK and the orders started coming in. Unfortunately once the production frames started going out to customers, they started cracking, forcing Dale to cease production whilst the issue was resolved.

Dale approached an aero company in Hertfordshire but a jig was required to ensure the frames did not distort during the heat treatment process which would cause further delay. In the meantime, Dale attempted his own heat treatment using the kilns of a local pottery, the end result being that the frame melted completely! In an attempt to continue production, Dale approached Easton to source their 7000 series tubing. Unfortunately they refused to supply less than 5 tonnes, this effectively marked the end of the KAMIKAZE frame.

Dale got the opportunity to move to America in 1993 to build race cars and his days of building mountain bikes were over.

 

[1978]

Re:

Dale mentioned that he might have some of the original paperwork that he put together.... and duly sent this over!

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

Brilliant! A bit ‘o mtb history there.

Now you know it could be the last one... what now?!? Rider / garage queen?

SP

 

[1978]

Re: Re:

Brilliant! A bit ‘o mtb history there.

Now you know it could be the last one... what now?!? Rider / garage queen?

SP

I'm not sure really, Dale thinks that the only reason it has survived is that it lived a gentle life in the hands of an older rider. He's pretty certain it's the only one that didn't get returned....

 

[1552]

Re:

That's an amazing story and so cool you have found what could be the last known one, guess it makes it way more rare than an old Yeti c26 or the like

How come the literature states 6061 with heat treatment but the builder states different? Was this a lady minute change of material usage?

This would be awesome with a mix of Brit components and boutique from the USofA.

Really interested to see how you progress with this.

There is some interesting builds popping up at the mo.