1983 Diamond Back Turbo
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

turbo

10/18/2013 - We went to LA to take my daughter to Disneyland on her 6th birthday. So I finally got to see my old bike at my parents house. So when we can back home, we brought the Turbo back with us. The bike was not abused, but it is a bit dirty with a bit of pitting and peeling on the chromed bits. I plan on spending some time to disassemble it completely, clean it all up, and build it back up again, until my daughter is tall enough to ride it.

11/30/2015 - I decided to sell the Turbo after all this time. I really wanted my daughter to ride it, but with 181mm cranks, it was a pro sized race bike, not meant for little kids. I didn't want to swap out the crankset and start modifying such an original bike, so I decided to sell it. It ended up going to a really nice BMX enthusiast in Garden Grove, CA.

Here are the specs:

Frame: 1983 Diamond Back Turbo, 4130 Cro-Moly, 120mm spacing, Black Chrome. Serial Number: 3E0035+baseball. The baseball logo means it was made by Koizumi in Japan. The first number "3" shows the frame was made in 1983. The letter "E" suggests that the frame was built in May and it was the 35th frame of that month.
Fork : 1983 Diamond Back Turbo, 4130 Cro-Moly, 97mm spacing with diamond cut-out, Black Chrome. Serial Number: baseball+3FT.
Rims: Araya 7X, 20x1.75". Chrome.
Spokes: Asahi .80/36, double-butted. Chrome plated with black aluminum nipples
Hubs: Suzue, 36h, sealed bearings. Date code 3 E = May 1983. Chrome.
Tires: Specialized Spanky, 20" x 2.125". Black with red sidewalls.
Freewheel: Suntour BMX 4532 by Maeda Industries Ltd., 16t.
Cranks: Diamond Back Turbo, two 4130 Cro-Moly tubes welded together, 181mm, 110 BCD.
Chainring: Pete's Precision Products (aka P.P.P. or P3), 42t with holes for with both 110mm and 130mm BCD. Black.
Bottom Bracket: Sugino CV-P, 132mm square taper spindle, NSK 356 6004DU 51mm press-fit, sealed bearings.
Headset: Tange Motocross. Black Chrome.
Chain:
TLC, 3/32".
Stem: Diamond Back Turbo by Sugino, 20.7mm clamp, 35mm reach. Aluminum clamp with Cro-Moly shaft. Chrome.
Handlebar: CW Racing, Standard 7" Rise 25" Wide, 4140 Cro-Moly. Chrome.
Grips: Renthal Full Diamond, Soft Compound. Grey.
Brakes: Dia-Compe MX1000, Date code 0183 = January 1983. Chrome.
Rear Brake Lever: Dia-Compe MX121 Tech 3. Date code 0383 = March 1983. Chrome.
Pedal: Suntour XC-1, black.
Seatpost: Diamond Back Turbo, 4130 Cro-Moly, 22.2 x 300mm (7/8") made in Japan with baseball logo by Koizumi, chrome.
Seatpost Clamp: Dia-Compe MX hinged, for 25.4mm OD tubes, chrome.
Saddle: THE Mini Lite with 22.2mm carbon fiber post. Translucent smoke saddle with natural carbon fiber post.

Pads: California Lite. Black and white checkerboard.

Ratio
16
42
3.5

The bike currently weighs 20 lbs 7 oz as shown. The frame weighs 4 lbs 4 oz and the fork weighs 1 lb 9 oz.

The following are OE parts that I no longer have:

Tires: Diamond Back by IRC.
Chain:
DID, 3/32".
Handlebar: Diamond Back Turbo by Sugino, 22.2mm. Black Chrome.
Saddle: Diamond Back Turbo by Kashimax, suede. Black.