[Sandwich]

Should I buy a 2006 IH Yakuza Kumicho (blue flavor) for $700? Stock, not overly well used....

Looking for a *cheap* ride for next season. Please don't suggest a $3000 frame I can't afford. Had a sunday, fit right, didn't get along with the suspension.

 

[IH8Rice]

what about this IH knockoff? $1300 for a complete

http://www.airbornebicycles.com/products/96-taka.aspx

 

[Sandwich]

dang...that's not a bad price....but it's still $600 more than I would spend, and you don't really get any upgrades besides probably the main frame via 83mm BB and iscg mounts. I think i'd rather save the cash and get an avy tune and new fork...derp

 

[IH8Rice]

you could sell the parts that come on it but that can be a huge PITA

 

[bdamschen]

Should I buy a 2006 IH Yakuza Kumicho (blue flavor) for $700? Stock, not overly well used....

Looking for a *cheap* ride for next season. Please don't suggest a $3000 frame I can't afford. Had a sunday, fit right, didn't get along with the suspension.

I had a kumicho r back in the day. It was one of my favorite single pivots. For the blue flavor- definitely would need a new fork and shock.

 

[Sandwich]

I had a kumicho r back in the day. It was one of my favorite single pivots. For the blue flavor- definitely would need a new fork and shock.

thanks dude, good to hear. I'd look for a new shock immediately and probably either go for a shorter one, or do a works headset to relax it a bit. Sounds like a lot of people has success with the 8.75" shock mod and some filing. I had a lot of fun on an old super 8....kind of reduced my need for technobabble gadgetry if I can have more fun on a bike like that than my Sunday....so maybe add better geometry and weight and have a fun.

 

[bdamschen]

The head angle on my r at least felt pretty good stock. Not sure if it was different from the regular or not, but it felt plenty slack to me

 

[Sandwich]

huh! everything I've found says 66*...figured I'd go for 64 if I can skip the short shock. Good to know thuogh

 

[bdamschen]

Disclaimer- I also run my 951 in the steep head angle setting and love it.

 

[4130biker]

Gotta say, I just went from a 64ha demo to a 66ha sx trail. Still rides just great and I like riding steep trails. in fact, one thing that was counter to what I thought is that on extremely steep sections into tight corners, the steeper HA actually handles better. I know it will have its negatives, but I guess what I'm saying is that the slightly steeper HA will have some advantages, too. Every bike that I have short-shocked always felt a little "off".

I've always thought those bikes looked like they could be fun, as well. Good luck!

 

[dump]

Don't salt before you taste.

 

[RajunCajunNC]

They are fun bikes. I bought one for the same reason, price. The fork is not great, and I destroyed the internals not long after buying it. The geo is actually really fun and playful to ride, and the 66 degree head angle is a good thing for the type of riding most people buying an entry level bike will be doing anyway. That said I have fun on mine for around a year before breaking the frame and moving on to a 08 Sunday.

 

[Sandwich]

Don't salt before you taste.

sounds good. it's either this or the dark cycles scarab on PB that's too good to be true.

 

[phycoref]

What size are you looking for? I have a Large I'm looking to sell for a bit more with a much better then stock build. PM me if you want to know more!

Solid bike though, was lots of fun! And the HA is 66* but for mine with an 888 set as low as it can it still comes out to in the 65* 's.

 

[Steve M]

Make sure you check the swingarm very thoroughly before you buy it, plenty of them broke.

 

[Sandwich]

was that a particular year, or all of them? Sounds like the 06 has a different arm than the 05, but i'd love to know if that matters.

 

[norbar]

Just get some offset shock hardware and run a normal shock.

 

[Steve M]

was that a particular year, or all of them? Sounds like the 06 has a different arm than the 05, but i'd love to know if that matters.

I wasn't aware of a different swingarm, but the 05s (red ones) definitely had a less than stellar reliability record.

 

[Sandwich]

According to le Todd, 2005 had the dimpled swingarm, 2006 had a different cutout (to clear the crankarm), then 2007 saw 83mm and ISCG05.

Good to know though, I'll definitely keep my eye out, but it sounds like the 05s were kind of a PITA.

 

[SthFRider]

check the swing arm around the chain stay welds. That's where mine cracked. Its a very fun bike. Setting up a chain guide is a PITA. At least on my model year. Can't remember what year it was but it had 73mm BB and a 150mm through axle. Chain line was all janky. All in all a fun bike.

 

[JustMtnB44]

Mine was an '06 blue one so it had the 150mm rear and 73mm BB shell. But I didn't change anything on it and it worked fine. The lack of ISCG tabs was weird for a DH frame. The frames do have mounts for floating brakes too if you are so inclined. I sold it (for $730 in early 2009) to a local kid who stripped the paint to raw and upgraded the fork and was still riding it this year.

I didn't know about the BB change and adding ISCG tabs, but that would make the newer version moar better. My friend has the Airborne version and likes it with no problems so far. Apparently, Airborne just bought all of the old Iron Horse jigs and designs when IH closed up shop and started making them again to get started before coming up with new designs.

 

[bullcrew]

[ouQUOTE=dump;3734301]Don't salt before you taste.[/QUOTE]

I'll take a salt block that tastes like a hamburger, thank you.

 

[Sonic Reducer]

a buddy of mine rode the hell out of his yakuza. big freeride stuff, rough trails etc. but not really raced. I rode it around a bit but it was not setup to my liking. they ride about how you would expect them to, responsive, jumpy, not too good at soaking up the chatter. i think the frame had some potential to be a decent bike when souped up a bit for that style of rider. probably one of the better bargain dh bikes out there. bargain DH bikes used to be utter horse **** now they are getting to be pretty decent.