Diamond Back BMX Models & History

Diamond Back BMX were at the forefront of the nascent BMX scene which emerged out of the USA in the late 1970s. Founded in Newbury Park, California in 1977 as Western States Import Co (WSI) – part of the Centurion bicycle brand created in 1969 by Mitchell Weiner and Junya (Cozy) Yamakoshi.

In the early 80s and with the arrival of Sandy Finkelman, the company produced their most icons bikes of this era – known as the Black and Silver (also Diamond) period – the bikes, decals, team and indeed the branding took on a timeless monochromatic palette of chrome, blacks and greys. For most collectors, these are most fondly remembered and iconic Diamond Back’s.

This was the racing BMX heyday and ran up until about 1984/1985, a period that is fondly known by enthusiasts as Old School BMX.

Japanese production

With the first MX models initially being produced in the USA by Jere Kirkpatrick’s factory in southern California, by 1979 production moved to Japan and the Koizumi corporation. Headed up by product development manager Junya “Cosy” Yamakoshi and later with Sandy Finkelman (of Wheels ‘n’ Things) as team manager, It is in this period that most Diamond Back enthusiasts agree that the most iconic and highest quality bikes were produced, this includes the legendary Harry Leary Turbo or HLT for short. As the 80s progressed and, due the Plaza accord [1], the strength of the Japanese Yen soared and importers began to look elsewhere to protect their margins. [2]

Taiwanese production

With the need for lower costs, production moved once again, this time to Taiwan and the Fairly Bike company where the lower end models of the Diamond Back range were produced. Production of high-end and higher-priced models, such as the Harry Leary Turbo and Formula 1 continued back at the Koizumi plant overlapped for a year with Fairly in Taiwan.

Diamond Back Model List 1977 – 1984

Here we list an approximate chronology of Diamond Back Old School BMX models. Later mid-school models are not covered for now, but maybe at some point.

Model	Fabricator / Location	Years produced
MX	Jere / USA	1977/8
Large Pro	Koizumi / Japan	1979-1981
TK	Koizumi / Japan	1980-1981
Pro Kit (Senior Pro, Medium, Mini)	Koizumi / Japan	1981 – 1983
Silver Streak	Koizumi / Japan	1981 – 1983
Formula 1	Koizumi / Japan	1983-1984
Turbo Lite	Koizumi / Japan	1982 – 1984
Harry Leary Turbo	Koizumi / Japan	1982 – 1984
Viper	Fairly / Taiwan	1983 – 1984
Pacer 500	Fairly / Taiwan	1983 – 1984
Super Viper	Fairly / Taiwan	1984
Super Streak	Fairly / Taiwan	1984

Diamond Back Model Timeline

The model timeline attempt to give a chronology of models in a visual style. This section is currently being updated.

Related resources

For help with identifying your Diamond Back model, we have several articles, tools and reference sections available on the site.

• For model, identification use our Identify my Diamond Back BMX page.
• Our serial number tool can identify both Koizumi and Fairly produced DiamondBack bikes.

Notes

1. Plaza accord >
2. Made in America, rise of the importers >