Repco Hotfoot

While researching information for my '85 Team Hotfoot and up-coming '82 Team Hotfoot build, I got so sick of finding information then losing it again that I started copying images of bikes, parts and advertising material into a single place. To assist others, I have reproduced this information over the following pages .. most of the information can be found on OzBMX and BMXMuseum and I am not pretending that this informtion will replace either of these valuable resources.

Please browse through all of the material I have collected:

If you have any Hotfoot information or photos, please forward them to me and I will add them to the site. I am especially interested in brochures and advertisements as these are most valuable when restoring bikes back to their original glory.

Serial Numbers

Serial numbers on a bike can tell you so much about the bike. For example. the serial numbers on the Australian made Quicksilver can be compared back to a register to give you an approximate manufacture date. The serial number contains a character that will even tell you who welded it together! Unfortunately, some brands like Malvern Star's serial numbers are meaningless and no records exist to correlate these numbers to the manufacture date or anything else of interest.

The serial numbers on Giant made Hotfoot bikes tell us the year and month of manufacture and - sometimes - even the build day. I do not have enough Merida made Hotfoot bikes to determine if they too contain information but my guess is that they would follow a similar pattern.

Serial Number Registry

Mr.Hotfoot and Mel are building a serial number database. Collecting build dates and serial numbers will help the hotfoot community track the history and production quantities of the beloved Hotfoot. Please take the time to submit the details of your bikes and Mel will collate the information and (hopefully) glean some interesting statistics from them. You can elect to keep the last three digits of your serial number private if you wish > here.

Giant Serial Numbers

Giant made Hotfoots between 1980 and 1986. Although there are a number of serial number variations in the first year of manufacture, they are pretty consistent from 1981 onwards. The RHS dropout is stamped with a build date in the format GMMYY and the LHS dropout is stamped with a serial number, as shown below:



G

 

05

 

82

Giant Made Month
1 = January
2 = February		 Year

2

 

149

 

560

Year
0 = 1980
1 = 1981
2 = 1982
3 = 1983		 Julian Date
This photo is from a bike that was built in May 1982. The value of 149 corresponds to May 29th as 1982 is not a leap year.

Refer tables below for both non-leap and leap years.		 Sequence Number

Unfortunately, not all serial numbers fit this structure. The build date is always consistent as is the first digit of the serial number. On some serial numbers though, the Julian date is simply wrong - a value greater than 365 for instance. Other Julian dates point to a date at the end of the previous month or start of the following month. This is explainable as it is easy to image that the dropouts were not stamped and stored in pairs and therefore they could make a bike at month end that has two different stamps on them.

Julian Days for non-Leap Years

The table below shows the Julian days for non leap years, ie 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986. To use the table, simply look up your Julian day from your serial number in the body of the table. Once found, take the day and month from the axis.

The Julian day on the serial number pictured is 149. Locating this number reveals that the frame was made on the 29th of May.


DATEJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC
11 32 60 91 121152182213244274305335
22 33 61 92 122153183214245275306336
33 34 62 93 123154184215246276307337
44 35 63 94 124155185216247277308338
55 36 64 95 125156186217248278309339
66 37 65 96 126157187218249279310340
77 38 66 97 127158188219250280311341
88 39 67 98 128159189220251281312342
99 40 68 99 129160190221252282313343
1010 41 69 100130161191222253283314344
1111 42 70 101131162192223254284315345
1212 43 71 102132163193224255285316346
1313 44 72 103133164194225256286317347
1414 45 73 104134165195226257287318348
1515 46 74 105135166196227258288319349
1616 47 75 106136167197228259289320350
1717 48 76 107137168198229260290321351
1818 49 77 108138169199230261291322352
1919 50 78 109139170200231262292323353
2020 51 79 110140171201232263293324354
2121 52 80 111141172202233264294325355
2222 53 81 112142173203234265295326356
2323 54 82 113143174204235266296327357
2424 55 83 114144175205236267297328358
2525 56 84 115145176206237268298329359
2626 57 85 116146177207238269299330360
2727 58 86 117147178208239270300331361
2828 59 87 118148179209240271301332362
2929 88 119149180210241272302333363
3030 89 120150181211242273303334364
3131 90 151212243304365


Julian Days for Leap Years

The table below shows the Julian days for leap years, ie 1980 and 1984. To use the table, simply look up your Julian day from your serial number in the body of the table. Once found, take the day and month from the axis.

DATEJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC
11 32 61 92 122153183214245275306336
22 33 62 93 123154184215246276307337
33 34 63 94 124155185216247277308338
44 35 64 95 125156186217248278309339
55 36 65 96 126157187218249279310340
66 37 66 97 127158188219250280311341
77 38 67 98 128159189220251281312342
88 39 68 99 129160190221252282313343
99 40 69100 130161191222253283314344
1010 41 70 101131162192223254284315345
1111 42 71 102132163193224255285316346
1212 43 72 103133164194225256286317347
1313 44 73 104134165195226257287318348
1414 45 74 105135166196227258288319349
1515 46 75 106136167197228259289320350
1616 47 76 107137168198229260290321351
1717 48 77 108138169199230261291322352
1818 49 78 109139170200231262292323353
1919 50 79 110140171201232263293324354
2020 51 80 111141172202233264294325355
2121 52 81 112142173203234265295326356
2222 53 82 113143174204235266296327357
2323 54 83 114144175205236267297328358
2424 55 84 115145176206237268298329359
2525 56 85 116146177207238269299330360
2626 57 86 117147178208239270300331361
2727 58 87 118148179209240271301332362
2828 59 88 119149180210241272302333363
292960 89 120150181211242273303334364
3030 90 121151182212243274304335365
3131 91 152213244305366

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Extra Info / Links

   OldSchoolMags.com  Have you ever wished that you could go back in time to the late 70's and early 80's when you could walk into a newsagency and see the latest issues of BMX Action, BMX Plus, Super BMX and Freestylin' in the racks as crisp and clean as the day they were printed? If you said yes to any of these questions, this is the site for you ..

   BMX Works  This site has everything you will ever need to restore an old school bmx from loose parts - nuts, bolts and bearings - through to complete brake sets, cranks sets and finishing parts, such as pad sets and decals.

   Madman's BMX Painting Services  Pete's work is second to none. I have two frames painted by him - a Hotfoot Freestyle in white and a Hotfoot 24" Cruiser in Hazard Yellow - and both have come out beautifully. Pete can also handle the stripping of paint and chrome and other prep work.

   Re-Rides  Sydney Australia based BMX restoration and photography. Rebuilding retro BMX bikes from 80's old-school, 90's mid-school and 00's new-school era's.

   SDBMX  SDBMX sells a distinctive range of cast alloy BMX rims that will finish of any old-school, mid-school or even new-school build. Styles include the Blizzard, Cyclone, Hurricane, Tornado and Typhoon.

Blizzard Cyclone Hurricane Tornado Typhoon

   Vintage Mongoose  Anyone who is interested in Mongooses (Mongeese?) has probably already found this site. When I was restoring my Motomag, I found this site invaluable for information and reproductions decals and grips. Warren, who is behind this site, is a local who is passionate - no obsessive - about the Mongoose brand and it shows.