The Now-More-Detailed Post-1980 Kirby List

[vac_whisperer]

Well, here it is. A more detailed list of Kirbys. Please excuse any mistakes on the Generation listing, as I am not as familiar with them.
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1979-1981- Tradition: Beautiful royal blue. First Kirby to feature a paper bag system, you could also have shakeout, but paper bag was much more popular. My all time favorite Kirby.
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1981-1984- Heretage: Red orange bag. Black trim. Little "Turbo" logo on handle. Another variation was the Heretage 84.
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1984-1989:Kirby Heretage II: Almost identical to heretage exept for grey bag. This was the first Kirby to have the rear "wings" shaved off of the nozzle. Another variation was the Heretage II Legend.
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1989- Kirby Legend II: Identical to HII, exept for red/pink trim. Last Kirby to be that style.
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1990-1994- Kirby G3: Comepletely new design. More square. Plain-jane white and grey. First Kirby with tech-drive; a tad jerkey though.
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1994-1996? Kirby G4. Identical to G3, exept for a new grey and periwinkle blue color. Another variation was either the 80th or 85th anniversary.
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1996-1999? Kirby G5- Minor changes. Burgundy purple color. More "art-deco" style. Headligt is more round and does not extend on top of hood. Featuring little lever on belt lifter.
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1999-2002?- Kirby G6- Black, and identical to G5 exept color. A variation is the 2000 edition. Introducing new style emptor.
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2002-2004?- Kirby Ultimate G: Same as G6 exept for grey color.
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2004-2006: Kirby Ultimate G diamond Edition: Only kirby to have a manual speed-switch. Beautiful diamond design.
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2006-present- Kirby Sentria: New style bumper and throwback round belt lifter. LED light. New handle design. Grey and orange.

Thanks for reading this and all corrections are appreciated.

VW

 

[kirbyds80]

Corrections

Generation 3-1990-1993
G4-1993-1996
Legend II 1989-1990.
The rest is all correct. Good job.

 

[trebor]

You missed one...

There was a Heritage II that looked just like the Heritage one, but with the Legend bag. It was made briefly before the Heritage II Legend with the streamlined nozzle The the pinky-mauve one was simply called the Legend II. Before the end of the Legend II Kirby changed to the Generation style tools. You will find some Legend II's with the old style tools and some with the G-style.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Allow me to help you here:
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1979-1981 - Tradition 3CB, dark blue
Early models used not only the locking headlight cap (and with speed switch underneath it), but also the metal fan. The rug nozzle would lose the suction relief vent by the summer of 1980, and the Handi-Butler kit would lose the jig saw at that same time. The 10-blade metal fan carried over from the Classic III would be replaced in January 1980 by a new, gray Lexan 11-blade plastic fan, which also coincided with the change of speed switch.
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1981-1983 - Heritage 1HD, gray (orange-red bag)
Orange-red outer bag. Early models used a rug plate with only a single dividing bar; by fall 1982 that would change to one with three dividing bars. The fall of '82 also saw the return of the 13" wide nozzle, but as with the shake-out (reusable) bag system, relatively few examples were ordered. Handi-Butler kit was discontinued by spring 1983, at which time the design of the portable handle changed from the Tradition design to a slimmer looking one.
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January-August 1984 - Heritage 84 1HD, gray (orange-red bag)
Minimal changes except in name, presumably to coincide with Kirby's 70th anniversary.
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September 1984-February 1985 - Heritage II 2HD: original "winged" nozzle casting; outer bag still has chrome zipper; cardboard attachment case, 13" nozzle, reusable bag system and Turbo Brush still intact
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March 1985-February 1986
First significant changes, including new "streamlined" nozzle. Outer bag now has gray painted zipper. New "Kirby Kaddy" attachment case (and sparkled finish on some of the tools) debuts, as does the Zippbrush and VHS introductional video. Metal swivel end of hose loses the safety holes. The reusable bag system and 13" wide nozzle were still intact as options, but consequentially, few were ordered.
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March 1986-August 1987
Streamlined nozzle now has the green BPI (brush roll performance indicator) light corresponding to the small end of the correspondingly redesigned, magnetized brush roll. Motor internals (including for the amber power on indicator light) are changed. Again, the same reusable bag system and 13" nozzle remained on the options list. Same attachment design as in March 1985.
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September 1987-December 1988 - Heritage II Legend 2HD
Brush roll changed from sleeve to ball bearings. Hose now no longer uses any metal (note black plastic swivel end, and cuff). Outer bag is also slightly stronger, and the Mini Emtor is now easier to attach. As before, the reusable bag system and 13" nozzle remained as options, but again neither of the two were often ordered. The Suds-O-Gun is also slightly improved.
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January 1989-December 1990 - Legend II 2HD
(production and sale through 1992 in export markets)
New maroon trim color. After the late spring introduction of the Generation 3, the Legend II continued being made, both here (concurrent with the new G3 through the end of the year) and abroad (through spring 1992), except that in the period since the G3's launch, the attachments for the Legend II were still maroon but now made from the same mold as the G3 attachments (except for the spray/Suds-O-Gun). Final model for the reusable bag and 13" nozzle options, but as always, these two had never sold in big numbers and Kirby dropped them both like hot potatoes entirely when the G3 replaced this model.
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May 1990-August 1993 - Generation 3
(summer 1992 launch in export markets)
Powder gray trim color. New "Tech Drive" transmission reduces pushing effort by 90%. Brush roll has three positions (compared to an adjusting screw on the older design) to compensate for gradual wear of the bristles. All attachments are newly designed, including the Suds-O-Gun (which no longer uses a suds screen on its cap).
Export sales for this model, for some reason, did not begin until summer 1992, resulting in a very short sales life for this model abroad.
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September 1993-December 1996 - G4
Stone gray trim color, with blue-gray outer bag. Debut of "Micron Magic" disposable bags. Last model to make the most significant use of some older motor parts going back to the model 516 (in particular, the nozzle seal ring).
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January 1997-August 1999 - G5
Cabernet (black cherry) trim color. Return of the "Miracle Waxer" accessory, last an option for the Kirby Classic Omega. New design fan case parts, including a "unigasket."
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September 1999-August 2003 - Gsix
Onyx (black) trim color. Limited edition "G2000" model was produced for the year 2000.
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September 2003-August 2006 - Ultimate G/Diamond Edition
"Twilight" (light gray) trim color. Special "Diamond Edition" version has a "delicate" speed switch which is operated independently of the motor, useful for vacuuming low-pile and lightweight throw rugs (similar to the suction relief vent feature on the 516 to Tradition rug nozzles) which are sensitive to the normal speed.
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September 2006-August 2012 - Sentria
Storm gray trim color. Until 2009, a new generation Handi-Butler kit is sold as an option, but unlike the old Handi-Butler, it is hose-powered (as opposed to it being belt-driven), which may have led to its eventual discontinuation. 2009 also saw a new design "F" type disposable bag design.
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September 2012-? - Sentria II
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~Ben