Originally Posted by
roccobike
I friend of mine found this early Nishiki Rally at a yard sale. I tooks some pics and wrote down the derailer letter codes and the serial number. From the research I've done, the Rally is usually the bare bones, initial entry level bike for Nishiki (when that model was available as a road bike). So finding the cottered, steel crank on this bike was not a surprise. However the date codes on the Suntour Honor and Spirit (sp) derailers is a puzzle. The Suntour date codes are ZE (rear) and ZH (front) indicating this is a 1984 bike???? I'm really surprised to find a 1984 LBS brand with cottered cranks at that late date.
I can only come up with a few senerios, 1) this is a special model made for department stores 2) the derailers were replaced in 1984 (but why both?) 3) This is a Canadian model (I doubt it) 4) I'm reading the date code chart incorrectly 5) Nishiki really did turn out this low end bike in 1984!
The serial number is located at the bottom of the seat tube, not the BB, it is ARYH 332012.
So now I'll be the grasshopper and wait for the T-Mar to educate me. (As always very much appreciated). If someone else has any clues about this bike please let me know. Thanks for the info.
Well, the frame was made by Araya, not Giant or Kawamura. This is the first sample of an Araya made Nishiki that I've seen. My 1981. 1982 and 1983 Canadian catalogs all show the Rally as the bottom end model but equipped with cotterless cranksets. You've read the codes correctly, so it should be a 1983 or 1984 model, assuming the derailleurss are original. Beside the crankset the other other interesting thing are the brakes, which appear to be center-pull. The Rally had side[ull as early as 1981, according to my literature. The 1983 model also went to cable tunnels on the top of the top tube, but this one still has the old stops under the tube. FWIW, my analyisis is a the bottom of the line Canadian model, but with extensive rebuilding. We haven't cracked the Araya codes yet, so the year is unknown. Which headbadge/decal does it have?