Classic & Vintage - A new (to me) Nishiki

Well, this MAY be stupid but I have to go to San Diego for a convention so I started watching Craig's list out there and I found this 63.5cm Nishiki. After a 5 minute conversation with the owner, it is mine. I'll call him Saturday morning and cab over to pick it up. I'll ride it around San Diego for the weekend, do my convention during the week then box it up and bring it home on the plane with me. Since the bike was only $60.00, how can I lose? More pictures when I get to see it in person.

Any C&V members out there that want a visit on Saturday?

Bob

What model is it? International?

Unknown at this time. All I do know is that it has a CroMo frame, Sugino crank and SunTour components throughout. I'll upload a report after I see it but I won't be able to post more pictures until I get home next Thursday.

Looks like forged rear dropouts. Always a good sign!

Collected the bike yesterday (I'm in San Diego today). It's a Nishiki International. I needed to wrench on it for about an hour before I could ride it. The rear brake cable was broken and the front brakes were poor. I really should have brought some cables and a cutter with me! I scrounged up a shifter cable and cobbled the rear brakes together. I got it so I could stop, just not very fast. It shifted great though. Started riding and needed to go about 15 miles to get back to my hotel which would be the start of a 25 mile loop down to the beginning of the Coronado penninsula, up to Coronado then across the bay on the ferry. It was really great. Af fun ride especially considering I was shoveling a foot of snow the morning before!

I can't upload my pictures til I get back but here are the details:

S/N KF05756 on the BB. There was also a W stamped below the S/N
RD: SunTour V-T luxe
FD: SunTour SL
Stem: Sunshine Forged 80
Bars: Champion KB?
Rims: Araya 27x1 1/4 w/o HP
Shifters: Suntour Barcons
Speeds: 10

Anyway, if anyone knows what year this might be I'd appreciate the info. I'll upload a few pictures when I get home.

Started riding and needed to go about 15 miles to get back to my hotel which would be the start of a 25 mile loop down to the beginning of the Coronado penninsula, up to Coronado then across the bay on the ferry. It was really great. Af fun ride especially considering I was shoveling a foot of snow the morning before!


B*****d! We got another Blizzard while you were gone. (:-)

Sorry I wasn't available on Saturday. I think that seller is near where I work. He has many ads on CL but I haven't yet gone to look at anything.

Have fun in San Diego!

There was a nice looking Dawes there. The other bikes were EF Schwinns and balloon tire cruisers.

Good luck with your Nishiki roadie. Some day I'll find mine (sniff, sniff):(
Seems like all I find are Nishiki MTBs.

Well, I made the trip and wrote a little report about it here:

www.salt2salt.com/scans/SD/SD.html

Sounds like you had a great time here!

I have never been in the Bikesmith but will have to make it a stop sometime. If you rode down (west) Balboa toward PB with those marginal brakes I salute your courage or luck, whichever way you want to look at it.

It sounds like you got to enjoy some of my regular routes. I am going to go out and enjoy one this afternoon, likely riding from somewhere around Sea World to La Jolla. I hope you get the opportunity to come back and see some more of San Diego again in the future.

He's got a couple of bikes you might be interested in and complained that no one wants that old stuff. There was a nice Nishiki that was a bit newer than mine and a couple of others hanging behind some boxes where I couldn't get a good look at them -- a Centurian was back there, I think. And as I said he did a great job on my brakes which really needed it. Those hills on Balboa were a little steeper than I liked but more because I was riding on questionable tires with plenty of glass and traffic rather than the brakes (which admit I rode the whole way down!). BTW, I ran into a street person with an almost twin to my bike. It was an American Eagle with downtube shifters but otherwise very, very similar. I can't remember if the AE's were badged as such before Nishiki or after but even the metal headstock badge was the same with just the name being different. Wish I had my camera along then. The poor fellow said he paid $100 for it. I didn't have the heart to tell him mine was only $60. He did have better tires, though!

Yes, those were some great roads out there, especially down in the Mission Beach area and on Coronado. I was really sorry I didn't get a chance to explore Balboa Park. Maybe next time.

Bars: Champion KB?

That's really cool, to go somewhere and pick up a bike there ... I'll have to try that.

My 70s Japanese bike also has bars with "Japan Champion" and "KB" on them - does anyone know anything about these bars? Thanks.

Yes, American Eagle was the predecessor to Nishiki. My 72 or 73 International was the first year they changed the name to International from Kokusai. I would guess that the American Eagle name was changed about 71 or so.

There is a second hand shop about half a mile west of Bikesmith that had a decent Motobecane with a nice drilled Sugino triple crank set on it for $70. He has had it outside his store for at least two months. I just have no need for any of the components or the bike in general.

Looks great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. :D