Classic & Vintage - Shogun Samurai score

Just got a mid '80s Shogun Samurai. Has complete 105 group, including hubs and pedals. Completely original except for the seat. In really good shape, but I have some cleaning/regreasing/adjusting/re-taping to do. Not too heavy, and rides really nice and smooth. Nice middle of the road bike, with Tange Infinity tubing.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7584164800_1774e6e6f1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584164800/)
shogun1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584164800/) by KMTech (http://www.flickr.com/people/kmtech/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7584165236_412f42d161_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165236/)
shogun2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165236/) by KMTech (http://www.flickr.com/people/kmtech/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7584165628_b59c639657_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165628/)
shogun3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165628/) by KMTech (http://www.flickr.com/people/kmtech/), on Flickr

Nice!

I had a Shogun like that. The stays interfered with my fat thighs.

:) Happy for you

:cry: Sad for me

I've been looking for a 62/4cm one on the East Coast that's not $500 for a while now....someday I'll be as happy as you are right now. Nice bike!

Nice catch! Looks to be in really nice condition! BTW, Teon, your avatar ... is that Donald Sutherland from the film Kelly's Heroes (1970)?

That looks really nice. I saw one of these for a really small sum of money, in my size, in front of a thrift store about ten years ago. I quickly rode to an ATM, and when I returned it was gone. :(

I've not seen a Shogun with a frame like that before. I wonder, was there was a connection between GT and Shogun?

Nice catch! Looks to be in really nice condition! BTW, Teon, your avatar ... is that Donald Sutherland from the film Kelly's Heroes (1970)?

Yup.....think the caption of the avatar is something like "What's with the negative waves, man"....or something like that.....lol

Just got a mid '80s Shogun Samurai. Has complete 105 group, including hubs and pedals. Completely original except for the seat. In really good shape, but I have some cleaning/regreasing/adjusting/re-taping to do. Not too heavy, and rides really nice and smooth. Nice middle of the road bike, with Tange Infinity tubing.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7584164800_1774e6e6f1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584164800/)
shogun1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584164800/) by KMTech (http://www.flickr.com/people/kmtech/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7584165236_412f42d161_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165236/)
shogun2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165236/) by KMTech (http://www.flickr.com/people/kmtech/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7584165628_b59c639657_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165628/)
shogun3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmtech/7584165628/) by KMTech (http://www.flickr.com/people/kmtech/), on Flickr

Any date codes on the components? Derailleur and other parts look like match those on my '88 Sirrus.

Nice! I'm jealous! I had a shot at one of those in my size for $80. It was rough and I was low on funds, so I didn't get it. Man, am I kicking myself now...

Any date codes on the components? Derailleur and other parts look like match those on my '88 Sirrus.

Yea, I need to check the serial number on the frame and try and figure out the year of the thing. I will also look at the components and see if they have any date codes on them. I'm assuming the date codes on the components will be somewhere in the area of the component part number?

Any resources for checking shogun serial numbers/year??? (besides checking google, of course)

Nice!
I've always fond those GT style frames ver interesting. I suspect that the shortened rear triangle seat stays results in a much stiffer(laterally) rear end. It must feel really solid when you stand on the pedls and mash on the crank hard.
I'm wondering.....wouldn't a mixte frame with the double stays going all the way to the head tube and a bridge through the seat tube be really stiff too?

Chombi

Chombi,

Ideally, the extra stays are supposed to add strength. In reality...not so much. I swear I've felt my beater nishiki mixte flex super hard when I cranked it up the hill. I see the double stays more as a stylistic choice, and accept that a drop frame is probably stiffer and lighter.

Nice bike and score ! Front wheel QR needs to be switched. Prob'ly just that way for the shot, huh ? I have never seen that style frame on a ride around here. A plus to hang out here to catch all the different bikes.

Regards, 3SS

Way to go Teon! Here's mine, all updated:http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=247164&d=1335632796 (all of the original 105 stuff is carefully packed away). Don't know if it's just psychological or not, but the Shogun feels snappier on the short steep stuff vs. my Litespeed. Also, a few years ago I had a Cramerotti and the Samurai is its equal as far as stability goes. Just an all-around cool ride.

Nice bike and score ! Front wheel QR needs to be switched. Prob'ly just that way for the shot, huh ? I have never seen that style frame on a ride around here. A plus to hang out here to catch all the different bikes.

Regards, 3SS

Yup, already done on the QRs......noticed that after I shot pics of it :((terribly embarassed, as I know better.....lol)

Way to go Teon! Here's mine, all updated:http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=247164&d=1335632796 (all of the original 105 stuff is carefully packed away). Don't know if it's just psychological or not, but the Shogun feels snappier on the short steep stuff vs. my Litespeed. Also, a few years ago I had a Cramerotti and the Samurai is its equal as far as stability goes. Just an all-around cool ride.

Good gawd that's got extreme slobber factor!!!! :thumb: What sort of brakes do you have on it? Tektros? Or something higher end? (Unfortunately, with my clydesdale size....250lbs.....I could never use wheels like what you have on that)

Still not sure if I am going to leave it stock, or frankenbike it some. I have stis and mavic cxps on my Raleigh, and it does make for a much more functional and pleasant ride. But have been on a totally stock kick lately......so I might just leave it as is after cleaning it all up. Plus, I really, really like the original gold anodized Araya rims....they look very very cool, so not sure if I want to change those out. Have actually been thinking of throwing those wheels on my Centurion......then I would put black cxp22s on the shogun. But this all takes me forever to decide, as half the time I just sit in my garage and try and figure out what I want to do to the bikes.....lol.

One thing that really teed me about this bike.....and I knew about it before I bought it......was the original owner(moron) clamped a bottle cage onto the frame just above the bosses on the down tube. Didn't even tighten the clamp down much, so the decals and paint above the downtube bosses is all scratched/bunged up, with pieces of the decals gone. Damn thing is, the bottle cage had holes, and the owner could have easily mounted it to the boss...../facepalm!!!! Only thing I can think of is that the original owner wanted the bottle a bit higher on the downtube. IF the owner had mounted the bottle cage on the bosses, the frame would be near perfect.

I just hate things like that on vintage bikes.....but it seems like you always run into at least one dumb thing done on a nice vintage frame. I will try and touch it up......only looks bad if you look closely....../shrug

Any date codes on the components? Derailleur and other parts look like match those on my '88 Sirrus.

Ok, so I checked the bike over and here's what I found......bb serial number is S600223......found a date code on the crank.....KI...according to the trek date site, that would indicate September of 1986.....which sounds about right. So might be a late 1986 or early 1987. Wish there was a Shogun site for serial numbers. Am thinking that the "6" as the second letter of the serial number is probably meaning 1986, and the S might mean September......???? That's my best guess.

Good eye, sir, those are indeed Tektro brakes - don't know the model for sure (dual pivot takeoffs from a nice, mid-level modern bike) but with some decent aftermarket pads, they do the job. As for the wheels durability, they are Velocity Spartacus' and have held up well for me and I am a mere 35# south of your weight. I attribute their toughness to the deep rim section and to the fact that they aren't the lightest things going. Whatever you decide to do, have fun with your project and many happy miles to you.

I have/had the exact same model, and same color. It is a light, fast racing bike. I think the wheels were a bit week if I remember. I don't remember ever having anything other than that negative to say about it.

Good eye, sir, those are indeed Tektro brakes - don't know the model for sure (dual pivot takeoffs from a nice, mid-level modern bike) but with some decent aftermarket pads, they do the job. As for the wheels durability, they are Velocity Spartacus' and have held up well for me and I am a mere 35# south of your weight. I attribute their toughness to the deep rim section and to the fact that they aren't the lightest things going. Whatever you decide to do, have fun with your project and many happy miles to you.

Good stuff to know about those wheels. Thanks!

I have/had the exact same model, and same color. It is a light, fast racing bike. I think the wheels were a bit week if I remember. I don't remember ever having anything other than that negative to say about it.

Good to know! :) It's certainly a lighter bike than I expected. I checked it next to my Nishiki Tri-A and the Centurion Ironman, and it's really not much heavier than either of those, to my surprise.