BluesDaddy

Here is my pet project of the past winter. I picked this up to flip but it immediately earned a place in the stable. I'm getting to be a fan of 80s Japanese touring bikes.
It's fairly close to original; the changes are the saddle, tires, brake pads, tape and fenders (VO fluted 48mm). The perfed Turbo Special saddle is really not in character, but I don't have anything else at the moment. I'm open to trades. (pastorbob's navy blue Brooks? cough cough ) Some of the highlights are the Shimano Deer Head (MT-60) mechs and brakes, and the wheelset, which are Suzue Sealed cartridge bearing hubs and Araya 27" alloy rims, 36 front/40 rear. Frame is Tange Champion #2.
Unfortunately there is a lot of toe overlap with the fender and fender stay, and removing the rear wheel is difficult, so the fenders might come off and move to another bike. southpawboston solved this problem with his 1500 by converting it to 650B wheels.
I'm still tinkering with the gearing, trying to get a good half-step setup. Right now the middle ring is an MTB outer ring, but that will be rectified when I figure out what I want.

Alan Edwards

I love my Shogun. Yours looks good for serious road work, rain or shine.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

nice lookin ride.

Are you really gonna ruin the lovely original paint and move the canti studs for 650B just for a little less toeverlap? Kinda seems like chopping off your nose something something face or whatever the old saying is.

mkeller234

Cool bike!

Your Shogun reminds me a lot of the Mercian I put together. It even has old cartridge bearing hubs laced to 27in wheels, but made by Sunshine. I came really, really close to buying those world tour tires but I wasn't sure if they had a knobby tread or not. That is the kind of rack I want to get, no nonsense and just as functional..

BluesDaddy

No, I'm keeping it original. I should have taken a pic of the Transformers-looking seat tube decal. 80's, man. Love it.

BluesDaddy

Thanks! The tires are not knobby but I think they will handle just about anything because of their width. You could drop the pressure some if you were on a rough surface. The rack is part of a Rhode Gear child seat that I picked up really cheap. It's built like a tank! If you need a good rack, look for a used child seat.

realestvin7

Nice. I want a Japanese touring bike.

southpawboston

Bluesdaddy, your Shogun is soooo much nicer than mine was when I got it. I'd go so far as to say it's pristine! Mine had a lot of superficial rust around the cable guides and lugs, that I had no problem redoing the paint. Wise choice on your part to keep the paint original, it's in really great shape. I think the original comp spec on this bike was pretty good: it's hard to beat an 80s tourer equipped with 1st gen Deore XT mechs and high-profile cantis. I have found these cantis to be the best in terms of both power and modulation. Those hubs are damn smooth, to boot!

My Shogun had ben left outdoors, and the mechs all rusted. I kept very little from the bike (the Tange Levin Alloy headset and SR seatpost), which I had gotten for $100. I sold off the remaining salvageable parts to basically pay for the frame. Then I felt justified in spending some money for converting it to 650B and putting a fresh coat of powder on it. It was definitely a large undertaking, but I'm more than happy with the result (and there is no toe overlap):