First post here after much lurking.

Wondering if anyone can shed a little light on a bike that I have owned for almost 20 years now (although I have used it only sparingly in the last decade).

In 1990, I bought a used Miyata from my LBS in Chicago. It has an aluminum frame painted pearlescent white with red Miyata decals and a red decal that says "Runner." It has indexed Suntour Cyclone components, DiaCompe brakes (IIRC), and a Dura Ace head set. A bit of a mishmash, so I think the previous owner had tinkered with it a bit.

I always said to myself "it's a Miyata Runner," but then I decided to do some research on it. I found a site that has all the Miyata catalogs from that era, and there is no such model. Furthermore, the aluminum frame is unlike any other aluminum frames shown in their catalog -- the catalogs show all of their aluminum frames to be lugged, and my frame simply has welds -- and not particularly smooth ones, either. Also, the catalogs show the aluminum tubes to be pretty narrow, while the ones on my bike are clearly oversized, like Cannondales of that era.

I don't think it's a repaint, because the pearlescent paint is quite beautiful -- it looks factory. It came all white, with white tape and white hoods.

I wish I could take pictures and tell you more about it, but it's at my family's summer home so I don't have to trek my current daily rider up there. I'll see if I have any old pictures lying around to scan in.

Anyone have any ideas?