Originally Posted by
Dave Cutter
I thought the foam was factory.... merely because I never met anyone who would have install the foam (I never liked it much). The only marking I could see on the bottle cage is a raised word in the plastic that says "Japan".
The end-plugs are plain, with no marking.... with a Phillip's head screw. I am familiar with plugs like that... but thought they were older... used in earlier years.
The expander type OGK plugs aren't all marked. I have some NOS OGK plugs in the package and if it wasn't for the package you'd never know they were OGK. If you remove one and get a better photo I may be able to tell you for sure. No markings is actually better than the wrong markings for originality, as so far we haven't seen any common brands like Velox or Cat Eye plugs used as original equipment on Lotus bikes.
The 1983 bikes used OGK branded water bottle cages but as time went on they switched to just Japan branded. If you look at the two side-by-side, the OGK bottle holders are nicer quality. I suspect the Japan branded cages were used to lower costs.
Originally Posted by
Dave Cutter
I went ahead and purchased a '84 vintage Kashimax saddle. It is not branded (in the back with LOTUS). But it does appear to be the same or very similar to many of the old pictures I reviewed. In any case.... it is much better than the clunky fat saddle on the bicycle now. I will continue to keep an eye out for the exact lotus branded saddle. As I study-up on and learn about the Lotus brand and models.
I think I might just go ahead and order a couple water bottles from the good folks at:
www.VintageLOTUSbicycles.com as well.
These little touches will give me the time it could take to locate the actual... and properly branded items. And to be honest... I hated the look of that saddle that's on the bicycle. The Lotus will look much prettier hanging on my (basement office) wall with the proper style/era/manufactures saddle. I've already got to show it off to a friend that stopped by.
Thank you all so much for the kind words, encouragement, and knowledgeable advice.
It's only taken three years, but we're almost sold out of the Lotus water bottles, I think we have about a dozen of the original 200 left. We're working on a new design for the next batch. All the funds from the water bottle sales go to support the hosting costs for the Lotus website (which GoDaddy tripled this year), so we appreciate the support. We're also considering having t-shirts printed, there doesn't seem to be any Lotus shirts out there. I know I'd like to have one to wear to bike events and such. We don't have any advertising on the site, so we have to hawk stuff like bottles and decals to cut the costs.
Luckily, the Unique and the Excelle both used the same saddle in 1984, so they are out there. For a while, the Lotus branded saddles were worth less than the Kashimax branded, but now that's changing. The saddle has a unique profile and sporty appearance, so the correct saddle just looks "right" on the bike. Plus the Lotus nameplate is just cool. I've approached craigslist sellers with a nice replacement saddle (used) and $20.00 and purchased an original saddle. Sometimes you have to be creative. Vintage Kashimax saddles were also used on BMX bikes and those guys really pay top dollar for nice stuff.
I'm thrilled with your enthusiasm for correctly restoring your Lotus, I'm sure it will make for a great project.