Originally Posted by
torred
I just purchased a vintage Nishiki Olympic 12 and came here to figure out its age, based on the serial number. The serial number seems to be S1 1E123 -- which does not match up with any of the codes provided by TMar and others. I have attached a picture of the bottom bracket.
Any suggestions about the age/manufacture of this bicycle? Thanks in advance
Hi torred,
there have been a few other serial numbers with this format. It is not a Kawamura or Giant format serial number.
Some of the other bicycles with this format of serial numbers were also Olympic 12 models.
Do you have a picture of the headbadge?
Previous bicycles with this format of serial number had the Kawamura version of the Nishiki Eagle headbadge. This is an indication that the frame builder was sub-contracted by Kawamura.
Decoding the serial number: using the first two characters.
S - probably indicates the frame builder, but I do not know which Japanese builder used "S" prefix.
1 - indicates 1981.
The year character for the previous bicycles with this format serial number where: 9, 0, 1 (1979, 1980, 1981).