Thanks for a brilliant Miyata thread with great learning and beautiful bikes.
Here's my Koga Miyata Terraliner from 2001 - it needed a lot of attention and work when found last year. A welded Taiwanese frame, with a FM-1 decal (double butted, not the triple splined), though expecting only the main triangle to be FM-1. The brochure has this model under the sports hybrid section, though the 71-degree parallel angles, wheelbase, and weight (heavy!) suggest touring.
The elegance of the Japanese-made lugged frames is sadly long gone: the tube profiles seem out of proportion & brutalist ugly. For example, the down tube & top tube compared with the stays. No matter, the versatility, no-rush handling, and having restored the bike to working condition are all good. It's used for commuting all year round, touring & trips to the shops. Comfortable on road or path, with wide-ranging 3 x 8 gearing.
I've been trying to find out about the later Miyata frames and would be grateful for any information please. When Miyata started to source frame building in Taiwan, was this subcontracted, or did they open their own premises there? In the 1980s, Giant had a joint venture with Koga in basing their European operations, and a post in the thread mentioned Merida manufacturing for Miyata. So it seems possible that the Terraliner, with Koga Miyata head badge, decals, (and Fm-1 tubing decal), could be a Merida or Giant fabricated frameset with Miyata tubing?