hmmm I recently found a takara grand touring up in a old garage in N.H. I live in florida, and was searching for a nice frame to make a fixed gear for all the flat-land riding that I do in south florida.After I got it home I started to research the Takara brand.... I read a-lot about how the bike was from japan and was about a 83 or 81. Then I found one story that said the Takara brand was not japan but made in america by a small company in Oregon. They named the brand Takara because it sounded japanish, and at the time, japanese? bikes were very hot and sales would be good just because people thought that the bike was from Japan.
the bike was in very very good condition, and so were all the components. I am tempted to keep original.