bakjack21

I acquired this bike and tried to find some information on it. It seems very well made, light weight, rides great, Found one on ebay that said NJS Keirin? marking on the rear says Uno for L. Suzuki. I assumed these bikes were made to order? Any one have any idea the history on this? Thank you..
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Bianchigirll 

Welcome to the forums. Are you in the states?

I believe the NJS refers to standards set for Japanese track equipment and Keirin is a type of racing.

It is possible I is custom built but you should contact the seller perhaps they have more information.

repechage

Almost all were custom for a pro racer in Japan. Exception might be the training bikes of those learning the trade.
Yes, one had to go to school to be allowed to race.

DMC707 

NJS is a standard for Japanese keirin racing to ensure consistency --- every frame and component has to meet the same criteria and specifications as the races are supposed to take place with identically prepped machines with the only variable being the rider

That said, the frame's often come with custom top tube lengths and things like that to accomodate individual riders (i am assuming L Suzuki was the originally intended rider)

Quality on an NJS frame should be very good -- that said, there is a surplus market for used NJS frames as they are discarded if they suffer the slightest dent or ding. Most common are top tube dings from swinging handlebars, and crashes are common in keirin racing, but there are also compression dents and bulges from bikes hurtling end over end down the track as well, plus rust from sitting outside

Thankfully, a lot of the Japanese re-sellers i have seen have pretty full disclosure on this stuff and take plenty of pictures

There are a lot of brands and builders out there, and although made to the same quality standards, some are worth more than others. Top of the list are Nagasaw, Ganwell, and old 3Rensho/ San Rensho frames with prices commanding over $1000 and up for usable, un- dented examples

Your Uno falls a little below that and is comparable to Vivalo, Bridgestone/Anchor, Makino, and others. For a nice Uno with no dents and a minimum of scrapes/scratches, i would expect it to sell for $350-400, maybe $500 if its a hot color

Problem is finding one that is dent free as the discarded frames are not treated gently, - they can be stacked outside a track or keirin center in the rain for months until a re-seller gets a hold of them and they hit ebay

bakjack21

Thank you for the information. It certainly makes more sense now that you explained it in terms of consistency between riders. I knew this bike was special. Not sure if I'll sell it, but it will certainly make for a good conversation piece. It also rides well, so I'll probably just keep riding it. The hard part is not having brakes especially since I live on a hill. Might have to modify it slightly....