Hi all! I recently acquired a bike with a really neat "Samurai" front badge, but can't completely pin down the manufacturer or really any details about the bike, outside of the componentry. My first thought was that it was a Shogun, but now I'm thinking it might be Nissan, due to the SN. All of the components have the Suntour/Maeda/DiaCompe branding, except the whole crankset which looks to be after-market "Custom", and the seat which has obviously been replaced with something hideous. These pics are in its original state, since then I've cleaned up all the componentry and re-packed the headset and bottom-bracket. One thing I'm still debating though is if I should re-paint it, since it's covered in rust; I'm not sure how much work that would be or if I could ruin something by doing that. My current plan is just to clean off the rust and cover the spots with some clear enamel. Regardless, once I get it all finished maybe I can post some follow-up pictures TIA!

Gallery: (https) imgur.com/a/5VYx7hQ

BB S/N - SY43983N
Dia Compe Brake arms - 610? 5583?
Suntour GT Rear Derailleur - 4532? Also, PE: May 1973?
Maeda 8.8.8. perfect freewheel - PJ: Oct 1973?

PS. I'm mostly just a lurker so I can't post links or images (yet) but these forums are a great source of info!

Your pictures didn't work for me. "Samurai" like Kabuki?

Welcome to the forums. Unfortunately, I can't view you pictures. However, I believe you are correct about it being Nissan manufacture. The 'N' suffix appears on all Nissan serial numbers and the prefix would place frame manufacture at the end of 1972. That's not too far off the component codes.

Based on the evidence, it's too early to be a Shogun. Known brands that Nissan manufactured include Corsaro, Kabuki and Matsuri. Kabuki head badges did use the face of Samurai but typically included the Kabuki brand name.

Yeah, the design of the front badge doesn't look like that, though the construction and red color look similar. The forums still don't let me post images or links, but the bike itself is a light blue frame, the badge is stainless, held on with two rivets, with a black background, an image of a samurai on horseback with sword raised, and the word "Samurai" below in red in a vaguely "oriental" font. If it's nothing special I'll probably look at going down the re-paint route, otherwise I might try to just clean up what's still there.

Pic assist:









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