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Bicycle Identification By Serial Number
Hello to all from So Cal. Hope everyone is doing well. I've recently acquired an older (I believe 80s Japanese) bicycle that has no identification aside from the serial number. "" N3P0140"" All decals had been removed. I believe it's of good quality but I am basing this on a few factors. The derailleurs are Suntour, front is MounTech, the rear is LeTech. The free hub is a Winner Pro, the headset was a Tange (I've replaced it with an Origin8 sealed headset). Handlebars are SR "Road Champion" drop type. The shifters are unique, Suntour "Symmetric" mounted with a braze-on on the down-tube. The rims are Araya 27 x 1-1/4" w/o Japan (clincher type) and the hubs are Suzue Sealed-Tech. The bottom bracket is a older sealed type (no I.D. that I recall). The brakes are Dia Compe cantilever smooth post (?) type, The levers are Grand Compe. The dropouts are Suntour and the frame has mounting bosses on the forks and drop-outs for racks etc... It is fully lugged (I think that's what it is called) with plain lugs, with the only distinguishing feature which are the seat stays. Rather than being welded to the sides or back of the seat tube the stays are pointed and the points wrap around the seat stay and over the top tube and meet in the center of the top tube. I'd love to be able to Identify the bike. Oh yeah, did I say the frame is fully Chromed. Sorry since I'm a newbie, I'm unable to post pictures. Hoping someone has knowledge of the builder and can I.D. the bike by the serial number. #N3P0140. Good Day to all and thank you in advance for any help. Kaiju
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See here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ber-guide.html
N(1) (Japan): NyFxxxx Manufacturer unknown. Some members believe that the 'N' prefix designates National but given that Panasonic and the Japanese manufactured Schwinns that came from Matsu****a/National do not use this format, it seems unlikely. There is evidence suggesting Tano, the major supplier to WSI/Centurion, though the format is different from that use in the 1970s. BF member Hummer believes that the 3rd character is a month indicator with the 12 months being represented by A, B, D, E, G, H, K, L, M, N, P & S. |
Image assist
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0b0abe4a1f.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...189dd658c8.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...463ccd072b.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8f15408fc9.jpg Interesting that it has two sets of cheerios on the dropouts, but none at the top of the seat stays. Is it set up for 27" or 700C? Other potential clues * Shot of the whole frameset from the drive side * Fork tips, showing eyelets if any * Shots of the head lugs and BB shell (wider shot than what's in your gallery) * Remove the fork and look for identifying info on the steerer tube |
Looks like Centurion Pro Tour to me.
Brent |
Centurian Pro Tour
Centurian Pro Tour gets my vote. I found one on the WWW with identical fixings. The chrome actually cleaned up nicely. There are a single set of bosses on the forks about mid section and double cheerios at the bottom.. The rims are Arai 27x1-1/4 clincher type with Suzue Sealed Tech hubs.
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Just wondering, is there a torque spec for the chain-ring bolts? Also, site tells me I can't upload pics yet even though there are already some posted?
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It does have mounting bosses on the inside of the seat stays that the rack (not shown) is mounted to.
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Quote:
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Wow, good sleuthing, everything about it seems to match a 1984 (etherial tip of the hat to Sheldon Brown):
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/centuri...10pro-tour.jpg Right down to the braze-ons. Interesting that the DS chainstay is the only significant part of the frame left showing the chrome, in its original state. |
Original Rear Rack
Mine also has the same rack.
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