Frame question
 

Long-time rider, first time poster on this forum.

I love my vintage Bianchi & Peugeot bikes, but I haven't had a vintage Japanese bike in my collection since I sold the Miyata 1000 years ago. (Yes, yes... I know I shouldn't have sold it, but the sale helped pay for an old Porsche 911 back when they were still reasonably affordable, so maybe the trade-off was worth it.)

So, I've decided to build a vintage Japanese tourer using parts (SunTour, Ukai, etc.) I have from old Motobecane-France, Fuji and other projects. I could buy another Miyata, but I have all these old parts...

My question is the frame. It is a rather heavy 58cm straight-lugged steel frame with no brazed on stops and a four digit serial number - 8914 - on the bottom bracket and no other identification. I know the frame dates from 1973 or so, so maybe the "8" indicates Japanese year Showa 48? And yes, it is definitely an "8" and not a "B".

So maybe a non-letter ID Bridgestone or Miyata?

Thank you in advance for your inputs, and yes I will be posting photos when I reach the required number of posts.

That was a pretty long time ago.:p

I would take the time to find a better frame. It is a buyer's market, you can find a lightweight double or triple butted frame for a song if you know how to hunt them down.

Basically if you are trying to buy an specific frame, they usually go for more than the entire bike is worth. If you familiarize yourself with vintage bikes you'll be able to spot lesser brands and models that do have great frames but generate little to no interest in the marketplace.

Univega made fantastic bikes. So did Lotus, and often hit the market as a generic bike with no value. I'm currently working on a Lotus Eclair touring bike (that let's be honest, I don't need). I paid $25 for the bike. I'll probably spend $50 on overhauling it, and after many hours of work I'll be lucky to get $100 for it. As I said it is a buyer's market. What I'm getting out of this bike is the joy of rebuilding it. Some like model cars, some like puzzles, I like to rebuild bikes.

I'm not sure where you are, but head to your local co-op.

The one I help out in Salem must have 50 frames, some new in box. Most frames in the caliper you are seeking go for $75.

Good luck with your new project.

Your quest will be improved substantially if you add your location to your profile (in User CP). Quite a few of us work at, or know about great places with plenty of used bikes. And we love to help you spend your money looking at Craigslist or FB listings!

I'm happy to see someone got my double entendre joke - it was a Miyata 1000, and it feels like it was 1000 years ago.

Thanks for the replies. This certainly appears to be an active community.

I thought about getting a new (to me) frame for this project, and that is certainly the advice I'd give to someone else, but that kinda defeats the purpose (and challenge) of this being a vintage "spare parts" build for minimal cost, and frankly the parts I'm using are low-to-mid range. If I end up with a 30 pound tank of a tourer, so be it. If I wanted it to be lighter, I could cut weight from the rider (and frankly, I really should).

I do, after all, have my other vintage bikes.

Since I don't know the brand of the frame, maybe I'll use a Japanese coin for the head badge. That way it will be worth something. (Let's see, 100 yen in 1973 equates to 282 yen today, which corresponds to 1.89 US$.)

I too like to build and repair old bikes, even down to refinishing cones from cup-and-cone bearings. I also work on old cars, old watches (wrist & pocket), and anything else that strikes my fancy, being a semi-retired R&D engineer/scientist.

There are so many great old Japanese frames to rebuild. The hunt is part of the fun.