kozarrat

Nishiki Tri-A from 1985? Serial is WE 05222.

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Yes, it's definitely 1985. That was the first year for the Tri-A and the only year Nishiki used that logo style.

Bikedued

My yesterday find. Nishiki Competition I am guessing since the decals are gone. 73-75? Despite how ugly the seatpost was, it came out with a little coaxing, and a few whacks of a hammer.,,,,BD

nashvillebill

Latest acquisition: 1987 (?) Prestige. Two-shade purple (light and dark lavender according to the catalog). Had Suntour alpha 5000 shifters and derailleurs. Serial number RG03 (second line) 331. No other numbers evident. The frame does have the Kawamura insignia on it.

It appears exactly as described in their 1987 catalog so that's why I suspect 1987.

T-Mar

The seat tube has the banding which appears to have been introduced for the 1975 model year, so it may be a 1975 model manufactured in late 1974. I've never seen a black version of the VGT. It looks there is exposed white aluminum. If this was factory anodized I wouldn't these sort of marks. Any evidence of them having been painted by a previous owner? It also would be appreciated if you could supply the date codes from the derailleurs and cranks. TIA.

T-Mar

You're probably correct. The 'G' in the serial number indicates 1987 and the Apha 5000 was only manufactured for the 1987 and 1988 model years. Consequently, it's either a 1987 model or a 1988 model manufactured in late 1987. While I don't have the 1988 catalogue, we know from advertisements that there was a difference in the down tube logo. The 1987 logo had a 'series' bar extending across the 'IKI' at the end of NISHIKI, while the 1988 logo did not have this bar.

The R-prefix to the serial number is very interesting. I wonder if it's a serialization error or yet another market code?

nashvillebill

Yes, it has the bar across the IKI part of the logo on the downtube (bar says Sport Series). I will try to post up a picture of the serial number later this weekend.

Bikedued

The derailleur has a circle with RH in it. The cranks say F-4 (code 5 possibly?),,,,BD

I oiled the brake lever and caliper pivots. It feels like new brakes again. Shifting is pretty good too, considering original cables. If the bike swap goes well for me, I will get some new inner cables. I'd like to take apart the brake calipers and polish them piece by piece. Pork Chop BMX has new brake stickers, since these are both missing. I've never seen blacked out VGT's either, but it looks like a factory coating. The cleaner I used kind of chalked them out, so I wiped them with a little clean grease and it helped. The white aluminum showing are chips. If it was painted by a former owner, they completely tore down the derailleurs before painting them, so I don't know. The finish had a translucent purple look before cleaning. The cleaner also melted all the black out of the emblem. I should have suspected that would happen.

nashvillebill

Pictures as promised. Seat is not original, rear wheel is not original, pedals not original, brakes not original.

thejamman

Scored this over the weekend at a garage sale. I believe it is a 1977 Nishki International S/N: KG03386 Suntour V T Luxe derailleur, Diacompe 610's, Araya Rims, Maxy cranks arms, Sugino Crank.

T-Mar

Yrs , it would appear to a 1977 with a replacement fork. Or maybe the previous owner just stripped the paint? if so, you'll usually find some paint remnants in the crevices of the crown and the upper half of the blades will not be quite a lustrous and show many fine scratches because it has not been as highly polished as the lower blades, where exposed chrome was intended.

OLDYELLR

My 1977 Nishiki Landau originally only had chrome dropout faces. When the fork started getting a lot of paint chips with chrome showing through I stripped it and found it was completely polished and chromed. I also found the rear triangle was chromed part way.

dwilliams1189

Hello,

New to the forum. I have my dads old Nishiki Frame that i am about to start the rebuild process on. Don't have any pictures yet. The Serial number i have found is KC33281. Any information would help.

Thanks

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Your frame was built in 1983 for the USA market by Kawamura. It is probably at least upper mid-range, as Giant was building most of the lower mid-range models during this period. However, to determine the model, well need pictures and/or brand and models of the major components (deralleurs, crankset, brakes). A picture or description of any tubing decal would also help. Include a drive side photo of the whole bicycle. .

melman923

Hi Folks, new to the forum. Just purchased a Barbarian -- in very nice shape. Trying to figure out the year. Serial number on bottom of bottom bracket is: CE 06008. I'm a bit confused. Judging from the original post the "C" would be Canadian pre-1985. My guess is that this a 1985. seem right? Nice lugged frame. Stand over height of 32" give or take.

T-Mar

Yes, it's 1985. The reason that the first post says pre-1985 for the Kawamura frames manufactured for the Canadian market, is that we have not had any post 1984 samples until you posted yours.

melman923

Well I'm glad I can add something to the mix! I'll be happy to post more pics if you'd like.

T-Mar

Being Canadian and familiar with the early, Norco designed ATBs, it's not necessary from a personal standpoint, though other members may appreciate additional photos. When, you do post pictures of the complete bicycle, I suggest you take them from the drive so that the crankset and derailleurs are clearly visible. This allows members to identify the crankset and derailleurs, which provides an overall appreciation for the level of the bicycle. Of course, detail pictures of these are even better and other ares of interest typically include the brakes and tubing decal.

Thank-you for adding to the database. I've updated post #1 to reflection the extension of the relevant timeline, as a result of your contribution.

melman923

some additional pics of the Barbarian

ritty1313

HI. New to the forum...
I have a unique old school Nishiki NRG BMX BIKE but know nothing about it. What year was it made, etc., etc.?
Serial #: UC6I002548

It's chrome and yellow and blue.
Thanks for your help!!

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. I believe this is the first Nishiki BMX that has turned up in this thread. Pictures of the bicycle would be appreciated and may aid identification. The serial number format appears to be Taiwanese, in which case the '6' probably represents the year of manufacture. Are you sure that the 4th character is an "i" and not a '1'? Typically, in a Taiwanese format, the two characters following the year indicator are numerals indicating the month. Also, is there any chance that you are from Canada, as Nishiki intended for the Canadian market usually had a 'C' in the prefix.

While I don't have a full set of Nishiki literature, I have a good representation covering 1973-1992. Early literature shows hi-riser models but true BMX bicycles don't show up until the late 1970s. There's no BMX models in my 1981 USA catalogue, the 1982 Canadian brochure or any of my four other 1980s catalogues. Consequently, pending pictures, it's tempting to say you have a 1976 or 1977 model. However, Nishiki was also known to manufacture non-catalogued models in the 1980s, so I would rule out that possibility.

The forum also a BMX sub-forum where the members are probably more familiar with the Nishiki BMX range.

PeregrineA1 

1978 International

miamibeachcg

Can someone tell me what year my Nishiki Prestige (Performance Equipe) is? It has a MADE IN TAIWAN sticker & a serial number starting with a letter W. On the Classic Road Bikes Value board I was told this was probably a 1990, but I don't see a serial number starting with a W in info above.
I LOVE this bike - it's the easiest, quickest & most nimble bike I've ever ridden(!), but it has a 25"-26" frame which is too big for me & I' going to have to sell it - but I can't tell a potential buyer what year it is!
I appreciate any help.

Parabolous

Whats the W stamped at the bottom mean?

PeregrineA1 

I have no idea. Manufacturer?

T-Mar?