My trusty bicycle is an older Univega road bike that had been repainted before I found it. I'm curious if anyone can help me date the bike and determine the model.
It has suntour shifters on the down stem, suntour cyclon derailer, chromoly triple butted frame tubes and seat stays,
tange vantage headset, sakae handlebars,
Exage break levers that read BL-A251,
Signature crank arm that reads on the inside: 175 inside of a square, and 85 F inside a circle, and then an 8 following "Japan".
The break units are dia compe that read G.
The seat post reads Strong. The underside of the bottom bracket shell has the code NS 45373 62 stamped on it. The horizontal drops have no serial number on or near them as I thought they might. The top tube is 22 inches at its longest point.
Does anyone know the breakdown of the serial number for this NS (?) model Univega? The bike will always be my buddy so I'd like to know the story of its parts. thanks for reading

Suntour cyclone was a step below superbe so it must have been at least a middle level bike. Triple butted makes me think it may have been made by miyata, but can't say for sure. please post pics asap, will help me and many others help you, we always need pics.

Probably a viva sport with an upgraded RD, or possibly a gran turismo. A picture would go a long way... especially a pic of the lugs.

The lugs are diamond-like in shape. though, I dont know if thats the best description.

It would seem that the frame does not match the components. Perhaps only the "Signature" crank is original to the bike. If the cyclone RD is likely not original because, as discussed on other threads it would've had a top mount DT shifter configuration. The lug work, although attractive, is not indicative of Univega's higher end frames. My guess is this bike is a 1986 or 1987...

I do not know how to decipher serial numbers, I'll leave that to the pros.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Oh, and the G brakes seem to be original too.
Honestly, the more and more I look at it I would wager on it being a Viva Sport. They were comparatively excellent frames, albeit with slightly lower end components.