missed up and posted below

This serial number 'R937531' clearly has a letter in it , "R" maybe that represents the year?

On the otherhand, I read that Miyata uses the first number to indicate the model and the last two numbers to indicate the speeds of a model they make. For example a 912 would be a model 9 with 12 speeds, a 914 would be a model 9 with 14 speeds. I'm not sure what the model 9 shape/model is, but I'm wondering if and when this bike was made, if the 9 indicated the shape or model and the following numbers '37' indicated the year?

I'm hoping someone will know...

Yes, and let me assure you, it's the wrong direction. There is no direct correlation between the model number and the number of gears. There are far too many exceptions. To name but one, the model 710 didn't become the model 712 until 1987 and yet it had been a 12 speed since 1981!

As for the Miyata serial numbers, they use a repeating format and do not incorporate the model or utilize the Japanese Imperial calendar. I have been studying bicycle serial numbers for several years and have collected literally hundreds of sets of Miyata data, courtesy of forum members, which I've correlated against my catalogs to decypher the code.

Due to the repeating nature of the code, the serial number could be from 1937 or 1963 however it also indicates it was manufactured late enough in the year to be a model representing one of the following calendar years.

Now some good news. I happen to have some dated, 1966 Japanese literature showing a couple of Miyata models. The head badge of your bicycle appears identical to the 1966 models. The fender ornament is similar but not identical to the 1966 models.

The mid-1960s Japanese bicycle industry utilized a number of standardized designs, available for use by any manufacturer. Your bicycle employs a number of these, including the frameset, rod actuated rim brake, rod actuated hub brake, pedals and kickstand. It is typical of the utilitarian models still being offered in the domestic market. My mid-1960s literature shows similar bicycles from numerous Japanese brands such as Deeland, First, Gear-Z, Landmaster Oxford, Pheonix and Prima. There's not one thing on your bicycle that I see that was not still available in the mid-1960s.

Some of the major components may possibly have date codes on them. Due to the age, they would likely use the Japanese Imperial Calendar. Fortunately, both 1937 and 1963 would fall within the Showa reign and represent years Showa 12 and Showa 38 respectively.

I'd also like to see a pic of the drive side crank with the chain guard removed. What size are the tires?

More pictures:

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-007S.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-008S.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-009S.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-010S.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...MVC-011S-1.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...MVC-012S-1.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-013S.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-014S.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/MVC-015S.jpg

My point was that in 1937, I don't think they'd have used 1937 because western things were not much in favor at that time and they'd likely prefer the native era year over the gregorian. In 1962, there is no strong preference to do one or the other and it would be totally believable that "37" would be used to signify that year (what you'd call 1962).

It is still very common to use the Japanese era year even these days. This year is Heisei 21. If I was to ask my friends or family what year they were born in, I doubt any of them would give the 19__ year. If they were asked in English then they might respond 1962 (after thinking about it for a second and doing the math), but not when we are speaking Japanese where saying it the Japanese way is what comes naturally.

Even more pictures...

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w...nubadave/a.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-031aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-034aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-036aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-037aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-038aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-039aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-041aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-042aS.jpg
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/w.../MVC-045aS.jpg

That looks like it may be the old JIS logo below the Miyata logo, on the hub brake cover. If so, and assuming the cover is original, that would clinch 1963/1964. JIS did not exist until after the war, in 1949.

1969. Just feels like it. Japan in the 60's was not a style haven.

I'm feeling it's probably a 1963/64 vintage too. I believe the design is much older and perhaps the tooling used to make this bike could be dated back to the pre-war era, but then again, who knows.

I bought a 1965 Military Dodge Power Wagon once, it looked exactly like a late 30's Dodge, crank out front window, flat fenders, even a flat head six, but it was titled 1965 and it did have a little gold star emblem at the bottom of the front fender area that the 65 Dodge's had. Apparently, our Military had given Dodge a 25 year contract to make the exact same vehicle. (rolls eyes) Bottom line, who knows what brought such a dated design to the 60's, it could have been the market, the utilitarian use of bicycles or even a contract. I'm happy with the bike, I think it's cool.

I'm still looking to figure out the serial number or at least find a picture of my bike somewhere.

If you want to clean up that chrome, go at it with aluminum foil and lemon juice. It cleans up chrome great (don't use the foil on painted parts though).

I'll try that, thanks Doohickie. If the chrome was cleaned up, it would look really nice, it certainly rides nice and that's on what I believe are the original tires.

I told you what the serial numbers represent, back in post #53. Because of the their repeating nature, which is common in the industry, it will NOT tell you a definitive year. It will only tell you a number of possibilities and you have to look at the characteristics of the bicycle to determine which is the best fit. In this case, it appears to be 1963/1964.

Furthermore, 26" tires were quite rare pre-war. The few samples I have seen were balloon tire versions and not 1-3/8".

Even if you accpet that fact that it is pre-war design and the the pic you found of a 1937 Miyata is accurate, one thing that pic does not have is the fender ornament. These ornaments are typical of mid-1960s Japanese bicycles.

Personally, I have very little doubt that his bicycle is not from 1963/1964.

As for aluminum foil, avoid it. The pits are simply filled by the soft aluminum foil which is close enough in appearance to chrome, that everything looks good to the naked eye. The citric acid may remove some to the rust, but the foil doesn't provide a sufficent barrier to prevent the rusting process from continuing underneath it. There are several better alternatives. I suggest you do a forum search on rust removal.

It's a 60's era bike, I see them every day here in Tokyo. This is the same kind of bike which restaurant delivery people use to transport sushi all around the Ginza area. I see much older ones rolling around from time to time, but pre-war bikes are incredibly rare, even here in Japan. The earlier models come with strut rods running from the stem to the front hub.

That said, your bike is one of the cleanest and most original that I have seen. The most unusual feature is the green paint, Japanese work bikes are almost universally painted black, and the few exceptions I've seen are a handful of silver ones. It's more of a tank than a roadster, with the oversize rear drum brake, and the heavy-work tires.

If you plan to ride the bike, remove the original tires and put them somewhere safe, you'll never find another original set like that.

The hub reads "Trade" (then the Miyata logo) "Mark", under it there is a small embossed circle with something inside, almost like a lightening strike, and then the numbers 6413. If that helps!

I reread the post and indeed you did explain the above. On my first 'read' I took it that it was still an unknown; thank you.

At this point, I'm confident we have discovered what I have and it is indeed a early 60's bike and more than likely a 1963/64. When I bought this bike, I had never heard of Miyata, now I'm under the impression that it's a "well-thought-of" brand. I assumed this was a utilitarian vehicle and that has been confirmed. I'm now, after reading Sangetsu's post, under the impression that I have a more unique bike than I thought by it's originality, condition and color. I don't plan on riding it, I just think it's a cool bike to have around.

New questions:

1) Would you recommend having the chrome parts re-chromed? Or would you just try to clean up the chrome the best I can and keep it all original?

2) Does anyone have a lead on an original seat or at least a seat that would be close to the original?

3) Any opinions on the value of this bike? Now that we know what it is, I'm sure you folks would have a better opinion than I as to it's value.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their opinions, research and comments, I've learnt more about bikes in two days than I thought I would ever need to know. It's times like this that you can really appreciate the internet and what it has to offer.

Thanks,
Dave

1. Try the clean up method first--a search for "oxalic acid" will tell you more than you want to know about rust removal, especially on chrome.

2. Ebay is going to be your fastest option. Not sure what was originally on there, but a sprung Brooks would look pretty nice...here's the B 67 model:
http://www.wallbike.com/jpgs/b67threequarter.jpg
http://www.wallbike.com/jpgs/b67chromeside.jpg

And there's also the Champion Flyer:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/images/pr...flyerbig_l.jpg

3. Try the Appraisals subforum here:
http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=273

Hi KBJack,

I saw those seats on ebay, very tempting, but I thought I would see if I couldn't find something more original first. If you look back at the picture I found on google, and assuming that bike has the original seat, it looks like one of these seats with a chrome spring extended past the seat on the front and rear. If I could find one like that without any lettering on it, I would be happy (thinking that may be as close to what I believe the original looked like as I may be able to find).

I appreciate the tip on rust removal, I also thought I would take T-Mar's suggestion and look up rust removal on this site. Of course, I understand with the rust removal, I'll never remove all the pits, that is why I was wondering about re-chrome'ing. But then again, I know I don't want to repaint it and the paint isn't perfect either, so maybe just a good clean up is what I need to do.

Thanks,
Dave

Well, there's the Brooks B33:
http://www.ciclistica.it/files/IMG_9...alogo1_rid.jpg

Looks closer to what you want. I may be wrong, but I don't think there are any other current productions of this kind of saddle out there.

Don't rechrome anything. Just clean it up, replace the saddle and tires with something appropriate, and leave it as it is.

By the way, ride the thing. It isn't valuable enough to be a garage queen and will only deteriorate if it isn't ridden.

He said he isn't going to ride it. So my advice is don't do anything to it and keep it in a dark dry place so it doesn't fade and the rubber doesn't deteriorate further.

The bike is worth what you paid for it.

The Brooks B33 is the one most often retrofitted to older Japanese work bikes here in Tokyo. Leave the chrome alone, it looks in decent shape. A little cleaning with Turtle Wax Chrome polish will remove the rust spots and bring back the shine, a good coat of regular car wax will protect against further rust.

I can't say what the value of your bike would be outside of Japan, but here it would it would probably bring about 5 man to 6 man yen ($500 to $600). Yours is much better than shape than average.

That circle with the lightning emblem is probably the JIS stamp. Here are a few more, though I think these are modern. I couldn't find any other images online:

http://www.melamine.com.tw/en/images/jis_logo.jpg

The Miyata company is still in business, just not in the United States. Finding an address for the corporate headquarters and sending them pictures might get you a response with information. Their telephone number is 0467-85-3333 and their fax number is 0467-87-3587, at least I think that's their telephone and fax number, if you want to try them. Regardless, I think you have a real collector's item and trying to restore it would more then likely lower the resell value. Since you don't intend to ride it, clean it up, polish it, and stick it in a corner for a conversation starter.

Grillparzer, Thanks for looking that up, I may drop them a line. I also travel to the Orient more often than I like; 39 trips in the past seven years. I will also see what I can find out about this bike on my next trip.

I'm not sure how much of a collector item it is, but in my novice eyes, I like it and to me, it's a collectable item, of course, I've always have been partial to anything painted green, especially that 'vintage' green. I'm beginning to agree with not having the chrome parts re-chromed, a good clean-up is the first order.

It's hard to see, but I believe it is a JIS stamp, again reaffirming the conclusion we've all have come to on it's approximate age. Thank you for looking that up.

Sangetsu, thank you, I was considering that model of a seat (saddle) and now that you have confirmed it's replacement in Japan, it puts it at the top of my list. I also appreciate your input on what value it would have in Japan. If you were placing a value on this bike I think a lot would depend on how you viewed it. To me, it's a collectable, it's just weird enough, rare enough, and old enough looking for me to place it in that catagory, so in my mind, (and you have to appreciate, I'm a novice when it comes to bikes) it has a collectable value. To someone wanting a bike to use, or someone who is into bikes, it would have an entire different value. As it goes in collecting, one man's junk is another man's jewel. I was curious if it was just me or if others, especially people into bikes, would see it as a collectable item too.

I was a tab disappointed that it wasn't as old as I originally thought, but then again, I was pleased that Miyata is a company that is so well thought of. Heck, I didn't even notice half the things you guys picked up on. Overall, I'm impressed with the bike.

CB, if I was younger, on campus like my daughter, I would consider doing just that, but my bike riding days are limited at best; I'm at the point in my life that I just like having older things around me.

The circular stamp below the Miyata logo on the hub brake cover may also be the logo for the Japan Bicycle Inspection Assciation. This agency was formed at the same time as JIS, to accredit manufacturers to the JIS standards. I believe the old logo is basically a vertical bar superimposed over a map of Japan. Regardless, of whether it JIS on JBIA, both are post war agencies.

It's tempting to assume the 6314 marking may be a date code, either year-week or year-fortnight, as both would fit for a model manufactured in late 1963, however more likely it is the product code.

As for the saddle, most of the mid-1960s ultiliarian bicycles appear to have been spec'd with saddles similar ot the Brooks B33. The Japanese standard design designation for these saddles was Model 900 (i.e. leather saddle with twisted wire coil springs in the back and a double loop coil spring in front). They came in 900A versions (double wire base) and 900B versions (triple wire base). Having the designations may help in finding a saddle, when you visit Japan.

Thank you T-Mar, I appreciate and agree with all the information you have provided. It's been an enlightening two days. Mixed results but overall, I'm pleased with my purchase and feel I found a fairly neat bike.