Is this a Miyata 610?
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miyata-610-Touri...#ht_500wt_1182

Is this really a Miyata 610? I'm not very familiar with them but I can't imagine their coming equipped with stem shifters. The description also sounds kind of suspect. I'm not really interested in bidding on it--just wondering.

If so, it's earlier than the one I had. The one I had (mid 80's), had a forged crank with Biopace, cantilever brakes, and downtube shifters. Frame decals said "triple butted" and "six ten." It was really a fabulous bike, I was really sorry to flip it (too small for me, too big for anyone else in the family). I know the earlier ones were not nearly as nice; this might be one of those.

I can't comment on this specific bike, but people do retrofit stem shifters to nice bikes occasionally. There's an Ironman on velospace with stem shifters.

1981 Miyata 610: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_whtVpXkKwl...0-h/img009.jpg

It is.

Thats a very early bike. Might want to hold out for one with cantilevers.

+1, the one with cantilevers is a much nicer bike. It's better in many ways, not just the cantilevers. The ad is, I think, a little misleading; the later 610 is the one that's almost as good as a 1000. This early one is not nearly as good as a 1000.

Here's my wife's mid-80s 610 for reference.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...g?t=1271426462

+1 You have to really target both specific models, and specific years. Many of the manufacturers changed specifications on models year to year, usually making them better, sometimes making them worse. So a model that might be a great bike in some years, is pretty so so on other years.

For instance, I have a 1987 215ST, their bottom end touring model. But by 1987, the specs of the 215 were pretty nice. Earlier years it was nothing special for sure. Barcons and aero levers are not original, otherwise, this bike is stock. I got my 215ST off ebay, with local pickup. It was a deal.

The one on ebay is really low end. Nothing special. It does have super high shipping ($125), so if you are local, you might be able to get it cheap. But ebay is always weird. Someone could come along and suck into the Miyata mystique and overpay. Worth watching if you are local. If you are not, the current bid plus shipping is over the value of the bike already.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3634/...11101811_o.jpg

I have had both an early 610 and a later 610 and both were nice bikes, but the early one was clearly a sport tourer and the later a full fledged touring bike.

Try this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Miyata-18-speed-...item4aa05e94c8

Here is my 1981 Miyata 310. (The brake levers and bars have been replaced, but it had the DT shifters when I got it)
Notice the identification appears clearly on the TT. All the Miyatas I have seen have that. I don't see any model ID on the eBay bike.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...-1981barsa.jpg

That Bike Ribbon Pro bar tape?

Posilutely. Great for flips and my personal 80's bikes too. (I still tend toward Velox cloth tape on the older ones.)