As purchased, very, very little use, check out the rims, not a scratch. Excellent paint, KC44390 =USA 1983, 44,390th frame that year. $170 CL, not my size(61cm st, 60cm tt, c to c), 25.3lbs with kickstand removed, don't know what I'll do with but too nice to pass up. Brian

Good score! That bike is a great all-rounder in my book.

I have a Nishiki Seral tourer from that same year, even has the AT triple cranks on it and with panto'd big ring.

Your bike appears to be same size as my '73 Kokusai (International), and I actually prefer what others call a too-large bike for me. I'm 5'9" btw.

Wow Big B! Score! You know I would have had to arm wrestle you for it if I still lived in town...but you would have won and then sold it to me for a small profit.

My first bike was a 75-76 Nishiki Kokusai...ridden in the snow and all, Salt Lake City. Ah, memories...

now, about shipment to Oregon City....

Over the years, a few Nishiki Internationals have come my way, and each was different from the other. Vintage quality ranged from not great to very nice. I have not gotten around to publishing articles about the other Internationals, but this one is representative of one of the better ones to come my way...

Are you sure about the serial number interpretation? My 1971 Kawamura frame was #KS78091 .

As was mentioned above, the Kokusai/International underwent steady improvement and evolution over the years, shedding a fair bit of weight and picking up a livelier ride and higher-quality cranks in the process.

The info below is my reference, from T-Mar's 2008 thread on this forum. Brian

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-database.html




Kawamura manufactured frames (1972-1987*)

Serial number format XYZZZZZ where:

X is a letter indicating the market using the following codes:
A= Australia
C = Canada (pre-1985)
E = Europe
K = USA (pre 1985)
W = USA (1985-1987*)

Y is a letter indicating the last digit of the manufacturing calendar year, where A =1, B = 2, C = 3… J = 0. Exception is letter S, used on all frames prior to 1975.

ZZZZZ is a five or six digit number, apparently representing a sequential frame manufac turing number for the year (or era in the case of pre 1975 frames)

Example 1: KA24587 is the 24,787th frame produced in 1981 for the US market.

Example 2: CG231117 is the 23,117th frame produced in 1977 for the Canadian market.

Example 3: WE54612 is the 54,612th frame produced in 1985 for the US market.

* Serial number format may extend beyond 1987, but there are no reported examples, to date.

+1 International was always a decent bike, and showed significant improvement over the years. I have had 1973, 1974, 1977, and 1988 models. I just picked up a 1979+/- model: Suntour bar end shifters, Suntour Cyclone generation 1 derailleurs, etc. Fluting on seat post painted to match panograph on the crank arms. What's not to like?

My dream bike in 1973 was to own a Nishiki International. Unfortunately, I could not afford one back then.

FYI

calstar, this is a 1984 model year International. The frame was manufactured in 1983.