ElGenerale

Greetings all. That's my '85 Yokota Ranger frameset. The internet is at times a small world, eh? T-Mar, I appreciate the info you were able to provide. Still haven't pulled the fork yet, but will double back with any markings I find.

Cirp, thanks for circling back to this site seeking more information. Appreciate the response you sent my way too.

John, it seems this brand is still partially a mystery, and I for one am appreciative of your contributions here. There's nothing like getting the stories from those who were there.

Jharrington

Hi Cirp, I’m going to say it’s most likely a bike made in the early 90's. Yokota Cycle USA's 1st model year was 1989. The Yokota Japanese experiment did start until maybe 1992, so where around then. Any serial numbers found on the fork would be most likely for the fork exclusively.

ElGenerale

Hi John, all. Thanks for taking the time to review this thread. I added a few more photos to my Gallery (I'm still a few posts away from being able to add photos here). One shot shows the Shimano-marked dropouts, which I've not seen before (granted, I've only started paying attention to such details - and vintage bikes really, in the past few years). The other shot shows "18 Speeds" - a decal on the drive side chain stay. The last pertinent detail is that the rear end is spaced at 126mm, which aligns with the 18-speed labeling - and the mid-80's make. All that said, I think I recall reading somewhere that Yokota was a big Japanese bike maker prior to YCUSA/1989. Does this sound accurate John, or anyone else? I've only seen one other Yokota Ranger: listed as an '86 on mtbr years ago (different color, but pretty similar looking frame otherwise). I can't share the url for the same reasons, but it's easily searchable.

Thanks again for the wisdom shared here.

T-Mar

Yes, the date code found on the fork's steerer tube will be the date of fork manufacture by the fork contractor., in this case likely tange. However, in my experience, the date codes found on forks are typically within a few months of the frame date and are consequently a good method to date the frame, provided it isn't a replacement fork. In this case, it would appear to be OEM.

I find it very hard to place this frameset into the early 1990s, let alone 1989. Unicrown forks started replacing traditional forks on ATBs circa 1986 and were almost globally spec'd by 1989, While TIG took slightly longer to catch on, it was also dominant on ATBs by 1989. A circa 1990 ATB with atraditonal fork crown and lugs would be a real anomaly..

T-Mar

I checked your gallery album and didn't find any new pictures, Regardless an "18 speed" decal would not be consistent with a 1990s ATB. Given the Shimano dropouts, it was likely Shimano equipped. Shimano introduced 21 speed systems for Deore XT-II, Deore DX-II and Mountain LX for the 1989 model year and by the following year all their ATB groups werer 21 speed.

I stll think it is worthwhile to remove the fork to check for a date code on the steerer tube. While the frames and forks were typically manufactured by different companies, the manufacturing dates are still usually within a few months of each other.

Jharrington

Hi T-Mar, you certainly know your stuff. You make a number of great points and I'm not arguing or even trying to disagree with your assessment. That fork crown certainly pre-dates UNI-Crown forks and certainly would indicate something mid eighties.
When I was hired by Yokota Japan, my Boss was Akira Fujimura, I had never heard of Yokota Cycles. He told me they made shopping bicycles. He said it’s the kind of bicycle so ubiquitous to Japan where you see thousands of them parked as you sped by on the commuter trains going to the office. He said they never made anything even remotely high end like the bicycles sold in the USA. That was why they wanted to open a subsidiary bicycle company in the USA as the Japanese market wouldn’t accept Yokota Japan trying to go up stream in the home market of Japan.
So when I see this model and the Yokota graphic on the down tube. (I'll look at the other photos to see if I can find a better side shot), this graphic looks like what my team created in the USA. We didn’t release any bikes until the 1989 season at Interbike in September of 1989.

Hiwever T-Mar is spot on with his analysis. I would also agree that the serial number on the fork would correspond close to the time the frame was made and I agree Tange would be the likely manufacturer of the fork.

So this is indeed a Mystery, T-Mar makes a number of valid points that would place this model Mid-eighties. Minus my personal knowledge of Yoko's history in the USA, I’d be right there with him. All of those details would indicate a bicycle from the mid-eighties.

Most serial numbers were some sort of date code. Sometimes it was as simple as running the date backwards. Other times there was a location number, batch number as well. Then again other had their own mysterious system that only meant something to themselves internally.

Do we know where the current owner bought this bicycle? As I said it was not a USA model. So I wonder how it came to be on American soil? I wish I knew how to reach Mike Jackson as if it was one of his creations he could answer all our questions. But it’s been 35 years maybe more since I've seen him. Anyway question for T-Mar did you work in the bicycle industry? I can really appreciate your in depth knowledge about Japanese bicycles. There aren’t many around that remember Japan in its hey day of bicycle manufacturing.

ElGenerale

To John's question, I bought the frameset at a co-op in Berkeley, California for the fair price of $50.

T-Mar, I think more photos are visible now (after hitting "save" this time) in my Gallery, including the fork code 5H on the steer tube, and "Japan" at the bottom of the seat tube. After reading John's thorough responses again, I think you're both right. The "Japan" sticker has me rethinking the source, as it looks nothing like any I've seen stateside: no "made in" or "product of", and the lettering is much larger (the J is ~3/4" tall) than the requisite made-in labels on bikes sold here.

So just for kicks I compared the frame angles using AngleFinder app on my phone, and while I don't trust the actual numbers I see, I think the comparison of the HT and ST angles is useful. In this case, the seat tube angle is one degree less than the head tube. I compared that to a few other old frames I have - '83 Univega Alpina Pro (with a noteworthy small label "Made in Japan"), and a '87 KHS Montana Team. Of the three, the Yokota is the only one with a STA<HTA. Huh. Beyond that, the rear-center length is substantial at 18.1", and there's gentle signs of a kickstand being attached at one point. It's made from Tange MTB but it's certainly not a lightweight (somewhat larger but noticeably heavier than the Alpina Pro).

Unfortunately - and perhaps another sign of non-US origin, there's no shop decal on it to say where it was purchased; no residual decal glue either. At this point, considering the geometry, T-Mar's contributions and John's recollections, I'm leaning towards this being one of those ubiquitous Japanese Yokotas that were sold for city use. A fair amount of used bikes end up for sale here by visiting UC Berkeley graduate students who are on their way elsewhere - perhaps the arrival story with this one, but no idea.

Thanks again T-Mar, Cirp and John for all of the input here. These old bikes are neat, but the history is downright fascinating. Time to see if I can find some old Japanese catalogs on line, or perhaps connect with someone who can find one.

[edit] I just heard back from someone on MTBR.com who had an '86. This is the only reference to the earlier Ranger model I can find online (search "Paid Spam Yokota Ranger" to see the original post, as I can't yet share links). He got it second hand from an original owner who had purchased it new with Shimano M700 components in California.

Might be time to call Scooby Doo?

T-Mar

That 5H represents August of a year ending in a 5. Given the fork and frame characteristics, it should be 1985, which fits well with the leading interpretations possibilities for the seial number format. However, that's fairly late in the calendar year and into the gray area where it could very well be a 1986 model. I'll take a look at the new photos later. Right now, there's a couple of feet of snow outside that needs shovelling!

Jharrington

Hi ElGenerale, you truly have a vintage bike. Yes Yokota Japan was the parent company of the US subsidiary Yokota Cycles USA. All the spacing a;d specs are consistent with a 18 speed set up. 126mm rear spacing included. Enjoy the ride and the research!

ElGenerale

Hi all. I'm back with another Yokota Jharrington.
I found an honest-to-goodness Half Dome today, in my size no less. I met with the seller, and of course my first task was to check the serial number for TT or TET. What I found was that this one, 1990 I believe, was Taiwanese made. The differences between the later Teesdale built Half Domes that I've seen online and this earlier model include Prestige tubing & 1&1/4" steer tube. The finish work isn't as clean as the one TET frame I've owned ('85 Fisher Tam). I recall you noting that you contracted Mr. Teesdale to make the Half Domes, but didn't realize this happened after the model was already part of the Yokota line up. I'm wondering what in particular led you to take that model and change it in such a drastic way.

Here are a few late night garage shots, including the serial number T-Mar. I'll post complete day lit photos soon.