Gdwells

Can anyone help identify this bike ? Purchased new in 1973. No obvious Brand other than SUPER SPORTS, Made in Japan. Spent the last 40 years hanging in a garage and had only one owner. No idea what the brand may be, or what this could be worth if I decide to clean it up and sell it.
Any help appreciated.
Graeme

Don Buska

Serial Numbers are often the best way to start. Can you see one?

juvela

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Wow, steel EVERYTHING, only non-ferrous bits headplate and front hub. Surprised frame exhibits a true three-piece head. Hubs do not match; wonder if front wheel a replacement.

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Gdwells

No serial number anywhere. I have been all over it looking.

Gravity Aided

Those are some unique shifters on there.

Don Buska

Agreed, any idea who makes them?

79pmooney

It reminds me of my very distant memory of a roomates's C. Itoh from roughly that years. (Now, I never studied that bike and I saw it last in 1975.)

Ben

ramzilla

The only Japanese bikes I've seen with those stem shifters were made by Bridgestone with Takari or Kabuki nameplates. It's a pretty low end item. Probably a department store bike. Would make a very nice upright handlebar conversion. Really not worth much. $50 tops as - is.

zukahn1 

I does look like a lot of the entry level Bridgestone and C. Itoh built bikes from the early 70's.

juvela

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They be Yoshi model L 907:





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Don Buska

Thanks. I never even heard of Yoshi. It's only 9AM and I already learned something new today.

Bike tinker man

What brand are all the components, brakes, handlebars, drive system how many gears etc, diameter of seat post these may all be pointers. Detail photos of the drive side may help in identification. funny if its technically new, never used, it has no other decals.

juvela

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Gear ensemble is Shimano. Thuderdbird front mech, Lark rear. Shift levers covered post #10 above.

Chainset is Takagi.

Pedal set is KKT RTSF.

Brakeset likely Cherry but not enough information in photos to confirm.

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ramzilla

OK. Put some new tubes, tires, & brake pads on it. Go to the drug store & get a small 2 oz plastic dropper bottle. Fill it with diesel fuel. Put a few drops of diesel fuel on the cables, gear pivot points, bearing surfaces, & chain. Get that thing rolling. Maybe get $85.

27inch

Back in the day I bought a bike for something like $55 brand new from a local small bike shop that looked almost identical to yours. The only differences were that mine was badged Palm Cycles on the head badge and it had the same brand on the downtube. Even the color was the same. It was all steel, rims, hubs, stem, everything. I kept it at a summer home my family owned back then. I think I still have it somewhere but it got upgraded over the years to alloy wheels, bars, stem, cranks, etc.
The dealer that sold it was a guy who worked out of his two car garage, he mostly sold used bikes but he sold a few off brand bikes that he was able to order from whom ever he was buying parts from at the time.
It wasn't a bad bike, but it was heavy, the fit and finish of the bike was good but the components at the time were all Asian knock offs. Most parts weren't branded but what did have manufacturer marks had totally unknown branding on them.

They only had one size frame, or at least that was all that shop carried. I think mine measures about 22" from center to top. The first things I changed were the stem and seat post in favor of extra long versions to suit my long legs.
The original wheels held up fine but somewhere along the way I found a clean set of aluminum Araya rims with sealed hubs for it. The saddle got upgraded too at some point. When I moved to an area with lots of hills, the freewheel got upgraded to a 14/32 and I upgraded the gear changers for a pair of early Suntour VX derailleurs and some bar end shifters I got from a parts bike. The crankset remained cottered steel for years, until I trash picked a bent up Nishiki Custom Sport that donated a more modern BB and SR crankset. The last I saw it was hanging in the basement somewhere, all apart after being taken apart for a move and a long overdue service. We no longer own the summer house, so the bike got brought home with all the vintage lawn chairs, lawn mower, and furniture which got stashed in the basement here years ago. I suppose that bike hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years now.

vintagebicycle

I have one of those older Palm Cycles bikes, haven't found out much about it though. It came to be with similar shifters, but with straight handles like those marked L538 in the pic above. I've never been sure how it came from the factory, whether it was an upright bike that someone put drop bars on or if it were just an entry level road bike.

27 was yours anything like this:

ksole7

Really digging that color!

juvela

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Good job with the serial number photo!

It's format and location may tell the name of the actual manufacturer.

IIRC I have seen these bikes under at least two or three other names in addition to the two we have here in the thread. But at a distance of forty-five years plus what remains o' me "mind" can no pull them up.

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27inch

Wow! Looks just like it. I remember that headbadge real well, I had spent time polishing mine up so the bare metal shined like gold. I think the badge is brass?

Someone told me once that they had a bike made by Chain Bike Co. (early Ross?) that was made in Japan that looked similar with the serial number in the same place, but theirs was red with newer components. The only CBC badged road bike I ever saw was made in Taiwan.

By the way these were built I could see it being built as a three speed as well, but the frame is definitely built to take 27" wheels, and even with 27" wheels it uses long calipers. If 700C, 26x1 3/8", or 650B were used, there would be no caliper long enough to reach the rim. I had tried a set of 700C wheels on mine years ago and even the longest Mafac caliper wouldn't reach the rim. Its almost as if the rear triangle was meant for an even larger wheel in that a 750mm reach Diacompe center pull caliper is barely long enough, yet the front wheel just barely clears with a big 27x1 1/4" tire.
From what I remember these came with fenders, they were either Chromed Wald steel or those shorty chrome fenders seen so often back in the day. I did see a three speed model once with painted to match fenders, the fenders looked very similar to those on a Raleigh Sports with a raised rib down the center and not just plain rounded fenders.

ramzilla

The only Japanese bike manufacturer I know of that stamped serial numbers on seat tubes was Kuwahara.

DMC707

OK -- This bike's condition is next level -- $85 is pretty weak

No, its not worth a lot to either an enthsiast or a collector -- but its a hot color in really nice shape

I'd sell it for $250 --- and i'd get it too. Souds like blasphemy i know, but my local shop is in very close proximity to a major college campus and i see the type of kids who ride these --

Kids who have their dad's 5 year old 5-series under the carport at the rent house 10 blocks off campus dont want either a current box store machine, or a current carbon race machine either

This bike would look cool when your cruising around with your man-capri's with a cable knit sweater slung jauntily over the shoulder (----- not kidding )

ramzilla

I agree. It's a pretty bike. The reason so many old Japanese bikes are still around is because they're practically indestructible. But for God's sake man, at least put some new tubes & tires on the thing before you palm it off on some stupid kid. Let them ride it for at least 100 miles before the tires blow out.

Kabuki12

This does look a lot like the entry level Kabuki's that were first imported by Bridgestone. They were mass produced in batches with different names/head badges. They are heavy but fun for around the city. Joe

Hummer

The serial number is Kuwahara. There was a short period where Kuwahara serial numbers were prefixed with "T".

I estimate this serial number to be from 1966 +/- one year. That would make this Palm Cycle in between the two bicycles in this post:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...e-exports.html

vintagebicycle

Wow, I didn't figure it was that old at all.
Here's how is was equipped as I found it over 12 years ago:

• Steel rims stamped 27x1 3/8" W/O and a tiny round yin-yang circle logo stamped above the size markings.
• Skinwall 27x1 3/8" slick type tires, with red line between skin wall and black tread area. fraying sidewalls - Brand name was faded away (normal 27x1 1/4" tires look lost on these rims). I replaced them with almost as wide Michelin 27x1 1/4" World Tour gumwall tires which have now also rotted away.
• Steel mid flange nutted hubs marked '333'
• Chrome steel fenders, riveted stays, appeared factory, not just Wald add ons.
• CAT EYE round reflectors
• Steel handlebars (randonneur style bend)
• Cast stem, 7/8", not aluminum, similar in appearance to an old AVA stem but very heavy.
• Cottered chrome steel crankset and chain rings
• 14-28 freewheel, (This was an odd brand, I saved it but it had no bearings on the back side, just a brass bushing.)
• unbranded chain, no markings at all
• Smooth vinyl covered road saddle, no springs, w/ steel seat clamp attached to two rails
• Steel knurled seat post, 25.4mm
• Matching copper colored vinyl bar tape
• Calipers were steel, (think Raleigh Sports copies)
• Brake levers were steel with alloy bases and band clamps.
• Rear Derailleur was a DNB, basically all steel knock offs of Huret Svelto made with flat steel plates
• The front derailleur was only marked 'Japan'

The bike was a freebie, I found it in a garage in NJ that had fallen down on its contents. Somehow the falling roof misses this bike and a tall frame Raleigh LTD. The tiny Morris Major in the same building didn't fare so well.

Over the years I've seen two almost identical bikes built very similar but with only 5 speeds and upright handle bars. One was the same color as mine, the other was candy apple red.