Chuck M 

Thank you. Yes the seat post is high, but I am right at the minimum insertion line on the seat post and stem. This puts the seat at just where I can ride it comfortably. I was afraid when I met the craigslist seller I would have to buy a new seat post or try to find longer cranks. But I think I can keep these as is and it will serve me well for spins through the neighborhood with the grandkids. I'm still going to keep looking for a taller 960 frame or bike and pass this one off to my grandson in about 10 years.

LittleGinseng 

Finally got around to sourcing parts (Shimano 600 drivetrain) for the Takara frame/fork I acquired a few years ago. It's from the '88 model year when they were still being made in Japan.



Currently set up as 6-speed friction until I find some SIS 6208 shifters.

Murray Missile 

OK, if I HAVE to..... 1986 Highlander MTB upgraded from Suntour 3 X 6 XC Sport friction shift to Suntour 3 X 6 XC Sport Accushift.

Chuck M 

Picked up another Takara this morning. It is a Grand Touring and in as good of condition as the Deluxe 12 I posted above. While the Deluxe 12 is a little small, this one is a little big, but probably a bit more ridable than the 12. The only thing not as original as the 12 is the spoke reflectors are gone and it doesn't have the original saddle. I estimate it to be an 80 or 81 model.



Takara 970 Grand Touring

T-Mar

It looks like a Kuwahara product, with their branded headset. If so, and it is from circa 1980-1981, there should be an open format serial number on the lower, non-drive side of the seat tube, which can use to determine the year and month of frame manufacture.

Chuck M 

I just finished asking for your expertise in the Asian serial number thread when you were posting this. I was hoping to hear from you.

Chuck M 

Something that came with the Takara I bought back late last summer is a brochure from the early 80s. I scanned it sometime back and posted it elsewhere but the scan quality wasn't good enough to read the text well. There are 17 scans of it and not too many C&V readers give a hoot about Takaras so I likely won't make a post to upload the entire thing. But if anyone wants a page of a specific model I will upload them as asked for here. I also made a pdf of the brochure if anyone wants a copy sent to them.

Here are the pages with the component specs for the different models offered in probably about '81 or '82.

miskines

Hi, what ever happened to this bike? I haven't ever seen a Takara Team bike before. It seems kind of rare. Do you think the components were factory or aftermarket? Aero downtube shifters put it at 82 to 83 time frame. 1" aluminum rims? I thought Takara Team bike were Tange #2 but with this bike being a bit larger (just my size) maybe they increased the tube thickness to #3. Any idea on weight?

T-Mar

Given the reference in the notes, it should be a 1981 catalogue.

T-Mar

It's doubtful that you'll get a response, as the owner has not posted on the forums for almost four years. However, the Takara Team was added to the line circa 1982-1983 as Takara's new top model. I suspect the poster committed a typographical error and that the tubeset should be Tange Champion #2. The bicycle is obviously not full Superbe except for the Sugino crankset, as claimed, as the brakeset is obviously Dia-Compe AGC. The wheels have been replaced or at re-laced, as they are not the OEM Arya aero tubular rims. The subject rims are likely Araya 20A wired-on. Claimed weight for a 23" Team was 21.5 lbs. Given the conversion from tubulars and the addition of a leather saddle, this sample is probably in the 22.5-23.0 lb range.

miskines

Thanks T-Mar. What was the most racing oriented Japanese Takara in the mid 80's, was it the Team? Were the Takara Elitist and Olympian made in Taiwan frames? I've seen images of Takara Medalist with a oil fitting on the front tube what was that for?

T-Mar

The Team was the only Takara model of the mid-1980s that I'd call race worthy. While I'm sure that there were some lower category, licensed competitors on other Takara models, they were really more sports/triathlon/club racer models. The best of these was Elitist which was a very nice mid-range model. Slightly lower was the Medallion. The Olympian was two to three rungs below these two and I consider it on the border of entry level and mid-range.

I don't know where the Elitist and Olympians were manufactured, as I don't have any serial number data for them. Given the era and level, I strongly suspect that the Elitist was Japanese. The Olympian could go either, way, depending on the exact year, as a lot of bicycles at that level level transitioned to Taiwanese manufacture in the late 1980s.

I'm wondering if the "oil fitting on the front tube" is actually a pump peg? These became popular in the late 1980s and are typically located on the back of the head tube, a couple of centimetres below the top tube. Moving the pump location from in front of the seat tube to the top tube allowed manufacturers to place a 2nd set of bottle bosses on the seat tube.

tinkerbike

I have a Takara Competition, Serial number ES323540, that I bought as a NOS frameset and built as a 650B bike. It has Tange No.2 tubing. Any idea who produced this frameset?

miskines

It's beautiful!

miskines

I've had such a blast with this bike since I found it by the roadside. I've been riding and fiddling with it for about 6 months.
My 1985 Takara Prestige with new old stock Araya Red label 27x1 rims.

Recent upgrades were SR Sakae Four'sir 100mm by 22.2mm stem and matching Four'sir 26.6mm seatpost.

Pleasure to ride with the new Panaracer Pasela 27"x 1" tires. Large frame measure 24 1/4" from center of crank to top of upper tube. As is the bike now weighs 24 lbs with pedals.

T-Mar

I don't know the identitiy of the manufacturer but the serial number format is consistent with the Japanese contract manufacturer employed Bianchi, Miele and several other brands. If so, the frame was manufactured during May, 1983.

dogears

Hi Chuck_M from post #32: is my understanding correct: Sport 10 920/923 means the serial number starts with either 920 or 923 right?

Chuck M 

920 or 930 refers to the model number. The serial number is going to be whatever the frame manufacturer that made the bike for Takara used. T-mar's Asian serial number thread can help you figure out who made the frame as well as the date built.

dogears

TAKARA (USA): See Fuji, Kuwahara, S(1), S(4), Y(1).
KUWAHARA (Japan): yy mmxxxx(x)

the serial on the frame reads 92011377
the frame and some other pics are in post classic-vintage/1223604-need-help-identifying-frame.html. the guy sold this to me which was already painted as a Kuwahara bike but I wanted to make sure as the serial no really doesn't match the production years of Kuwahara which ended on 1985.

based on my research referring to the seat cluster which very much looks like the Takara 920/923 - it also looks like a Concord or Apollo - both are also made by Kuwahara.

I'm still checking on local bikes and already found out 2 other frames that looked similar but unfortunately paint stripped as well Will continue my research until I find the brand.

Thanks much for your awesome catalog scans \m/

dogears

And maybe the Takara owners can share their serial numbers TIA

Chuck M 

In the other thread with the pictures, T-mar has already pondered if the leading 9 may be for 1979. My 1980 Kuwahara framed Takara 970 serial number is formatted as 80 7 494** where the ** was not stamped clearly and is on the seat tube. I also have a 1981 Takara 950 with the serial on the bottom bracket shell but not like the one you are researching. At any rate, I don't know if the bike you are researching is a Takara or not, but if it is, it isn't a 920. The forged dropouts with derailleur hanger and the cable guide on the BB shell would indicate something higher up the model line than the 920. While my 970 has forged DOs, it has no hanger and no brazed on guides. The 950 has stamped DOs.

dogears

Thanks so much Chuck M for that valuable input, much appreciated.

T-Mar

It is extremely rare for manufacturers to include model information in the serial number. Also, Takara was a USA brand that was contract manufactured by various Asian sources. Combine these with the fact that member dogears is located in the Philippines and the probability of it being being Takara 920 becomes negligible. There's a good probability that it was originally decaled as some Asian brand that was never marketed in the USA, where most forum members are located.

dogears

Thanks much T-Mar!

SDHawk

Saw this one for sale and figured I'd add to the thread. I haven't seen many Takara MTBs among these pics... anything special about this one? Looks to be late 80's with the rear brake location? Anyone recognize the RD?