Not as nice condition as some folks on here have under their butts, but this is my old trusty-rusty-steed still rolling along.
1980 Sekine, I believe its a fairly rare version of an RM-40 from what I learned from forum member T-Mar back when I first got it in 2006.
Most of the original parts I still have, but they were all cheap and heavy chromed-steel Shimano parts and I've been slowly upgrading it with period-correct alloy Suntour Cyclone components, the last hold outs being the cranks, but I've got a set that I'm working on fixing up to put on it.
Most recently got a NOS Suntour cable guide for down by the BB which got the last Shimano part off and completed the set.
Fighting the rust progression on the frame has been a losing battle, it's been becoming more and more a candidate for repainting. I had put it in storage for a few years while I recovered from a bad shoulder injury and although it was not directly in the weather the storage was not climate controlled and was home to many local rodents whom did not care to be careful of the paint. The mess they left really took its toll on the finish.
The rims are fairly modern alloy 27" and I recently put new Tektro brake levers on it - the only thing I've never really enjoyed on vintage bikes is the big brake loops out the top and the small gripping surface on the hoods. They always get caught on things and other bikes in a dense rack so those and the pedals with plastic clips are my two modern concessions.
This week I replaced the saddle with a Brooks B17, cleaned up the frame as much as I could without taking off any more paint, gave it a thorough once-over with polishing compound and then coated the whole thing in several coats of Future Wax which brought back some of the colour and hopefully protects the rust and stickers for a while longer.
Fork and headset is from a 1979 Raleigh Grand Prix of the same size. I have repaired the original one that belongs to this bike (had a stuck stem, removal of it inadvertently also removed all of the paint) and I'm currently repainting it. Once that is done, I'll be swapping the forks and installing a new headset
Comparing this frame to the Grand Prix, I have to say that Sekine Canada had some top-notch craftspeople working there compared to Raleigh Canada at the same time. The lugs, while not fancy, are meticulously brazed with not a bit of errant brass on the Sekine. The Raleigh on the other hand has some hideously careless brazing work in many places despite being a more expensive bicycle.
The frame has eyelets in the back for both a rack and a fender as well (Grand Prix only has fender mounts) but these days I've taken those accessories off - this bike is now for fair-weather fun rides only since I have other bikes now and its a blast to ride without all that extra weight.
The Cyclone RD is hands down my favourite non-indexed derailleur I've ever used, smooth as butter shifting all day long.
(Edit: It occurs to me that the frame
may have been made in Japan and the bicycle was merely assembled in Canada, which may explain the quality difference from the Raleigh but I'm going from memory so don't quote me on that)