Murray Missile 

I did discover something odd though. It has a Suntour "Cunningham Design" roller cam rear brake, the levers are Suntour XC Sport but the front cantis are Shimano.......... ??? Me thinks there has been some skullduggery but I think I have some proper Suntour cantis in the parts stash, I'll have to go diving for them tomorrow.

Murray Missile 

Headset cleaned, greased and reassembled and bottom bracket cleaned but I'm out of 1/4" ball bearings which it needs, they're on the way. Crankset disassembled, cleaned and reassembled, it's a half step triple, 48-44-28. Thumb shifters were disassembled, cleaned, lightly lubed and reassembled but I lost a washer out of the LH shifter this morning. I had given up finding it and had taken measurements of the needed ID and OD and was going to try to buy one. I started picking everything up and was going to dump my bucket of water and Simple Green. As I swished it around to get the sediment in the bottom stirred up I saw this little dark circle go past. Yep! It was my MIA washer, how the heck it made it in there I have no idea and I had felt around the bottom for the washer 3 or 4 times with no luck. It is safely inside the shifter where it belongs now. Got the brakes and derailleurs scrubbed up. turns out I do NOT have any Suntour or Dia-Compe cantis so the Shimanos are going back on. I ordered Kool Stop pads all the way around and a new straddle cable for the front. I'm just giving everything a good cleaning and lube, no polishing or "restoration". The bike has no collector value, it's just an uncommon but decent old 80's MTB that I'm going to ride and enjoy. I definitely have the only one on my block, in my town, my county and probably several counties around LOL. Oh yeah, I was able to locate a good used 13-28 Accushift compatible 6 speed Suntour freewheel. Naturally right after I sent payment I found NOS 7 speed Accushift thumbies for less money, I have not one but TWO 7 speed Accushift freewheels......... Oh well, you'll have that. The ones I have look more period correct on this particular bike. I'm considering putting my Brooks B67 on it but I also have a decent old San Marco that would go well on it.

juvela

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? for the Takara experts have always wondered about -

was there ever any assembly carried out at the Takara facility in OK?


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Murray Missile 

Well, I got to do a bit more in between working on other people's bikes LOL. I swapped to a different set of wheels and had to recenter the axle in the hub and move a spacer to the NDS to center the wheel in the frame. I have the arms for the roller cam brake set in place and the Kool Stop pads installed while some rusty pieces soak in white vinegar. Shifters, derailleurs and cables are installed and adjusted, the rear was so much easier with the correct Suntour Accushift freewheel vs. making a Shimano SIS work. Set it and forget it (so far). Getting the roller cam brake put back together was a bit of a challenge to my manual dexterity at first but I got it done and it really wasn't that bad. I'm waiting on a couple small pieces but should have the rest of it done in a day or two. The paint didn't clean up as well as I had hoped but it looks a bit better. Hope to have it done by next weekend.

Murray Missile 

Got a test ride in tonight and it rides sweet. I still have a few things to do but I should be able to wrap those up after I get home from work tomorrow and then get some pictures. I don't know if I have the roller cam brakes set "correctly" but they're centered and they work REALLY well!

Murray Missile 

The Brooks didn't work out, I threw an old San Marco road saddle on it, one of those black suede things and it actually feels pretty good.... for now. No pictures yet though, I had a delay getting home from work. This followed me home.

Murray Missile 

Just about there, swapped the San Marco for an Avocet Touring 1 with the same suede like covering but it's a bit wider. I also found another SR Laprade fluted seat post. The one I had in it was a 26.6 and the seat tube slot was pinching in. I opened it up and this old 26.8 slid right in, it even has about the same "patina". I have some small tweaks to make on the brakes but otherwise I'd say it's done.

Bikerdrummer

I’ve updated the handle bars to orange velo, added a rear rack and fenders. Used it as a winter bike over the past 4 months. Worked great. Added a couple stickers too.