markk900

Hi all: Just on the off chance something like this might happen, I stopped by the local school bicycle sale this morning first thing, and in amongst the normal pile of kids bikes and trikes I found a Norco Magnum SE - apparently all original, few scratches, a little rust, and in need of some lubrication. But it was all Shimano 600 Arabesque, and all there......for only $10!!!

Here are some links:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_083816AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_083835AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_083845AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_083902AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_083919AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_083938AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_084045AA.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...3_084258AA.jpg

So c'mon you Norco experts - tell me what I have here! The seatpost is Sugino, pedals are unbranded, but the frame seems extremely nice (forged dropouts, double butted japanese tubes, etc).

Boy oh boy I'm chuffed!

Mark

taos biker

very cool, hard to beat the price!!

kellyjdrummer

The brakes and drive train should be in a museum. Looks like those cranks may be a bit of trouble to get off.

I would strip brakes/d-train and install all new, mainly to make it shiney.

Kinetikx

Everything on that bike will shine up nicely without a whole lot of trouble. I'm a fan of the Arabesque group based soley on looks, never actually had the chance to use them.

Nice bike, especially at that price.

markk900

Yeah, I'm not worried at all about shining things up....even rubbing with a finger makes a difference so the NEV'R Dull and autosol will be awesome.

Checked out shifting action (works perfectly), and the brakes are actually pretty strong. From date codes on the hubs and cranks ("E") I believe this to be a 1980. Turns out the tires, though flat, are brand new (IRC 700x38C - a bit large!).

So really theres a bunch of cleaning, lubing, and riding to be done!

TBART

Excellent find & even better at that price!

kellyjdrummer

Making all the stuff on it sparkly is even better, and cheaper.

Way to go. I bought a Schwinn Continental that was mfg'ed in 1970 once and rode it for another ten years. When the fork broke, I chucked it. I was really fortunate that it didn't break just 15 minutes earlier when I was on the end of a 60 miler around Lake Washington. As I was lifting it into the Knarr tav in the U-district in Seattle, the right side of the fork dropped away leaving me with a wheel dangling from the bike.

Scary thought.

Nice buy, way to go. I would look over every square inch of it before you do any milage.

markk900

Well, just finished lubing pedals, front and rear wheel bearings....all had pretty dry grease so I cleaned it all out and relubed...made a big difference to the wheels, which were feeling just a tad rough when I spun them.

Will tackle the BB and headset later, though they are correctly adjusted as is (probably a little dry though)....

So I filled up the tires (no holes - just flat), adjusted the brakes, and went for an inaugural ride (short, its raining heavily on and off today). Bike rides very nicely - not as soft as the Peugeot but the geometry is a little tighter. The 38C tires are overkill though (should probably put them on the pug) - nice ride but BIG. No room for fenders either.

Shifting is excellent (and I didn't even need to adjust it!), brakes are fine (looks like original pads!)

Question: the cassette is 6 speed, with a 24 tooth largest cog....this is a very racy gearset (front is 52/40), but the frame has eyelets for fenders. A search of the net turns up a Magnum ST touring bike, but the gearing on this SE would be harsh for touring.....was this bike intended as a low end racer? T-Mar: from searching the archives it seems you may have some early 80's Norco catalogs - would you mind looking this one up?

Mark

kellyjdrummer

Make sure all the tube welds are solid. You never know.

Antipodes

Nice.
I love the old Norcos. Being of that era, it was probably a Kawamura-constructed frame, and that's why it looks virtually identical to Nishikis of the same period. It should be double-butted chromo for at least the main triangle (stays may be hi-tensile), if not all. The sticker that says this is probably either the "double butted chromoly" inside a kind of wreath, or "Tange Champion #2 double-butted tubing".
The Magnum came in a few versions - the SE, ST and GT, and I think just plain Magnum.
Does the serial number (stamped into the underside of the bottom bracket shell) start with K or C?

markk900

Antipodes: it does have the cromo double butted sticker in a wreath - do you know what type of tubing it might be? The serial number is Y0L6913, so neither C nor K...What did the various designations signify? I got the impression from the little I found on the net that ST was the touring rig. Also, after a little browsing through velobase it seems this bike had the entire 600EX group, except the headset. I found that kind of strange, but is it?

Mark

Antipodes

Though I've seen that particular chromo tubing sticker on many Nishikis, I'm not sure make the tubing actually is. I suspect that it may be Kawamura's own or maybe Tange, even though it isn't stated.
The Magnum ST was the light touring version, the SE and GT were entry/mid-level sport/racing bikes.
One of the forum members, T-Mar, has been constructing a Nishiki database. If you do a search you should be able to find the thread. Somewhere in it you should be able to find a reference to the format of the serial number of your bike.

markk900

Looked up the Nishiki database - nice piece of work! However, the serial number format does not match that on the Norco. I do realize Norco was buying from the same factory as Nishiki (and Norco originally imported Nishiki to Canada), but the serial number format is different.

My serial number is YOL6913. As I said earlier the component dates all point to 1980, and when I looked through the Nishiki threads I did notice that some of the frames were similar in construction, but few had the same seat tube treatment, lugs and/or sloped fork crown as this Norco.

Not a huge deal, but I am curious!

Mark

dgb

Hi, I'm a new member here. Found this site by searching for my old bike. A Norco Magnum SE. I bought mine new in 1981 in Halifax. Just under $500 taxes in.

Mine is exactly as you describe yours. The no name pedals were replaced before the end of my first summer with it. The tires you mention don't seem correct at all. Mine came form the store with 700 X 23C.

If I remember correctly, the front chain rings were 42 and 52. The hub was 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 22.

Rode it for 10 years or so. I still have it but the gears seem to have gotten large on there own.

markk900

Very cool! I know for sure the tires are not original as they still have the flashing on them - I suspect someone threw on new tires just before giving up the bike for a school fundraiser.

Since the pictures in the original thread were taken, I've cleaned, polished and greased everything, and did a little gear freaking since this bike is set up for my wife. So I replaced the small chainring with a 38 and the large rear sprocket with a 26 so she has a pretty low low gear for cimbing - she likes the bike a lot. I also replaced the bar tape and added rubber hoods, but otherwise it is exactly as I got it and pretty darn close to the way it left the factory.

Any photos of yours? Where are you located?

Mark

cyclotoine

Almost guaranteed tange butted tubing, probably seemed.

wilkydave

i know this thread is getting a little dated but I have a late 70's Magnum SE that is still stock hanging in my garage. I bought it new at Varsity Cycles in Vancouver. If you have any questions i would be more than happy to answer them.