wawine

RobbieTunes

The only Semi Pro's I've seen were 1979 and 1981, and they were nearly identical. I've seen pictures of Pro Tours that were orange, I think.

orcas island 

gugie 

@cdmurphy has an orange one. I know for a fact that they were around at least in 1976, as I saw one either then or the year prior in a bike shop in Fresno, California. It was up on a top stand, and the late afternoon sun was shining on it.

It was like the briefcase opening scene in Pulp Fiction.

orcas island 

wawine

jetboy 

wow! nice find! there is a whole thread for centurion serial numbers:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-database.html

post there for more info id suspect

cdmurphy

Doug - Mine's a '76, but I've seen photos of and serial numbers for a few '75 models. A fellow centurion nut in Australia has an early 75 too, but I don't know the serial number. They had a different font for the "CENTURION" logo, with a more angular, faceted look.

I've been half-assedly compiling serial numbers for the Miki built bikes, trying to understand what the numerical sequence means. Spoiler- it isn't "numbers per fortnight." as initially suggested by T-Mar (not to knock his immense contributions). It looks to be serial, progressing through the full year, but starting in April (Many Japanese companies start their fiscal year in April). They changed their serial reset to January in '78. Also, the first digit appears to be something other than the hundred thousands position, but I don't know what. I'll try to get proper documentation up on on the Centurion serial thread soon.

So far, the earliest '75 number i have is M5B0018, from a Super Le Mans. The earliest Semi Pro serial from the "Centurion Serial Number" thread looks to be M5F0268 (with two others in the 75F0300-75F0600 range)

How positive are you that the "E" in your serial is in fact an "E", and not an "F"? If it's truly an "E", it puts the numerical part out of line with the other 10 or so '75 serial numbers I have for Centurion, Sekai and Shogun bikes with Miki serial numbers. If it's actually an "F", then it's within 100 or so of the other 75 Semi Pros, likely from the same order. (There are 5-6 serials I've found so far that appear to be outliers, but in several cases they turned out to be typos, and the correct numbers fell in line.)

wawine

RobbieTunes

Great looker. I really like that.

RobbieTunes

1979 (from cb400bill) Yeah, I know. The housings were trimmed later.

jetboy 

Perhaps it was stolen and someone tried to change the serial number to obfuscate. Even if true, probably no way to find out in its 44 years- Be a fun movie to make tracking the life of a bicycle and seeing all the adventures it had and where it got its triumphs and scars.

gugie 

Damn, now I'm on the lookout for a 24" CTC Semi Pro. I could sell my 23" Lotus Classique, which is a bit small for me. I want an orange want like the OP and @cdmurphy.

RobbieTunes

The Classique (in certain years) is almost identical to the Semi-Pro (in certain years), less the chromed lugs.
It makes up for it on the stays and fork legs. Tough choice.

3speedslow

wawine

nlerner

Well, you might want to know that the Semi Pro I had fit 650B x 38mm tires with no modification. A very smooth rider!

fleslider 

I will be subscribing to this thread,

I really like the Semi Pro's and wouldn't mind finding one myself. so depending on the Size and gugie. i would also be interested in it
@cdmurphy please keep us updated on your findings on the Miki SN decipher.

Also was the Centurion logo that was on the down tube , was it a decal or painted with disappearing ink? my 77 Protour has the Pro-Tour on the top tube but the centurion logo had disappeared..

cdmurphy

The original decals appear to have been some sort of waterslide, like what was used on model kits when we were kids. They are quite fragile, and seem to get rubbed off or otherwise ruined without much provocation. I did reproduce the graphics for the 76-78 models, and found a seller on ebay to make them in pretty durable vinyl. They're a bit thicker than original, but will look nice for a long time - especially if you clear over them.

fleslider 

@cdmurphy thanks for the clarification. i will have to do that when i get the Pro-Tour repainted (Paint was totally trashed) I see the one guy on the bay that has them and all of the other decals most which i need but i will still need to do a decal for the Pro Tour logo on the top tube.

On the Semi Pro front , the guy on the bay has the Semi Pro logo stickers

wawine

fleslider 

Man to small, need a 24" The search continues

cdmurphy

Yeah, those were from my files. I can probably whip up the necessary "Pro-Tour" file for you to send him. He was great to work with.

bikemig 

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. That is a good looking bike.

gugie 

@wawine, yeah, from your pic it looks like a 23". As @RobbieTunes notes, the Lotus Classique and Centurion Semipro are in the same league.
@nlerner, I'm riding 700c x 33.333's on my Classique, the vertical clearance on the fork blade just barely fits. I've got those same tires on my Zero Bike (Pro Tour), and they did ok going up Mt. Tam on Railroad Grade a few weeks ago with lots of ruts, exposed rocks and other crap.
@bikemig, if I can find a 24" Semi Pro or Classique, I'll buzz you about my 23" Classique...