rossiny

does any one happen to know whether this model Voyageur was made in USA or Japan. Opinions? Which is better made , same etc? Thanks

cb400bill

Japan

rossiny

This was made in Japan ?

polymorphself 

I thought the Chicago head badge ones were made in Chicago. That being said, it’s more or less the same frame and spec etc as the 86 and 87’s that were made in Japan by Panasonic. Columbus Tenax frame.

I could be wrong about the headbadge thing though. Check for a “made in Japan” sticker on the bottom of the seat tube.

cb400bill

Schwinn closed the Chicago plant in 1982.

rossiny

yes , but I read they had a plant in Mississippi for a few more years.

Lascauxcaveman 

They did. But the Voyageur wasn't one of the models they made there. It's a Panasonic-built bike.

rossiny

thanks for info. Reason I'm asking I have a vintage Schwinn Passage and considering a Voyageur also that's for sale , however it looks very similar except for the eyelets for the low mount on the fork .

rossiny

Here's the Passage

Very similiar lugs and seat stays , Columbus Tenax sticker, both my bike and the Voyageur I am looking at do not say made in Japan. The head badge says Schwinn Chicago ..

justcynn

I have the same bike, this is either an 88 or possibly a carryover to 89. There should be a date stamp on the head badge (mine is missing the date). As others have said, these are Panasonic built frames from Japan and I believe assembled in Japan. Mine is believed to be original but doesn't have the exact build described in the catalogue, I have read Schwinn was building bikes with parts available by this time frame. For example, mine is a 5 speed freewheel instead of a 6 but looks very, very original.

as far as the Passage - that was an 86. Some say they had some carry over to '87 though but very uncommon. That was one step below the Voyageur. In '85, the Le Tour Luxe was the entry level, which became the Passage in '86. Also in 85 you had the standard voyageur and then the Voyageur SP (top of the line)

from what you have described, I would go for the voyageur, presents well Love the color (not as big a fan of the Passage, had one and I think it was a dark blue?).

There are a lot of enthusiasts and posts specific to this model.

Good luck

justcynn

I have researched this before, in 1986- this article claims 7 of 14 "lightweight" models were made in Greenville MS. Traveler, LeTour, Passage, Prelude, Madison, Tempo and Super Sport. So a very good chance the Passage you are considering was made in the USA

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/gr...cycles.172362/

rossiny

thanks for the great info. I already have the grey Passage . I am looking at an emerald green and a forest green one. We'll see . Its hard turning down minty touring bikes for me 🥸🙄🤓

justcynn

ha ha, same. I guess I collect tourers

1980 Voyageur Chrome 11.8 (x2)
1985 - bought a New Old Stock Voyageur frame in Wine Red, actually shipped to me in the original box that it came from in Japan in 1985. Current project. The plan is this to be the primary all arounder
1985 - Voyageur SP, bought for my wife, but mostly cause it was nice- she may never enjoy it - not minty but nice
1987 - Voyageur ($50 basket case, still bought it for parts and some of those parts are coming in handy for the '85 NOS build.
1988 or '89 Voyageur (Emerald). In '88 was supposed to be Biopace, mine isn't. Thinking its a carryover to '89 and has a mismatch of parts including 105 shift levers. MINTY
1985 LeTour Luxe Only bought cause it was MINTY and part of the package with the Emerald Voyageur. Gorgeous Cocoa Metallic
1987 Trek 520 Cirrus MINTY

I tried to part with some of these in the sale forum, but I didn't try too hard. They aren't keeping my family from meeting our monthly budget needs and I just plain like them.

rossiny

Yes when you compare to a car restoration$$, this hobby is almost self sustaining. You can always sell off the bikes and start other projects ,, at least break even

Hummer

This looks like a 1988 Voyageur and they were made in Greenville, MS. The serial number will be on the bottom bracket. It will start with a letter, followed by six digits. The first digit will be the year of frame manufacture.

If this were a Panasonic build from the mid 1980s the serial number would be on the lower head tube lug. In the pictures, I do not see a serial number on the lug. From my research, 1986 was the last year for Panasonic built Voyageur models.

machinist42

Well now that is curious.

My recently acquired Schwinn Voyageur bears the serial 0E01901 on the lower front portion of its head lug, which is consistent with a Panasonic (MATSU****A/NATIONAL) build from May of 1990. All the components, paint and decals match the 1990 Catalog Specifications.

rossiny

thanks again for the info. I guess was the USA built one as goid as the Panasonic, Japanese made one.

Hummer

Thank-you. You are correct and I stand corrected. I have not seen a 1990 Voyageur before. I have seen other 1990 Schwinn models made by Panasonic.

The 1987 and 1988 model year Voyageur were made in Greenville.

justcynn

thanks for the info, the number on the bottom bracket of the one I have is J806783, indicating the '88, the confusing part is many of the parts are different than the '88 Spec Sheet. True they could have been changed/replaced but this bike is so clean and not ridden in 30 years so doesnt seem likely- seems more likely they built my bike with what was available, maybe even introducing it as an '89 model. Mine DOES NOT have the date stamp on the head badge as it typically would. Have you seen an '89's or heard of Schwinn using different parts, this seems more likely coming from Greenvile than Japan. Thanks for the clarification

squarenoise 

Confirming some of the comments above. I had a 1990 Voyageur, not original parts, but definitely had a made in Japan sticker on the downtube, serial number on the head tube lug, and "Schwinn Quality" headbadge. I didn't appreciate it enough, then regretted selling it, but then picked up a 1987 model. That one has the serial number on the bottom bracket, no made in japan sticker and "Schwinn Chicago" headbadge.

Hummer

Hi, thanks for posting the serial number. This is a Greenville format serial number. The letter J at the start, is for the month of manufacture. Month 10 or October. Because the frame was manufactured late in 1988 the bicycle is probably a 1989 model year.

The parts on the bicycle will most likely conform to the the 1989 model year. I hope that helps to explain any confusion.

justcynn

thanks for the info, that clears it up!

The Golden Boy 

All kinds of ways to look at this. I would take a Passage over an 80-82/83 Voyageur, beyond that, the Voyageur was (theoretically) a better frame and a better bike.

IMO- without going into politics and economics- Panasonic had years of corporate experience and a labor force experienced in building modern bicycles, however, technology changed a lot from 85-91.

IMO- the Emerald Green was the most luxurious color of all the Voyageurs.

IMO- The 2 Voyageurs I've owned have had a much different feel compared to contemporary Trek tourers- a more steep seat tube and a shorter top tube. If you're swapping between the 2 it takes a few miles to get used to- but there's no "better" about it- it's just different.

Sandro has his site with his comparison chart back up (I hope all is well Sandro!)- this thing is gold.

https://sandro.knot.org/wp-content/u...comparison.pdf


I read something about the last bike made on the Greenville line was a Voyageur- it went to a manager of the plant. One day the guy's kid took the the bike to school and it got stolen... The historic last bike from the Greenville Schwinn plant got stolen like an ordinary bike.