Santuri32

There are some threads mentioning that early 80s Panasonic have a four number headbadge code in which the first three are indicative of the year calendar day (Julian, 0-365) and the last indicates the years last digit. I got a bike that departs from that format in that the first three exceed 365. Has anyone has an idea of what this mean?

dedhed

What number are you reading? Picture?

Santuri32

The bike is their first ATB 1984 model year with serial indicating August 1984 frame build (4H) but headbadge as you can see in the picture is 6124, the headbadge is the correct one for 1983-84 bikes as it change in later so it cannot be 1986 Julian day 124.

Santuri32

This is the bike model

Santuri32

Close up of

headbadge

Vintage_Cyclist

Head badge #7147, from a now departed 1978 Panasonic Sports 1000.

Santuri32

Another one. Could it be as simple as a direct date with the format mddy? Yours being July 14th 1977.

Vintage_Cyclist

The serial number from the bike (left rear dropout) was 8B10892, which indicates a February 1978 build. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ber-guide.html

To be honest, I never even noticed the code on that old head badge. It's been hanging with the tools above the bench for years now. I see a few references to the date code theory you referenced out on the web, but it seems not to be accurate. Could be a case of someone just speculating about something and it getting repeated around the web as fact. The stamped serial number on the frame should be the definitive record.

Santuri32

That could be the case. If ours were from Schwinn it would not make any sense since head badge (assembled day) happened after the frame had been made. In our Panasonic bikes it must mean something else.

Santuri32

Since this is not clear, could forum members share some more coded badges on their Panasonic bikes. Here some I found.


2051 - 1981

2061 - 1981

4208 - 1978

4248 - 1978

Santuri32

0277 - 1977

Maybe 8523 - 1983

sometime Pre-1977- no code

above Post-84 - no code

Santuri32

Panasonic began exporting bikes to USA in 1971, at least mid-70 bikes used the tall square aluminum headbadges until some time in 1977-8, when these changes to the flat aluminum badges. I found coded badges from 1977 to 1984. Judging by what I have in hand the code may represent something like nWWY, and at least not always DDDY as suggested by some fans of Panasonic bikes. Does edge color indicates bike quality (Gold, Silver, Bronze?) or something else. I know... this forensic head badge science .
In the case it is nWWY (WW, built week and notice highest may be 52), n may not be a month due redundancy and since there is no month 0. It may represent a batch but again would there be a batch 0. I'm just guessing ahead of findings.

I appreciate any contribution and your interest.

Santuri32

I found two examples of other 1984 bikes with the golden head badge edge so it seems it was an 1984 detail, one is a DX 4000 the other is a Sports 1000 that although it had a 4B serial indicating Feb 1984 the head badge seems to end in five (n185). Every other 1985 bike I have seen moved from this headbadge type to the next.

Hummer

Hello @Santuri32,

I know this thread is older, but I have been away from bikeforums.net for a while so I am just catching up.

Good work collecting all the Panasonic date codes. I have been collecting these date codes for a while and here is my suggestion as to how they might be decoded. You have suggested this earlier in the thread:
Position 1: month
Positions 2 and 3: day of the month
Position 4: year

How can Position 1 show October, November, and December, if it is only digits?

In Position 1 I have seen the letter "Y" and "Z". I would suggest that the letters X, Y, and Z represent the months October, November, and December. Or possibly the digit 0 is for October, I have not seen a "0" or "X" in that position.

Edit: I have seen a "0" in Position 1. So I assume this is month 10 or October. So the letter "X" is probably not a possibility.

For the year I may have seen one as early as 1975, but it was an unclear image. The range of year, as you have seen, includes 1977 to 1984.

I have not seen date codes on the 1985 model year headbadges. After 1985 there is a decal on the head tube and not a headbadge.

The month code does not always align very well with the month letter in the serial number. I have no good explanation of this. This casts doubt upon this interpretation of the date code.

Santuri32

Hi,
I have been away as well. I have left my guessing at the above as I was hoping more data from other forum members that were interested, so thank you. I can suggest that if you find catalog correct bikes with headbadges that begin with 0, Y, and Z to check the equipment to see if they align with whichever catalog. Components are often date coded as well these together with a frame stamp if available could confirm 0=Oct, Y=Nov, Z=Dec which sounds probable. November and December are months when manufacturers release the next year bikes, to me Y and Z make sense to indicate on the year for their sequence, now for that same reason 0 may be either before 1 and it will be good to investigate if 0 and 1 represented the start of the next model year bike made on the last two months of the previous calendar year, so a weird alternative is that 0=Nov, 1=Dec, Y=Sept, Z=October; however, I do like your alternative better...just throwing it out there.

Cheers and good luck, I may explore this on my own but have never seen badges starting with 0, Y, or Z yet.

Hummer

There is a Panasonic Touring on ebay with a badge code that starts with "0".

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175461304196

CO_Hoya 

FWIW, I have a 1984 Panasonic Pro-Touring (s/n 4B10xxx), dated as per frame appearance, equipment (catalog link)




Head badge looks like it is stamped "Z163", which would translate to Dec-16, 1983 per above discussion. That'd be about right.



The edge looks gold to me, but I'm color-blind so I'm not really sure.