Jan 14, 2012  Identify my bikes serial number? I just bought a Panasonic Sport 500 and would like to know more about it, but I can't find any relevant information based on the serial number. The serial number is formatted differently than anything I've been able to find on the internet. Thanks for the links. I have poke around the Panasonic Museum a bit. Friend got this bike from his father in law and he bought it new in 75, he thinks. The only numbers I can find that may be a serial number are stamped on the front plate and are 1278.

Miyata is a Japanese manufacturer of bicycles, unicycles and fire extinguishers. The company has been in operation since 1890. Miyata was also one of the first producers of motorcycles in Japan under the name Asahi. The Asahi AA was the first mass-produced motorcycle in Japan.^[1]

Miyata claims to have been the first Japanese manufacturer of flash-butt welded frame tubes (1946) and the first to use electrostatic painting (1950).^[2]

History

Miyata was founded by Eisuke Miyata, a gunsmith and engineer from Tokyo. In 1881, Eisuke opened a gun shop and factory in Shiba which he called Miyata Manufacturing, producing arms for the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1889, a foreigner visited Miyata to ask the gunmakers to repair his bicycle. The engineers repaired the bicycle, and the company began to repair bicycles as a side business. Eisuke's son, Eitarō, manufactured the first Miyata prototype bicycle in 1890, using rifle barrels produced at the family's factory. The early success of Miyata's bicycles was boosted by a request in 1892 from crown prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō) to build him a bicycle. Upon Eisuke's death on 6 June 1900 and with the market becoming flooded by foreign gun manufacturers, Eitarō converted the business entirely to bicycle manufacturing.^[1]:31–32

Many say Miyata pioneered triple butting, and revolutionized frame building techniques. The first Miyatas were bolt-upright town bikes. Over the decades, Miyata established a good foothold in the bicycle market, becoming contracted by multiple local brands to build their bicycles and ultimately attracting Panasonic Corporation to become a shareholder in 1959.^[3]

Panasonic Corporation, for a period the manufacturer of National and Panasonic brand bicycles, was Miyata's largest shareholder from 1959 until 2008, when it sold its remaining stake in Miyata.^[4]

Today

The Miyata brand still exists and, while it is no longer distributed in the United States, it remains popular in Europe under the Dutch 'Koga-Miyata' brand.^[5] As of 2008, there is limited availability of Koga-Miyata bicycles in North America.

Koga Miyata was a joint project. By A. Gaastra (Koga) and Miyata. The bikes are built in the Netherlands.

Koga-Miyata is a Dutch bicycle manufacturer, established in Heerenveen. Koga Miyata is nowadays part of the Accell Group. The company was founded by Andries Gaastra in the early 1970s. The addition of 'Miyata' to the acronym 'Koga' acknowledged the importance of the Japanese frame builder, with whom Gaastra cooperated.

Miyata has since reworked and reopened the Japanese factory but on a much smaller scale. Using the frame that won the a L’Alpe-d’Huez stage in the 1981 Tour de France, one can now order hand-built steel frames.

Miyata in the U.S.

Throughout the U.S. bike boom of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Miyata competed with American companies including Schwinn, Huffy, and Murray; European companies including Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecane— as well as other nascent Japanese brands including Nishiki, Fuji, Bridgestone, Centurion, Lotus and Univega— whose bikes were manufactured by Miyata.^[6] Japanese-manufactured bikes succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, leading companies to source bicycles from Taiwan. Miyata halted production and importation of the Japanese framed bike in 1987 and moved away from the traditional rifled tubing.

Models

Late 1970s to mid-1980s Miyata bikes have high-quality Japanese lugged steel frames and Shimano or Suntour components.^[7]

Miyata models carried numeric names (e.g., Miyata 710). By the late 1970s Miyata began using the same names, writing out the numeric names (e.g., Miyata Seven Ten).

Generally,^[8] 90 and 100 series were sports/entry level bicycles. 200 and 600 series and the 1000 model were touring bicycles, with the level of bicycle increasing with first digit in the series. In general, a 200 series touring bicycle would be roughly equivalent to a 300 series competition/fitness bicycle in terms of component levels, frame materials and value. 300, 400, 500, 700, 900 series were mid-range competition/fitness bicycles — with the level of quality increasing with first digit in the series. The top line, pro series bicycles were named non-numerically (e.g., Team Miyata and Pro Miyata). 1000 series and X000 series bicycles, with the notable exception of the 1000 touring model, were competition/fitness models with non-ferrous frames.

Often (but not always) the last two digits of the model number indicated the number of available gears, e.g., 912 was a 9-series 12 speed and a 914 was a 9 series 14 speed.

• Miyata 9x: This was the bottom of the range, entry-level model. Triple butted tubing, Shimano/Suntour entry-level components.
• Miyata 1xx: Low-level model aimed at the casual consumer. Chromoly triple-butted main tubes, hi-ten stays, toe clips/straps, available in both men's and mixte styles.
• Miyata 2xx: A popular lower-end touring model. 1984 catalogue indicated the 210 used straight-gauge tubing, Dia-Compe cantilever brakes and Shimano triple drive train. By 1985, the 210 featured triple-butted chromoly tubing in the frame, with a Mangalight fork. 1986 and later models used 700 wheels; earlier models used 27' wheels. Braze-ons on front and rear dropouts (no low-rider braze-ons in front), cantis front and rear, horizontal rear dropouts, one bottle braze-on, rear rack braze-ons, and flat-top fork crown. There were also special models such as the 215ST (both traditional and mixte styles).
• Miyata 3xx: A mid-range road bike model from the 'Semi-Pro' group, with Shimano 105 brakes, derailleurs, and shifters. The 105 was also shown with an arrow-like graphic. The Miyata 310/312 had a shorter wheelbase than the touring models, but with clearance for fenders and wider tires and is sometimes called a 'sport-touring' model (a comfortable model for day rides and commuting).^[9] Features included double- or triple-butted Cr-Mo tubing (depending on year), 525 Crown, SR CTD handlebars, and Araya rims. Earlier models had hi-tensile steel forks, but later forks were 'Mangalight' manganese alloy. Some years are equipped with an 'aero-style' shifters, mounted on a single brazed-on post on top of the down tube.
• Miyata 5xx Competition (part of the 'Semi-Pro' group): A higher-end road bike than the 310/312, with more 'aggressive' geometry.
• Miyata 6xx: A quality touring model, one step down from the 1000, with slightly different frame geometry and lower level components. Mid-1980s 610s have triple-butted splined Chromoly frame tubing, an unusually high quality tubing and construction for its price level. This bike is slightly lighter in weight than Trek 520/720 touring bikes, but of similar quality.
• Miyata 7xx: A mid- to high-end road bike from the 'Semi-Pro' group. Early models had Suntour parts, including an odd 3-wheel rear derailleur, possibly using the same frameset as the 910.
• Miyata 9xx: Miyata's high-end road bike from the 'Semi-Pro' group, with Shimano 600 components.
• Miyata 1000: Touring bike with splined, triple-butted Chromo tubing. Some report the 610 to be stiffer than the 1000. 1997 model had a mix of Shimano 600 and Deore XT parts (600 DT shifters, XT derailleurs). Noted bicycle authority, Sheldon Brown called the Miyata 1000 'possibly the finest off-the-shelf touring bike available at the time'.^[10] The 1000 was marketed in the U.S. from the late 1970s and marketed in North America until about 1993.
• Miyata 1400: A high-end road bike sold only as a 1989 model with Shimano 600 components. It was higher-end than the 914 that was sold in the same year. Unlike the aluminum 1400A, the 1400 used Miyata's CrMo triple-butted construction.
• Miyata Cross: A top-of-the-line 'cross' bikes (which included the Alumicross, Quickcross, Sportcross, and Triplecross). The Alumicross was introduced in the late 1980s with standard-size aluminum main tubes bonded to steel lugs and a Chromo fork. Seat and chain stays are steel, with the seat post binder bolt holding the seat stays to the seat post lug. The Quick, Sport, and Triplecross were triple-butted cromoly.
• Miyata Pro/Team/1200: These are the high-end race ready models (Team Miyata, Miyata Pro, etc.)

Serial numbers

The serial numbers for Miyata Bicycles Made in Japan Since 1972, according with the first letter on the serial number:^[11]

A 1972 B 1973 C1974 D1975 E1976 F 1977 G 1978 H 1979 I 1980 J 1981 K 1982 L 1983 M 1984 N 1985 O 1986 P 1987

Q 1988 R 1989 S 1990 T 1991 U 1992 V 1993 W 1994 X 1995 Y 1996 Z 1997

Unicycles

Although demand for Miyata unicycles outside Japan has diminished in recent years due to a wider range of quality unicycles becoming available, Miyatas were once considered to be a highly desirable unicycle because of their quality of manufacturing and well designed saddle during times when choice was often limited to expensive custom-made unicycles or extremely poor quality products sold in department stores. Miyata unicycles are now uncommon among non-Japanese riders due to the surging popularity of riding styles such as Muni (Mountain Unicycling) and Street/Trials riding, which Miyatas are largely unsuitable for, however Miyata is still the unicycle of choice in Japan where riders tend to be more interested in Freestyle riding and Artistic Unicycling, this coupled with the fact that unicycling is taught in Japanese schools as part of physical education has secured Miyata a continuing place in today's unicycle market.

Miyata currently manufacture a range of unicycles with wheel sizes ranging from 14 to 24inch, models are available for beginner and intermediate riders up to expensive high end cycles with carbon fibre frames. Miyata makes custom frames to order and also sells a five-foot Giraffe version of their popular Flamingo model.

See also

References

1. Alexander, Jeffrey W (2008). Japan's Motorcycle Wars: An Industry History. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. ISBN978-0-7748-1453-9.
2. ↑ 1981 Miyata catalog (USA)
3. ↑ 日本自動車百年史[100 years of Japanese History before Automobile] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 17, 2010.
4. ↑ 'Panasonic to Sell Stake in Bicycle Maker Miyata'. Japancorp.net. Panasonic Corp. has agreed to sell its 40.69 pct stake in bicycle maker Miyata Industry Co. to fire engine maker Morita Holdings Corp. officials at the Japanese electronics maker said Wednesday. Morita, which acquired 10 pct of Miyata in 2001, will buy Panasonic's holdings in a tender offer. Panasonic, Miyata's largest shareholder, has been supporting the company's turnaround effort since its 1959 equity participation. In the tender offer set for Thursday through Nov. 7, Morita will buy Miyata shares for 205 yen apiece. Miyata could be delisted from the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange as Morita has no upper limit on the number of Miyata shares it will buy.
5. ↑ Koga-Miyata
6. ↑ RoadBike Review's Forum Archives
7. ↑ Miyata Info
8. ↑ Miyata Hierarchy at bikeforums.net
9. ↑ http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/andy0325/DSCN0686.jpg
10. ↑ 'Japanese Bicycles in the U.S. Market' by Sheldon Brown
11. ↑ http://vintagemiyatabicycles.blogspot.com/2010/07/miyata-bicycles-serial-numbers.html

External links

Nishiki is a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by West Coast Cycle in the United States, initially manufactured by Kawamura Cycle Co. in Kobe, Japan, and subsequently by Giant of Taiwan. The bicycles were first marketed under the American Eagle brand beginning in 1965^[1] and later under the Nishiki brand until 2001.

Throughout the U.S. bike boom of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Nishiki and West Coast Cycle competed with domestic companies including Schwinn, Huffy, and Murray; European companies including Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecane—as well as other nascent Japanese brands including Miyata, Fuji, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Univega, Lotus and Centurion—itself a line of Japanese-manufactured bicycles that were specified, distributed and marketed by Western States Imports (WSI), a U.S. company similar to West Coast Cycle. Japanese-manufactured bikes succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, leading companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.

As of 2013, Nishiki Europe markets bicycle models in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In 2010, Dick's Sporting Goods acquired the licensing rights to the Nishiki brand for the U.S. market and began marketing Nishiki-branded bicycles and accessories.^{[citation needed]}

• 1History

History[edit]

West Coast Cycle and the Cohens[edit]

Trek Bicycle Serial Number Lookup

West Coast Cycle was founded by Leo Cohen Sr. and RosaBelle Cohen^[2][3] who had previously been partners in Wheel Goods Corporation in Minneapolis, later moving to Los Angeles in 1946 to purchase an existing retail bicycle store, Atlas Cycle, renaming it Playrite Bicycle Supply Co.. The Cohens subsequently founded a bicycle, parts and accessory distribution company in the late 1950s, naming it West Coast Cycle Supply Company. They operated the company — widely known as West Coast Cycle (or WCC) — with their daughter Louise and sons Leo Jr. and Howie (Howard Sherwin Cohen). Howie Cohen subsequently took over the business, followed by his brother.^[1]

When Cohen Sr. died in 1963, Howie Cohen traveled to Japan to find new sources for bicycles,^[1] and especially, a Japanese bicycle factory capable of producing high quality bikes that would be welcomed by U.S. independent bike dealers and the bicycling community; bicycles that would be able to compete with American and European-built bicycles.

After visiting over 60 bicycles factories over a period of six weeks, Cohen turned to Kawamura Cycles. Kawamura had produced quality bicycles for the Japan domestic market, but at the directive of their overseas buyers, had produced lower-quality, lower-priced bicycles for the U.S. market, for example, under the brand name 'Royce Union.'

Cohen also created working relationships with Japanese bicycle parts manufacturers including Asahi, Araya, Dia-Compe, Kashima, Kusuki, Kyokuto (KKT), Mikashima (MKS), Mitsuboshi, Taihei, Sanshin, Shimano, Sugino, Takagi, Suntour and others.^[1] Cohen travelled to Japan 8-10 times per year while developing his brands (American Eagle, Nishiki, Azuki and CyclePro).

Cohen placed his initial order for 570 bikes with Kawamura, selling them under the American Eagle brand.^[1] WCC sold tens of thousands of American Eagle bikes^[1] before changing the name — when a customer suggested it was disingenuous to put such an American-sounding name on a Japanese product.^[1]

WCC wanted a new, Japanese name that was easy to pronounce, with an inoffensive translation — and a name not easily mispronounced for comic or derisive effect. Cohen held a contest with Kawamura factory workers for Japanese names, choosing Nishiki for WCC's primary, nationwide line of bikes (after Saga Nishiki and the gold Nishiki thread often woven into wedding kimonos) — and Azuki for the secondary bicycle line (after the sweetened, red Azuki bean), using the chrysanthemum as the Azuki logo.

A second line allowed WCC to market essentially identical bikes through more than a single dealership in a sales territory. Louisville Cycle & Supply (Louisville, KY) were sub-distributors for both brands in the Southeast, and Pettee Cycle (Denver, CO) were sub-distributors of both brands in Colorado and surrounding states. Kawamura trademarked both names for the Japanese Domestic Market and Europe, WCC trademarked the brands for the USA. Early promotional material for American Eagle and Nishiki lines often carried the tagline 'KB Bicycles' or simply 'KB' — signifying 'Kawamura-Built.' WCC continued also to market the bicycle brands of Mundo, Caloi, Windsor, Zeus, and Mondia.

Howie Cohen served as President of WCC from 1965 until his retirement in 1976,^[1] with WCC subsequently operated by his brother, Leo Jr. and outside investors. Through the 1980s WCC continued to sell Nishiki bikes produced by Kawamura. International currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made Japanese-manufactured bicycles far more expensive and less competitive in the United States, leading WCC to move Nishiki production to Giant of Taiwan. Leo Cohen and his associates later sold West Coast Cycle to Medalist — with Derby International eventually acquiring the rights from West Coast Cycle to market bikes under the Nishiki brand in the United States.

Panasonic Bicycle Serial Number Lookup By State

After manufacture of Nishiki bikes shifted to Giant, Kawamura continued manufacturing bicycles for the Japanese and European markets (including private label bikes for Takara, Schwinn, and others), to be subsequently acquired by the sporting goods company Mizuno.

Howie Cohen later founded the company Everything Bicycles, working with Kuwahara to build and import BMX bikes carrying the Kuwahara brand name, developing the first major BMX distributorship^[4] — and ultimately supplying Kuwahara bicycles for the 1982 movie E.T. and securing the right to market the 'ET Bicycle.'^[1] To make the Kuwahara brand name a household word, Cohen ran a promotion giving free stickers to children who called a toll-free phone number and could correctly pronounce the brand name.^[1] In 1989, Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company.^[2] In 1992, Cohen returned to the bicycle industry to assist the Gary Fisher bike brand^[4] — 18 months later brokering the acquisition of Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes by Trek Bicycle Corporation.^[4]

Cohen later worked as a consultant in the bicycle industry for several companies, including Rotor Componentes of Spain, ^[4] and subsequently retired from Lomita, California^[5] to Colorado where he and his wife, Kay (Kay Piercy Guithues Cohen)^[5] catalogued his collection of bicycling memorabilia and maintained his website, HowieBikeMan.com.

When Howie Cohen died on July 11, 2013, Bicycle Retailer said he was 'a hugely influential figure in developing the U.S. BMX market and arguably the first person to bring high-quality Asian-made bikes to America.'^[4] retired from Lomita, California^[6]

Derby[edit]

From 1989 through 2001, Derby International marketed bikes in the United States under the Nishiki as well as Univega and Raleigh brand names. Some of the all terrain bikes and mountain bike models were designed in partnership with famed mountain bike designer and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member R. Cunningham and have his name on the frames. These Nishiki models, though manufactured outside Japan (e.g., in Taiwan, by Giant Bicycles and possibly in Italy by Colnago, Olmo or Viner) often carried the name Nashiki and some of the same model names as had been used on the Kuwahara-built bicycles.^[7] The brand name Nishiki was retired by Derby in 2001 in North America.^[8] As of 2010, Nishiki-branded bicycles, manufactured by Accell Group were available for sale again in the U.S. at Dick's Sporting Goods. Dick's had obtained licensing rights to the Nishiki Bike brand in the U.S.

Currently (2013), Nishiki Europe, an unrelated group of European distributors markets bicycle models in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Nishiki bikes had previously been also marketed in Norway, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Estonia.

Models[edit]

• Apache
• Aero, Aero II
• Alamosa
• Alouette
• Alien
• Anasazi
• Ariel
• Arrow Speed
• Arroyo
• Barbarian
• Backroads
• Blazer
• Bombardier
• Bushwhaker
• Carrera
• Cascade
• Century
• Cervino (possibly uncataloged)
• Citi Sport
• Colorado
• Comp, Comp II and Comp III
• Competition
• Continental
• Custom Sport
• Cresta
• Crossroads
• Expedition (made in Taiwan)
• Gran Sport
• Gran Tour 15 (probable precursor to Ultra Tour 18)
• International (earlier named Kokusai)
• Katmandu
• Kodiak
• Kokushi (later renamed International)
• Landau
• Linear
• Maricopa
• Manitoba
• Marina
• Maxima (possibly uncataloged, frame only)
• Medalist
• Meridian
• Modulus
• Mountain
• NFS Alpha
• NFS Beta
• NFS Altron
• Odyssey
• Olympiad (American Eagle)
• Olympic, Olympic Royal
• Prestige
• Professional
• Pueblo
• Race Master
• Rally
• Regal
• Riviera
• Road Compe
• Road Master
• Rockhound
• Royale
• Safari
• Saga (Cunningham Design drop bar ATB)
• Sebring
• Seral
• Semi-Pro (American Eagle)
• Sport, Custom Sport
• sTORM
• Stony Point (mountain bike)
• Super-five
• Superbe
• Team Issue
• Timbuk
• Tri-A
• Triathlon
• Trim Master
• Ultimate
• Ultima (possibly uncatalogued)
• Ultra Tour (uncatalogued, possibly specified by one store in Southern California, USA)
• Ultra Tour 18 (probable successor to Gran Tour 15)
• Westwood

Serial Numbers[edit]

Serial Numbers for Nishiki bikes were decoded by Tom Marshall, Canadian engineer, racer and runner, using a trial and error database methodology.

Kawamura manufactured frames (1972–1987): These frames used a serial number XYZZZZZ format where:

• X is the market (C = Canada (pre-1985) K = USA (pre 1985) W = USA (1985–1987)).
• Y is the last digit of the manufacturing calendar year (A =1, B = 2, C = 3… J = 0. Exception is letter S, used on all frames prior to 1975).
• ZZZZZ is a five or six digit number, possibly representing a sequential frame manufacturing number for the year (or era in the case of pre 1975 frames).

Example 1: KA24587 is the 24,587th frame produced in 1981 for the US market

Example 2: CG23117 is the 23,117th frame produced in 1977 for the Canadian market

Example 3: WE54612 is the 54,612th frame produced in 1985 for the US market

Giant manufactured frames (1980-1986*): With a date code generally stamped on the dropout on the drive side of the bike, these frames used a two part serial number in a G MM YY format, where:

• G = Giant.
• MM = month (01 = Jan, 02 = Feb, etc.).
• YY = year (80 = 1980, 81 = 1981, etc.).

Example: G0384 is a Giant-manufactured frame from March 1984

See also[edit]

• Giant Manufacturing - Giant was the original equipment manufacturer for Nishiki of Japan for several years.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdefghij'A lifetime in the Bicycle Industry, Howie Cohen'. Bicycle Industry and Retailer News, Steve Frothingham, August 1, 1999.
2. ^ ^ab'Bicycles in his blood'. Kickstand Magazine, James Burrus, August 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010.
3. ^'Southern California Retrospective'. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Jason Norman, 5/29/2009.
4. ^ ^abcde'Early BMX Pioneers'. American Bicycle Association BMX. Archived from the original on 2008-08-16.
5. ^ ^ab'Bicycles Appear Everywhere in Collectors Home'. The NewsPress, December 8, 1989.
6. ^'Beloved industry figure Howie Cohen, 74, dies'. Bicycle Retailer, July 12, 2013.
7. ^A Nishiki History
8. ^Japanese Bicycles in the U.S. Market

External links[edit]

• Official Website for the European company (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden)