10/30/2022 0 Comments Nishiki serial number database bike![]() WCC sold tens of thousands of American Eagle bikes before changing the name - when a customer suggested it was disingenuous to put such an American-sounding name on a Japanese product. H.Tano to KawamuraĬohen placed his initial order for 570 bikes with Kawamura, selling them under the American Eagle brand. Katsu Okuno, Higesan`s nephew lived in the Cohen`s home for several months while studying the American bicycle market. There were many staff members with whom Howie worked with over the years, a few of which were: Atsu Sawada, Ikutaki-san, Katchan, and others. Howie stayed in the Kawamura residence for weeks at a time. Higesan was a wise gentleman and took Howie under his wing and taught him much about the production of bicycles. The spirit and passion of Higesan and his staff convinced Howie to work closely with this firm. Howie thought this factory would be able to produce high quality bicycles. Howie met Mr Yukio Kawamura (aka Higesan because of his long standing mustache) in 1964 at which time he visited the factory for the first time. Kawamura Cycles (aka Kawamura Sangyo Co., Ltd.) was the initial (original) maker of American Eagle and Nishiki brand bicycles. Marui opened a USA office under the name Oriental Boeki, located in Glendale, CA Rio`s son, Shinji, worked in this office with Mark Pippin. Marui developed and owns the Tioga line of components & parts. When WCC found it necessary for Howie to move & live in Japan, Marui was extremely helpful in loaning Howie`s family some furniture for the rented house in Kobe. Marui was an exporter and exported one expensive model of an American Eagle bicycle along with many different Japanese components to WCC. Howie worked closely with Rio Marui, Sammy Shigemura & Ed Yokohama. Cohen travelled to Japan 8-10 times per year while developing his brands (American Eagle, Nishiki, Azuki and CyclePro). There are still many very fine Japanese bicycles available on the used market, and this article is intended as a guide to them.Ĭohen also created working relationships with many other Japanese bicycle parts manufacturers including, Asahi, Araya, Dia-Compe, Kashima, Kusuki, Kyokuto (KKT), Mikashima (MKS), Mitsuboshi, Taihei, Sanshin, Shimano, Sugino, Takagi, Suntour and others. Market today, due to unfavorable currency exchange rates. Japanese bicycles are often of very fine quality, but few are available in the U.S. ![]() In 1989, Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company. #NISHIKI SERIAL NUMBER DATABASE BIKE FREE#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. Derby Manufactured Frames (1989-1992.) Circa 1989, Nishiki was acquired by Derby International, which also owned Raleigh and some manufacturing was done at their Kent, Washingtion facility. The serial number format appears to started in 1987 and is known to extend beyond 1989 on Giant brandede models, though no Nishiki examples have been reported, to date. If the frame was made overseas in Taiwan, it gets more complicated. The last four digits are the serialization digits 0000 to 9999 depending on what number the frame was of the years production. The first four numbers should be a two digit month followed by a two digit year. The next part of the serial number is eight numeric digits. This SN form is for frames/bikes made in the U.S. According to the Trek-provided SN list, this corresponds to a 22' (22.5') Model 400 frame made in 1983. ![]() The SN was located on the bottom of the bottom bracket. These bikes were produced by Sakai Bicycle Co (Mr. Howie purchased Premium brand Hi-Riser bikes using H. ![]() He wanted bicycles that would be able to compete with American and European-built bicycles. independent bike dealers and the bicycling community. died in 1963, Howie Cohen traveled to Japan to find new sources for bicycles, especially, a Japanese bicycle factory capable of producing high quality bikes that would be welcomed by U.S.
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