Photos from Fellow Enthusiasts

次回、この記事の日本語版を投稿します。

Let's take a look at some photos recently sent in from other fellow vintage Japanese bicycle enthusiasts. 

First up is S-san from Hokkaido.  S-san is the proud owner of a few vintage Japanese bicycles and sent in photos of his Yamaguchi "Gold" bicycle.

Beautiful.
The condition is amazing, either stored very well or pieced together with NOS (New Old Stock) parts.
Either way she is a beauty. As you will note in some of the close-ups there is no sign of any wear anywhere!

In accordance with the model name "Gold" this bicycle has lots of gold accents.  Let's take a look at a few.  First is the gold colored fender ornament.  Don't see many in gold.

Head badge is gold.  Incidentally notice the registration badge.  Bicycles held the status of automobiles and where required to be registered and where taxed up until 1958.  A good clue when looking for, or trying to date, a bicycle is this registration tag.  However, the badge has seen some wear and tear which doesn't reflect the pristine condition of the bicycle and may have been added later. 

Gold bell.

Gold down tube.

Gold transfers. 

The gold pinstriping was applied by hand as is standard on bicycle from the 1950's.

The enamel paint on these bicycles is amazing.
The paint was applied over 50 years ago.  Obviously stored very well or tucked away and rediscovered and assembled as there doesn't appear to be a scratch on her.

The tag below was found inside the seat tube.
Wish they had included the year she was manufactured.

Zero sign of wear on the rubber block pedals, another reason to believe she was never ridden.  Never ceases to amaze me, the company logo on every part, right down to each rubber block on the pedals.  All to prove that the parts are genuine Yamaguchi.


The finish on the chrome and no wear on the celluloid grips are telltale signs that she wasn't ridden much, if at all.  Again we see the company logo on the grips.

Let's shift gears. Next we have another Yamaguchi, these photos courtesy of I-san.  I-san explains that this bicycle was just purchased in rideable condition as a restoration project and the photos taken while riding back to his home. 

A light carrier cycle these beasts were used as iron mules or iron horses.  These were workhorses so wear and tear only adds to their beauty. 


The bend on the top tube is typical on these beasts as well as the heavy duty stand in the rear.  These stands known as KIRAKU (気楽 = Easy going）stands are equipped with wheels to make it easy (possible?) to raise and lower the stand while fully loaded.

Nice shot, this ol'bicycle looks right at home with this background.

Many thanks to S-san and I-san for sharing photos of their beloved two wheeled buddies.   If you have photos of your vintage Japanese two wheeled buddy that you would like to share with fellow enthusiasts, send them to showajitensha@hotmail.co.jp along with a description.