Shogun Appreciation Society

[casey.h]

Hi all

I have a 1990 Prairie Breaker Team issue in really good condition I'm thinking of selling,
it has the white, green & purple paint scheme. only non original parts are the saddle, tyres & grips
what do you think is a fair asking price

Do you still have this bike? If you are in Melbourne I will gladly take it off your hands!

[ameobob]

Edit: Not a Shogun. Carry on!

I recently acquired this little guy in desperate need of some TLC. It looks to me like possibly 70s, anyone have better ideas on the year? I assume it's Shogun, but I can't find Shogun explicitly printed anywhere. All of the components have the Suntour/Maeda/DiaCompe branding, except the whole crankset which looks to be after-market, and the seat which has obviously been replaced with something hideous. These pics are in its original state, since then I've cleaned up all the componentry and re-packed the headset and bottom-bracket. Once I get it all finished I can post some follow-up pictures TIA!

Frame
Badge
Decal 1
Decal 2
BB S/N

[familyguy]

I recently acquired this little guy in desperate need of some TLC. It looks to me like possibly 70s, anyone have better ideas on the year? I assume it's Shogun, but I can't find Shogun explicitly printed anywhere. All of the components have the Suntour/Maeda/DiaCompe branding, except the whole crankset which looks to be after-market, and the seat which has obviously been replaced with something hideous. These pics are in its original state, since then I've cleaned up all the componentry and re-packed the headset and bottom-bracket. Once I get it all finished I can post some follow-up pictures TIA!

Frame
Badge
Decal 1
Decal 2
BB S/N

Not sure it's a Shogun. Solid bike boom era stuff. The head badge is pretty cool, regardless.

Doesn't fit with the Shogun serial numbers as outlined here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vint ... guide.html

But, some info on a 'Samurai' branded bike here, with a serial listed that matches the format of yours: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vint ... -what.html

Some of the parts may have date codes on them, which can be narrowed to a year. Both Shimano and Suntour do this, with date code info:
Shimano - http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Japan/ ... _codes.htm
Suntour- http://velobase.com/ViewBrand.aspx?Bran ... 9e6&From=T


Jim

[ameobob]

Thanks for the info Jim! I had a look at the date codes and it all looks like probably early 70s era stuff. I wasn't sure if it was Shogun or not, but figured if anyone knew, it would be the folks on this thread. Anyway, thanks for helping me pin down the year!

Brake arms - 610? 5583?
Rear Derailleur - 4532?
Rear Derailleur again - PE: May 1973?
Freewheel - PJ: Oct 1973?

[familyguy]

Yep, I'd say that 1973 fits the bill. Sometimes stores had last years date code parts, but it wouldn't have happened a lot with bike boom gear as it was almost out the door as fast as they could assemble it.

Suntour GT, seems to have only been produced 1972-1973: http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=18

DiaCompe 610 brakes: http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 7&AbsPos=4

[10speedsemiracer]

Am also not sure this is a Shogun, but am wondering if it's an Atami Samurai.
A very small brand in the early 70s Bike boom window, although the headbadge is different to other examples. The only headbadge I've found have an image of Mt Fuji and some sort of character beneath.. The components fit though, except for the cotterless crank, which I'm guessing is a much later fitment.

That SunTour GT rear mech is a variation/of similar ilk to the SunTour Seven and SunTour Honor derailleurs and is good stuff.

A similar Atami bike :

[ballantynedewolf]

I'm rebuilding my Katana (flouro orange, natch) which has been under the house in bits for 15 years.
Can anyone advise the fattest 700c tyres it will take?
I've found to my cost that it won't take 700c x 32 (32 - 622)

[Eug1]

I'm rebuilding my Katana (flouro orange, natch) which has been under the house in bits for 15 years.
Can anyone advise the fattest 700c tyres it will take?
I've found to my cost that it won't take 700c x 32 (32 - 622)

My '96 Katana can only fit up to 25mm tyres. I had to use a dremel to grind out some welding on the front fork to make it fit. Otherwise it would have been 23mm.

[10speedsemiracer]

I'm rebuilding my Katana (flouro orange, natch) which has been under the house in bits for 15 years.
Can anyone advise the fattest 700c tyres it will take?
I've found to my cost that it won't take 700c x 32 (32 - 622)

I've gotten 28mm Vittoria under an early 90s Samurai, but 28mm was the max. But maybe not Conti 28mm ('cos they sit fatter than 28mm).

[MattyK]

One for posterity, a friend's Shogun Samurai I've just refurbished.



New tyres (Conti GP, 25c, biggest I thought would fit)
New tubes
New rim tape
New brakes (Promax dual pivot, replaced rusty single pivots)
New bar tape
New cables
New cassette (8 speed, 11-28, used to have a 12-21! We're not as young as we used to be...)
New chain
New bottom bracket
New saddle
New (old) pedals (shiny PD-5700, not shown but they look shmick)

Full cleanout of the shifters (frozen solid)
Cleaned ~20 years of grime off everything (half of that with a toothbrush)
Polished all the shiny bits. A bit of filing and sanding needed on the shifters to smooth out the crash damage.
Trued the wheels.

Didn't touch the headset or the wheel bearings as they seemed OK.

About $350 in costs (plus time and effort). Looks good in the sunshine.

[10speedsemiracer]

Very nice MattyK.

Rx100 ?

I have this exact same frame, but smaller.

[MattyK]

Bit of a mix.
RX100 shifters.
RSX rear D.
300EX front D.

Yes he is a tall lad! 60cm frame, 195?cm rider

[skippa]

Hey all,

Just posted the old Apollo I picked up on the weekend over at Apollophiles, but here is my other pickup, a 1980s (I think?) Shogun Katana triple triangle. So far have just replaced the tires and tubes and given her a clean.
Saw this pop up on Marketplace and having seen coldst's Katana looking so nice I had to grab it!

Already enjoying this bike and hoping to hold onto it, but I'm concerned about the rust spots that are present near the lugs, BB, dropouts and tubes. It all seems like surface rust but for longevity I would like to fix it up to avoid further damage.
I love the paint that's left though, so I don't really want to repaint it.
I've had a look on here for spot rust advice and I couldn't really come to a conclusion for best practice on the forum... Any suggestions?
Are these frames generally regarded as somewhat decent for the period?
The saddle seems like leather and has ITALIA on the back but I can't figure out what the brand name is.

Any suggestions appreciated! Oh, and yeah, it came with the aero bars Maximum speed maximum style right?

[P!N20]

I've had a look on here for spot rust advice and I couldn't really come to a conclusion for best practice on the forum... Any suggestions?

You could drop a bit of rust converter on the rust spots then touch up with paint. That's only if you don't want to see the rust though. Another option is some fish oil on the rust spots, which should stop them getting any worse - no paint though.

Are these frames generally regarded as somewhat decent for the period?

Absolutely! Shogun triple triangles are quite desirable and getting harder to get in good condition (especially in that size) - so that's a good find.

That frame is a lot bigger than the Apollo which you said was a good size - is it too big?

[10speedsemiracer]

<snip>

Absolutely! Shogun triple triangles are quite desirable and getting harder to get in good condition (especially in that size) - so that's a good find.

That frame is a lot bigger than the Apollo which you said was a good size - is it too big?

Nice try Pinz.

[P!N20]

Nice try Pinz.

Ha ha, too big for me.

[P!N20]

The saddle seems like leather and has ITALIA on the back but I can't figure out what the brand name is.

It's a Selle Italia Mundialita - nice saddle, probably not original.

[skippa]

I've had a look on here for spot rust advice and I couldn't really come to a conclusion for best practice on the forum... Any suggestions?

You could drop a bit of rust converter on the rust spots then touch up with paint. That's only if you don't want to see the rust though. Another option is some fish oil on the rust spots, which should stop them getting any worse - no paint though.

Are these frames generally regarded as somewhat decent for the period?

Absolutely! Shogun triple triangles are quite desirable and getting harder to get in good condition (especially in that size) - so that's a good find.

That frame is a lot bigger than the Apollo which you said was a good size - is it too big?

Thanks for the advice!
It actually is on the larger side for me I think. I've dropped the seatpost a fair bit now but haven't had the chance to go on a proper ride with it yet so time will tell if it's too large (I don't have any experience with traditional bike sizing so not really sure what my baseline measurements are).

My (probably dodgy) measurements seem to indicate that the top tube is 1cm shorter than the Apollo but the seat tube is 1-1.5cm taller than the Apollo. The downtubes were extremely similar in length.
It's definitely not a perfect fit as I've got only about 8cm of seatpost showing? Hard to compare coming from a modern compact frame though. I'll just have to ride it and find out.

[familyguy]

Hey all,

Just posted the old Apollo I picked up on the weekend over at Apollophiles, but here is my other pickup, a 1980s (I think?) Shogun Katana triple triangle. So far have just replaced the tires and tubes and given her a clean.
Saw this pop up on Marketplace and having seen coldst's Katana looking so nice I had to grab it!

Already enjoying this bike and hoping to hold onto it, but I'm concerned about the rust spots that are present near the lugs, BB, dropouts and tubes. It all seems like surface rust but for longevity I would like to fix it up to avoid further damage.
I love the paint that's left though, so I don't really want to repaint it.
I've had a look on here for spot rust advice and I couldn't really come to a conclusion for best practice on the forum... Any suggestions?

Pull the seat post and forks out and give it a inside the tubes with a torch. Pull the BB if you're concerned, that'll show you whether anything is flaking internally, it'll generally end up in the BB shell. Maybe spray some fish oil or lanolin spray inside the tubes as a preventative. You could hit those slight rut/chip spots lightly with fine steel wool (lightly!) to smooth the edges. Give it a polish with car wax for a bit of external protection.

It looks pretty good. Compare it to my Shogun, which I didn't touch as far as external finish:

[Derny Driver]

When people know you collect steel bikes, well the bikes just keep turning up. The latest free gift is a Shogun Samurai which a friend was given, didnt want, and gave to me.... it just happens to be my perfect size, 55 square (I dont ride at all these days apart from rare occasions)
It has a 7 speed full groupset of Shimano 105, in my opinion one of the most functional and underrated groups ever made. So Ive put a set of Cinelli bars and stem on it, put new chain, chainrings and cluster on it (I hate worn chainsets) and some tyres and bingo, Im off and riding the thing. 3 short rides so far.
I have 25-30 beautiful bikes with all sorts of expensive components on them, but I never ride those. They're too good to ride. They are just to look at. This old Shogun looks a bit rough, but is remarkably light and rides beautifully, quite surprising really because Ive never rated Shoguns. I still dont rate them, but I like riding this one, and can appreciate it.
Hence my "review" in the Appreciation Society.
Am I a member now?

[rkelsen]

This old Shogun looks a bit rough, but is remarkably light and rides beautifully, quite surprising really because Ive never rated Shoguns. I still dont rate them, but I like riding this one, and can appreciate it.
Hence my "review" in the Appreciation Society.
Am I a member now?

Welcome to the dark side.

It's nice to have a bike you can ride without being paranoid about a dint in the TT should you accidentally sneeze on it.

And you've been here long enough that I shouldn't have to say this... pics please!

[familyguy]

This old Shogun looks a bit rough, but is remarkably light and rides beautifully, quite surprising really because Ive never rated Shoguns. I still dont rate them, but I like riding this one, and can appreciate it.
Hence my "review" in the Appreciation Society.
Am I a member now?

Shogun never seemed to make many/any bikes above 60cm, so I've never owned one that fit me. I do have a Tange 2 Ninja frame hanging someplace (without the awful stock fork) that felt nicely made. Shoguns always seemed to take a nice bike, then chuck a massively fugly unicrown steel fork on all but their upper models. Their Prestige tubed models with properly lugged or sloping crown forks are really nice. Would easily outdo many Euro brands selling for similar prices. Cromor/Aelle (tretubi if you're really skint)/501 v Tange 2/1 or sometimes even Prestige? No contest!

[Releng]

I just acquired a shogun.
After some basic maintenance and a tidy up it rides nicely.
Nice condition RX100 brifters 8 speed,

[10speedsemiracer]

/
Noice....

Have the same frame which was running the same driveline except for downtube shift levers, up until the crash.

Still haven't decided if I'll resurrect it..

[Releng]

I am nervous about the Lee Chi brakes on the Samurai.
They feel cheap and there are some big hills around here. Does anyone have any experience with them ?