I know I saw a nice little article somewhere , which mentioned actual production numbers and years . I thought it was on one of Sheldon Brown's pages . But now I can't seem to find it .
Anyway , Sheldon's Japanese Bicycle Page explains that the Schwinn Le Tour bicycles were made by Matsushita , the parent company of Panasonic .
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/
And ,
Hey Ann !!
Personally , I think one of the big identifying features will be the upper ends of the seat stays , at the seat lug . In other words , I'm talking about the "seat cluster" , or the "top eyes" . Those "spooned" ends , which always instantly make me think of the word MASI , are certainly a not-too-common feature !!
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
> I remember LETOUR ,SUPER LETOUR etc all being from MAYATA
> whether they were just the assembler or the frame builder I do not know
> but htere was a distinct family resemblance though the models were not
> an exact crossover.
> BOB FREITAS
> MILL VALLEY,CA