Joe,
Thanks. I didn't realize that system was out there. I don't see Masis that new at my place. Now that I see it, it makes sense. Except for the "M". That's what didn't seem to fit in. A departure from the "normal" city code type of system. The Italians used the "M" for a while after bikes began to be built in the US, as they had been for quite some time before that.
I'm sure the frame looks nothing like any of the Italian frames, regardless of age. If I saw the photos I'm sure it would have been quite obvious it was an American GC from the 80's.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Brian,
Between January 1984 and June 1990, during the period in which I made Masis, on the underside of the bottom bracket was stamped "M" followed by the frame size, as in "M56." Opposite the "M56," would be a four-digit number that signifies the frame's build-order within the given year. "7045" was the 45th frame built in 1987.
Thus,
1984 M56 4xxx 1985 M56 5xxx 1986 M56 6xxx 1987 M56 7xxx 1988 M56 8xxx 1989 M56 9xxx
1990 M56 0xxx, or something other than a "0" to signify 1990, as I don't remember and I haven't found my records for this year yet.
Whatever numbering system ocurred after June 1990 would have been devised by Ted Kirkbride, and stamped into a quantity of 3Vs for a short period, probably up until the year that Jim Allen moved his shop across town, at which time I don't think Ted Kirkbride then had a frameshop to build in. After I left, lugged-steel GC production went to an Italian builder, Mondonico or Billato, still distributed by Torelli, still painted by Jim Allen, with yet another numbering system.
Joe Starck, masidon, wi
--- "brianbaylis@juno.com" <brianbaylis@juno.com>
wrote:
>
> Bob,
>
> Where does this information come from? Has anyone
> asked Jim Allen about this number? I'm not up on
> Masis this late, and that number doesn't seem to be
> related to all of the numbering systems of the past.
> Was there some change? When did it happen and do the
> numbers relate to something like a date or sequence?
> I thought the later San Marcos frames were "SMC" and
> some size or serial numbers. That number seems more
> like a post 1975 Italian type of serial number to
> me.
>
> I haven't been able to see any photos of the bike,
> which would obviously tell me quite a lot.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
>
> Please note: message attached
>
>
>
>
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