Author Topic: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks  (Read 113483 times)

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Offline Richard Clark BS parts

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Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« on: October 05, 2009, 07:33:28 PM »
Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
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Offline Bridgestone Man

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2009, 01:53:18 PM »
Happy to see it posted

Sam Keys

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2009, 01:54:29 PM »
Me too

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seymour

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2010, 07:49:49 AM »
Hello,
My son and I made a barn find yesterday of a Bridgestone motorcycle. I am trying to identify and date the bike. I read the serial number guide, which indicates the bike is a BS175. The milestone dates would indicate it was built in February 1966 but the milestones are for the UK ??? I am confused by that. Could someone please explain?

Thx

Offline old smokey

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2010, 10:58:11 PM »
My GTR is titled as a 1969, but the vin is in the 1200 range - so is it likely a 67 that didn't sell until 1969?
« Last Edit: August 22, 2015, 11:10:51 AM by old smokey »
'67 350 GTR undergoing repairs with a '75 Yamaha TX500 front end

rocketman

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2010, 05:35:13 PM »
Ole Smokey,I'd need to look into it to be exact,but the 21 designates 350 GTO and GTR,I'm pretty sure. I think you need to give me the letter to derive the year/month. It gets a bit goofy. I'll look at it after dinner.  Thanks,Mark.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2010, 05:37:41 PM by rocketman »

Offline old smokey

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2010, 07:15:54 PM »
Mark, I had looked enough to see that my 21S021xx claims that it should be a July '67 bike, but the title is for a '69. However the 21xx sequence number also seems to point to a '67 bike.
Guess it sat unwanted for 2 years!
I could start a post to see who has the lowest # vin for a GTR.
'67 350 GTR undergoing repairs with a '75 Yamaha TX500 front end

rocketman

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2010, 09:51:46 PM »
Now I see,Smokey. The date code along with the # series looks that way. With shipping delays from Japan,coupled with rockfords distribution woes its possible this bike didnt make a dealer till sometime in '68 anyway. New vehicles are titled here for the upcoming year starting in July sometimes. So lets say it reached the dealer Feb/March of '68 than sat till july or aug. then titled for the upcoming year,your there. It might not have sat as long as you think. Heres something else to consider,if you are not the original owner and the bike had to be re-titled at some point,info was real vague on all this for a long time. So without the later '70 numbers system,no exact year was affixed and most people,even title agency's,etc.would have a nearly imposible task of figuring it out. So you pick a year and process the vin and keep rolling! Compiling vins is a good way to go,but not too many people care to share thier complete numbers. I've studied on this quite a bit and just when you think your getting a grip on it... Hope some other guys are forthcoming.  Mark.

Offline old smokey

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2010, 09:26:58 PM »
Comparing the numbers between the headstock and engine on my GTR shows a difference of 92. The serial number on the riveted tag falls between those two.
So Graham's guidance seems very accurate and most likely my engine and frame are the same pairing that left the factory.
But I realized that before I got the bike someone at the DMV transposed the serial number.
The paperwork says 21S021xx , but it is really 21S012xx
Don't look for me at the DMV trying to get that changed!
Very definitely a 67 model that was titled as a '69.
'67 350 GTR undergoing repairs with a '75 Yamaha TX500 front end

deisher6

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #9 on: September 01, 2010, 11:21:29 PM »
My 350 GTO 21W069XX is titled as a 1970.  The serial number would indicate a 1968-69 manufacture.  It also has the stamp on the front steering tube.  So it all fits.
regards charlie

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2010, 01:24:01 PM »
My 175 is titled as a 69.  The serial# is 16M24xxx, which should put it in 67.

ridered

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2010, 06:10:47 PM »
I'm not knocking Graham Weeks VIN ID article but I'm a little confused by it. My VIN tag is 21T01934 can someone give me in their best judgement what year my bike was produced as I'm heading to the titling red tapers and I want to shoot for a title in the correct year. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

Offline old smokey

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #12 on: December 18, 2010, 05:54:29 AM »
Mike, I'd guess your GTR was made in 1967 from how I read his decode. The 21T should be an odd numbered year, and the milestone for 21S was July 1967. Mine is 21S012xx so maybe Aug-Sep 1967?
This guess also matches with the info for the GTR that toystoretom found on ebay in the UK.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2010, 05:20:41 PM by old smokey »
'67 350 GTR undergoing repairs with a '75 Yamaha TX500 front end

Offline disc_valve

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #13 on: December 30, 2010, 06:33:55 AM »
Hi, Folks.

Don't get confused by whether the bike is from the UK, USA or anywhere else. The factory used a continuous serial code sequence, and simply shipped batches to different markets as they came off the production line. In fact, the milestone dates I listed were taken for convenience from my machines or from those owned by friends, but all the bikes came off the same factory production line in Japan.   
« Last Edit: May 06, 2016, 06:01:44 AM by disc_valve »

Hap

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #14 on: March 31, 2011, 09:02:21 AM »
I am a little confused on the VIN description as well. My tag on the side of the bike reads" 18C001848" meaning the first two digits claim it is a 90 sport oil injection. OK so far, then the "C" designates it as March in an even year?  The bill of sale says the bike is a 1965 so this is not correct? What does the rest mean "001848"?

Offline old smokey

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2011, 07:52:07 PM »
Hap,
There is some reading between the lines, but the "C" would be for March of an even year. For your 90 that would mean it was assembled in March 1964, and as mentioned in an earlier discussion, it then took that long to ship to the US, sit on a showroom floor and be sold so it was considered a 1965 for paperwork purposes by the dealer.
If you were starting with no paperwork and trying to get a title you could claim it was a '64, but if you have paperwork already documenting it as a '65 there's no real value in bothering to change it.
Your 001848 number is the sequential manufacturing of that model.
On page 2 of the serial number decoder, there is a milestone for a BS90 Sport with serial number 007418 as being made in March 1966. That helps to show that your 001848 was made in 1964.
'67 350 GTR undergoing repairs with a '75 Yamaha TX500 front end

Offline disc_valve

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2011, 07:30:25 AM »
Hi, Folks.

Confusion reigns! You're correct that "18C001848" means a Jet-Lube 90 Sport, built in March of an even year - buand that year was 1966. Jet-Lube Bridgestones weren't around in March 1964, and by March 1968 the 90 Sport had been superseded on the production line by the BS100 Sport model.

The "07418" number mentioned Old Smokey is an earlier pre-mix fuel 90 Sport, and had a serial prefix of "14". Presumably, whoever filled out the original bill of sale got it wrong.

As for the "001848" bit - your bike would have followed "18C001847" off the production line, and the next one in line was "18C001849". It's a s simple as that.

Hope that answers your question,.

Graham

 

Hap

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #17 on: April 01, 2011, 03:21:12 PM »
My 90 is an oil injection. Is that what you mean by a jet lube? Your saying oil injection wasn't made in March 1964? Then the C would make it the next even year (March 1966)?

Offline disc_valve

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #18 on: April 02, 2011, 09:43:43 AM »
Hap,

Yes, you're dead right! "Jet Lube2 was Bridgestone's trade name for their oil injection system. Over here in the UK, the 90 and 350 oilers had "Jet Lube" stickers on the side panels instead of the silver "OIL INJECTION" labels. I guess the US bikes never used the "Jet Lube" name.

When trying to date a particular bike, it's important to remember that each model used its own sequence of serial numbers (the  "01848" bit in your case). A 175 built in March '66 would have had a "16C" prefix and a 50 Sport "12C", but the serial numbers would have been nowhere near 01848. THe serial number simply stated at 000001 with the first of the model off the prodcution line, and incremented by one on each following bike built. Your 90 Sport was built in March '66 and happened to be the 1,848th example built.


Graham

Offline RayK

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Re: Serial number ID guide by Graham Weeks
« Reply #19 on: April 02, 2011, 06:11:20 PM »
Graham

The 'Jet Lube' Sticker was used in Australia also (see the blue 1968 BS 100 Sport in the Gallery on page 2).

On the 175DT the 'Oil Injection' sticker was on the key side panel and the 'Jet Lube' sticker was on the oil tank.

RayK

BS 175DT, BS 50 Sport x 1, BS 90 Mountain x 3, BS 90 Deluxe, BS 90 Sport x1, BS 60 Sport, BS 90 Trail, BS100 Sport.

 


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