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Post by triitout on Jan 9, 2015 4:00:56 GMT
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,375
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Post by Jem on Jan 9, 2015 6:35:54 GMT
I agree , too cool to pass up. I'd be very happy with that purchase! Nice find.
I can imagine a row of those brochures lined up in a shop in the 70's.
I checked his other things out. I don't know if Motobecane owners get excited about these things too but if they do, there's some things for them. And some BMX rare stuff. I wonder if he was a collector or has access to an old shop stock? It might be worth asking him if he has any other Viscount materials?
About 18 months ago, a guy in the US had the full 283 page technical manual from Viscount, that I presume was for retailers for repairs, set ups etc. He wanted just a bit too much than I would have paid and by the time shipping was added it was out of my league. I worked really hard to persuade him to just take a camera phone snap shot of every page and send it to me by email (for a modest fee of course), but he didn't do it in the end - he sold to a guy in the US. I'd love it if he could have shared it. That would have been a priceless wealth of info.
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Post by triitout on Mar 13, 2015 21:39:20 GMT
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Post by 54roadie on Jul 6, 2015 21:40:36 GMT
Roger Young? Wasn't he Sheila Young's brother? "Sheila Young was United States sprint champion four times (1971, 1973, 1976, and 1981). At the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she won bronze in 1972, silver in 1982, and became world sprint champion three times – in 1973 (breaking the Soviet Union's 15-year winning streak), 1976, and 1981." Wikipedia.
They were originally Wolverines, a Schwinn sponsored club out of Michigan. He went on the head the development program at the Indianapolis Major Taylor Velodrome, if memory serves. He was a US Olympian, and later Olympic track coach, raced with 7-11 in the early years, too. I had no idea he was ever involved with Viscount.
Frank
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,375
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Post by Jem on Jul 6, 2015 21:47:25 GMT
We very rarely see any V-series for sale (well, in the UK at least). In fact, thinking about it, I am not sure if I have ever seen one.
I wonder why that is?
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Post by triitout on Jul 7, 2015 0:26:40 GMT
Great work Frank! Still can't figure out how I missed getting a hit on Roger Young. He is currently the proprietor of Young's Training Center in California. The stalker in me would like to get in touch and learn more about the post Yamaha days and of course any leads on the "buried treasure of NOS Aerospace" models Jem, once in a blue moon a non discript lower end V series shows up on Craig's list, but nothing to lust over. Now if the 7000 SS showed up....epic! Now that I know how to load large size photos, if anyone desires something more readable from the old brochures, just post and I'll get it up for you.
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Post by bobcallahan on Jul 17, 2016 21:48:47 GMT
Is there any interest in a Viscount Cycles Dealer Manual from 1977? I was a Viscount dealer, and I still have the manual, some tools, and an Aerospace Pro. Also, lots of memories. Bob Callahan Attachments:
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,375
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Post by Jem on Jul 17, 2016 22:06:05 GMT
Is there any interest in a Viscount Cycles Dealer Manual from 1977? I was a Viscount dealer, and I still have the manual, some tools, and an Aerospace Pro. Also, lots of memories. Bob Callahan Hi Bob, as you can probably tell by now, we are Viscount enthusiasts here on the forum. I would be messaging you regarding the items but have found that the cost of shipping from US to UK often costs more than the items are worth, and so from that point of view it limits the possibility of a sale....however, if you wish to photograph any pages, and post them up to form part of our data-base of knowledge then go ahead. We would be really interested to hear the stories and recollections of your time as a dealer! Welcome to the forum! EDIT- Just realised I jumped to the conclusion you might be in the US (not sure why?)
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Post by triitout on Jul 18, 2016 0:48:42 GMT
Is there any interest in a Viscount Cycles Dealer Manual from 1977? I was a Viscount dealer, and I still have the manual, some tools, and an Aerospace Pro. Also, lots of memories. Bob Callahan Hi Bob, I'd love to hear more details about what you've got. Where are you located? If you're USA based, I'd be interested otherwise if you're UK, I'll leave it to Sooper8 to sort through. I'm located in Long Island, NY, USA. What tools do you have? Is there a bottom bracket tool amongst them? What are the details on the Aerospace Pro? And on behalf of all of us enthusiasts, YES, there is interest in the Dealer Manual. I'm sure we'd all like to know more details or just message me if that works better for you.
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Post by bobcallahan on Jul 23, 2016 20:09:34 GMT
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,375
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Post by Jem on Jul 23, 2016 21:06:47 GMT
Bob - From everyone here, can I thank you for your effort to scan and make this available. It will be really useful and a valuable reference point. Not sure if it's my connection but it does take a while to load up. I can't think of any easier way to do it though and at least once it loads up , it can be perused off line. I'm looking forward to pictures of the tools and any stories you may have...
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Post by cusqueno on Jul 23, 2016 21:26:01 GMT
Many thanks for doing that. A really useful resource for Viscount collectors. 1977 must be the golden age for Viscounts, still with all the original components.
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,375
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Post by Jem on Jul 23, 2016 21:41:00 GMT
Just had a very quick look through it.
I am going to print off and savour it....
A few things that caught my eye are the tool section (and the drop outs alignment tool, and BB tools ). Also, the availability of the touch up paints, but with it's own ref numbers and nothing that could help us to match up colours now. A nice little section on wheel truing too.
The prices are also listed alongside parts. Very interesting.
And a wonderful asterix under the specs that says " * subject to change without notice " - which gave me smile.
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Post by triitout on Jul 24, 2016 2:01:20 GMT
Hi Bob, Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to make the manual available to all of us on forum. What a great addition to our Viscount knowledge base. It's great to see such an important part of the Viscount history saved for all to enjoy and use as an invaluable reference. I got a real kick out of the advertising templates near the end. Very cool. Nice to see the correct way to tackle the bottom bracket and pedals. If you're anywhere near the NY metro area and still have the tools, I would know where to go for "authentic" dealer service!
Two questions I have that maybe you could shed light on. Was there any rhyme or reason to the serial numbers? Any clue what happened to the remaining inventory when Yamaha got out of the business? I spoke to Scott Van Sant several years ago and he did remember them being sold but had no idea to whom.
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Post by bobcallahan on Jul 24, 2016 18:37:21 GMT
Hi Bob, Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to make the manual available to all of us on forum. What a great addition to our Viscount knowledge base. It's great to see such an important part of the Viscount history saved for all to enjoy and use as an invaluable reference. I got a real kick out of the advertising templates near the end. Very cool. Nice to see the correct way to tackle the bottom bracket and pedals. If you're anywhere near the NY metro area and still have the tools, I would know where to go for "authentic" dealer service! Two questions I have that maybe you could shed light on. Was there any rhyme or reason to the serial numbers? Any clue what happened to the remaining inventory when Yamaha got out of the business? I spoke to Scott Van Sant several years ago and he did remember them being sold but had no idea to whom. Hi Triitout, I'm happy to share. I have a sheet feed scanner that did most of the work. I'm in the DC area, and I do still have those tools. The only ones I bought from Yamaha are the Sealed Bearing Tools and the Cotterless Crank Extractor for Viscount crank arms. See the illustrations on page 230 and 231 of the pdf. The other tools were standard tools that could be purchased from any supplier. I purchased mostly from Columbus Cycle, since they had a much bigger parts and accessories selection, their prices were a little better than Yamaha, and the shipments were faster. The sealed bearing tools were made of aluminum, and were pretty lousy. I never had in issue with a sealed bearing in a Viscount wheel hub, so those tools are unused. Actually, I never had an issue with a bottom bracket bearing either, but I did have a few defective frames that I had to replace. The first time I tried to remove a bottom bracket bearing using the Yamaha tools, I discovered that the opening in the collet sleeve was smaller than the bearing (item 5 in the sealed bearing tool set). After removing the crank arms and the bottom bracket, you put the threaded shaft into the collet sleeve, and insert the shaft into the bearing opening. You tighten the nut on the shaft, and it's supposed to pull the bearing out of the frame. Since the bearing is bigger than the opening in the sleeve, the edges are torn off the threaded shaft tool, ruining it. I ended up using new bearings. Another interesting fact is that the seat post bolt size is 1/4W, requiring a Whitworth wrench. As to the serial numbers, I'm guessing it depends on the model and place of manufacture. The bikes with the aluminum forks and sealed bearings were made in England. I think the other models were Japanese. I closed my bike shop shortly before Yamaha got out of the business, so I never heard what they did with their remaining inventory. When I had my shop, I remember seeing an advertisement for Lambert bicycles, with no frame or fork. It was something like $35 each. I bought a few, and found that the parts were identical to the Viscount parts, except that where Viscount had a V logo on red (QR lever, seat post bolt, pedals), these had an L logo on blue. Bob
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,375
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Post by Jem on Jul 26, 2016 21:14:20 GMT
I also liked the advertising templates - very much of their time. I am really enjoying working my way through it.
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Post by sprockit on Jul 28, 2016 18:30:06 GMT
A veritable mine of Viscount information!
Thank you so much for posting it up, Bob.
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Post by 54roadie on Aug 25, 2016 0:15:20 GMT
Thank you very much, Bob. It's a great manual, I hope it made the line a bit more valuable to you.
Frank
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Post by bobcallahan on Jan 25, 2018 0:34:18 GMT
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Post by triitout on Jan 25, 2018 3:01:02 GMT
Hi Bob, Thanks for the new link. I thought I missed the boat by not downloading it the first time around, but now the deed is done!
Cheers, Michael
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Post by theformeremployee on Feb 15, 2018 19:48:44 GMT
I've not been active here for some years, but maintain a link to old Viscount (and Lambert) history. I have, like many, a busy life - and the internet makes it even busier. I am (for example) trying to get in touch with Roger Young to see whether he remembers much about the 'selling the surplus Viscounts' era. On another thread on this website, I saw the name of the late John MacClaren, who was the head of Yamaha Sporting Goods. He made, it seems, what became a career ending error of judgement in keeping on buying Viscounts up to the end of the 'contract' instead of saying "we have enough and the market has changed dramatically". When the shipments to the USA stopped, the factory stopped. The smaller UK factory took on the name and the range for about 4 more years but that ultimately folded. It's very difficult to trace people and even events from 35 years ago. Companies start and fail all the time and few bother to write down exactly what happened, just as it was happening.
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Post by 54roadie on Feb 21, 2018 7:44:56 GMT
theformeremployee I wish you luck in contacting Roger. Have you tried Facebook? I'm certain this is the man you're looking for: Roger J. YoungPlease let me know if the link doesn't work. Best regards, Frank
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