Hi Ben and Listies,
This isn't an answer to your question, but a further observation. As I'm sure you know, when "vintage lightweights" first started to solidify as a defined category of bike collecting, there was much debate about how the deep pocketed Japanese were gobbling up "our" coveted bikes and components. The perception was that they had very little knowledge of the subject and for some reason were driven to assimilate Western culture. This phenomenon is/was occurring in many other areas of collecting as well. Many people feel that we shouldn't "sell out" or cultural hardware to the East.
When I first discovered the world of cycling, a big part of the appeal was that it was not part of the culture that I had grown up in. European stuff was way cool! I suspect that it was the same for the young Japanese cyclist.
Through my dealings with Japanese collectors I have found them to be more knowledgeable then the average American collector (CR list members are not average) and they have a broader scope of interest. It seems that many of them have been actively riding, racing and touring since the days when all this stuff was the state of the art.
I have had several experiences when I have offered an item for sale that I thought was really great, only to have it ignored at swap meets like Larz Andersen. Subsequently offering the same item(s) on ebay triggered a feeding frenzy in Japan.
Perhaps the Japanese that I have had dealings with are some of the more knowledgeable and passionate collectors from that country. In any case they have proven themselves to be worthy stewards for the bikes, components and memorabilia that they are collecting.
Jamie Swan - Northport, New York.