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Original Article:
Motorcycling in Tokyo

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article Motorcycling in Tokyo in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

sfcdjevans

Some of the smaller bikes would be cool. Of course I have no illusions, they will never cross our border. "An ex-Zen convent monk..."? that's a little scary.

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3425 miles from Reading, UK
Why their heads on a pike of course. If I thought it would do any good.

spwg

Hey, I'd be glad to have that CB400. But then again I'm riding a CB750F circa 1976.

spwg

TomSmith

If you think the article accurately and completely reflects Japanese motorcycling, check out this site with beautiful carbon fiber and other stuff: "http://www.moto-works.jp/". I bought a carbon fiber wallet from them, and they have great service - free fast shipping. The guy I e-mailed back and forth moved from New Zealand to Japan for the bike scene, so no problemas with English. Admittedly, they are not in Tokyo.

BimotaRich

I have been living and riding in Japan for over 10 years (my current ride is a Triumph Daytona 1200, and before that I rode a Bimota Tesi 1D). Yes there are a lot of FUNKY scooters here... but there are also a lot of nice custom choppers, sport bikes, and everything in between. It is just that in a HUGE city like Tokyo a scooter actually makes sense and you customize what ya got. Space is limited, traffic is hell, and gas is over 6 bucks a gallon. Add to that the fact that scooters have great storage and fit into the 400cc category of the tiered licensing system, and you start to see why they are so popular.

But get out of the city and everything changes. As I live in the sticks, I usually ride with the sport bike crowd on beautiful twisty mountain roads. You are as likely to see repli-racers, ducati's etc as your are scooters. In fact I see WAY more Italian bikes here than I ever did in the States, including many models that never made it state side. It is not unusual to see a Gilera, Guzzi, Cagiva, or even Bimota when out on the mountain roads. Japan is tough on bikes with their tiered licensing nd taxing system though and low speed limits and exorbitant fines made the life of speed difficult at times, but somehow we manage. Luckily once you get away from the big cities there aren't many cars or cops, so it is easy to scrub in your tires. Bear in mind though that a single speeding ticket got me a 1200 dollar fine and 3 months of license revoked! DOH!

Also Japan is Harley's biggest market outside of the US and they actually RIDE there bikes to the meets! (Getting a trailer license is hell! Not to mention no one has room for a trailer!) They seem to especially love the AMC years, which is beyond me... but hey... someone has to ride em!

And yes they do make some real boring bikes to look at, but they generally perform well in the real world. Many of my riding buddies ride CB1300s and they can hustle them around mountain roads with the best of em. And perhaps my favorite aspect of riding in Japan is that many women ride. It is refreshing to see so many women riders! And not just on scooters either, but on big bikes too! So next time you are in Japan, get out of town and hit the mountain roads. Then you will see what riding in Japan can be like! Better yet drop me a line and I will show you a twisty line around the local volcano!

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1200 Triumph Daytona

longride

"They seem to especially love the AMC years, which is beyond me... but hey... someone has to ride em!"\

You probably meant the AMF years, and the reason they ride those is because that is when the real Harley riders existed before all the middle and upper class dipshyts flooded the market. I have a demented affinity for the Shovelhead myself. Last of the real Harleys.

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I'm a knucklehead

sarnali2

Did you see that Japanese guys Panhead in the latest Back Street Choppers? looks pretty cool.

Tha "Last Real Harley" huh....I heard that about flatside Shovelheads too, cone motors aren't real Harleys blah blah, Sportsters are girls bikes yada yada... I know my Dyna's the best one I've owned but they did loose the feel of the older ones with the TC engines, I guess everything is a compromise one way or the other.

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"Carpe` Throttelum -Loud Suits Save Lives"

"He said he's farting because of his medication"...

pushrod

Flathead/Knucklehead/Panhead/Shovelhead/Blockhead/Waterhead, yada yada yada.

If you don't need to shovel coal into it, it ain't worth havin!



Actually, I heard a guy use the "if it ain't ..." argument the other day, and he was talking about Triumphs!

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You would not understand,
this is not how I am...

I have become -
Comfortably Numb.

longride

All I know is when you met a guy that rode a Harley back in the 60's and 70's they could tell you everything about it and rebuild it in the parking lot. These days they can tell you how much they paid for it and how may 'accessories' the dealer put on for them.

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I'm a knucklehead

Buzglyd

I can tell you the best places to go antiquing!