_________________
Honda Motard XR400
Traded: Honda SL230 and Yamaha XJR400

I'd be happy to buy either of those 2 Honda naked bikes on the left (red/black = CB1100F or white/red CB1300).

Mike

_________________
2013 Motorcycle Model Guides
2012 Motorcycle Model Guides
2013 ATV/Quad Model Guides


Total Motorcycle is official Media/Press for Aprilia, Benelli, Beta, Bimota, BMW, Buell, Can-Am, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Husqvarna, Husaberg, Hyosung, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, KYMCO, Moto Guzzi, Moto Morini, MV Agusta, Norton, Phantom, Piaggio, Polaris, Ridley, Roehr, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Triumph, Ural, Vespa, Victory, Yamaha and Zero.

What about the Kawasaki on the left with the replica of the original Z1 orange/brown color scheme?

_________________
2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100
2006 Kawasaki KLX250S
2004 Honda CBR600RR
2002 BMW R1150R
1996 Ducati 900SS

Loving the 1100 and 1300...

Out of curiosity though, I thought most of the larger displacement bikes weren't common in Japan. Is this just a special case? Or was I misinformed?

_________________
Have owned - 2001 Suzuki Volusia
Current bike - 2005 Kawasaki Z750S
MMI Graduation date January 9th, 2009. Factory Certifications in Suzuki and Yamaha

Not misinformed. It's true, don't usually see many.
What I like about this place is they customize old bikes and make them look so brand new, every one of these bikes is in such good condition & shimmering like new. When you buy -they put a new battery in -matter of course- and you get free membership. If you buy from them twice that goes to silver, 3 times you are a gold member which has privelages like you and your motorcycle being driven home after skidding on the ice miles away...guilty.

I love the neat orderly line up.

_________________
Honda Motard XR400
Traded: Honda SL230 and Yamaha XJR400

I was told by my late father years ago who lived and worked in Japan for ten years, that in order to be able to ride large displacement bike in Japan, you first had to work up thru the cc classes, take additional training and finally, they would lay a Honda CB750 fully kitted out with hard bags and front fairing on its side and you had to be able to stand it up again, fail that an no large cc endorsement on your license. This true?

_________________
Always ask why.

Yes it's still true.

I know it because I have the middle tier license and it was really hard for me to lift a 400cc CBR from the ground but I somehow did...and only after was I allowed take lessons..Same is true of the large top tier and yes you have to go through the middle first.

You don't see that many big bikes out on the roads here. And far fewer women ride here than elsewhere -rules are very strict and the test is really tough. I took the license both in the UK and in Japan (Japanese issued license mandatory for all non Japanese living in Japan longer than a year to be on the road legally) so that much I can confirm.

Did your Father ride in his time there? I know the law was different back then about international licenses.

_________________
Honda Motard XR400
Traded: Honda SL230 and Yamaha XJR400

He was there during the 80's. Basically worked as a free lance translator, actor, voice actor and even had a piece on he in the Japanese Playboy. If you ever traveled JAL between the 80's and 90's or visited the Japanese Pavilion during Expo 86 in Vancouver, then you will of heard his voice. He didn't ride which is odd considering his dad was one of the nutters that raced bikes at the old Brooklands track back in the 20's and 30's. However he did putter around on a small Vespa and drove about in one of these boats:



He was a bit of a show off and truth be told, a right wanker at times, how Michiko put up with him for 30 plus years is a mystery of the ages.

_________________
Always ask why.

As difficult as the motorcycle test is in Japan, at one time, the 750cc license was so difficult, it could only be passed (and only after multiple attempts) by the most skilled of riders. In fact, the test was so difficult that anyone that had a 750 license would be instantly recognized as a rider possessing immense level of skills. It was actually a status symbol because only a very few could actually pass it due to its unfathomable difficulty. Then in 1994(?) all this changed and they made the test much easier (still probably the hardest in the world but reasonably attainable by any ordinary rider who was skilled). This ended the legend of the Nanahan (750) Rider.

Imagine getting a 750 license in 1993....and then the law being changed in 1994, where the test is made so much easier that just about any exerienced and reasonably skilled rider could now pass it.

_________________
2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100
2006 Kawasaki KLX250S
2004 Honda CBR600RR
2002 BMW R1150R
1996 Ducati 900SS

I didn't hear his voice, and I've never been to vancouver, but that's interesting and he sounds like he did many things in his life and lived fully. A wonderful thing.

Hyperr~ the Nanohan legend is amazing huh and the test was grim. There were various animation characters who rode them in comic books. I think larger bikes still carry a status symbol here, maybe leftover from that, and also they are so expensive - more than a car often.

_________________
Honda Motard XR400
Traded: Honda SL230 and Yamaha XJR400