Allow me to suggest Wikipedia for the disc brake technical data.
And yes, I posted the yellow Suzuki specifically because of your mention of the canvas fairings Bill. I'm also laying odds that that front end is off a Katana. Slightly newer, but still basically 'period'.
Found another one last night. I like it because the oil cooler actually says 'Earls' on it. I'll bet that baby cost a body part.
It's not how fast you go, it's how little you slow.
Yeah, that Earls cooler probably cost almost as much as those Lockheed calipers. And I just managed to control my drolling over those...
Good advice about the disk brake tutorial.
I still can't believe no one has asked me about the Juliana girls yet.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
I love Wikipedia. Thanks for that link Storm. That will make for some great 'easy' readingOriginally Posted by W-P Bill
Yeah, that Earls cooler probably cost almost as much as those Lockheed calipers. And I just managed to control my drolling over those...
Good advice about the disk brake tutorial.
I still can't believe no one has asked me about the Juliana girls yet.
And ok Bill, tell us about the Juliana Girls. Though I doubt that they will be as interesting to me as the idea of petty thieves!
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.
In the early 90's, Juliana's Tokyo was a disco which featured raised dancing platforms running along the walls. Girls would get up on these platforms and dance. This is also the timeframe when the "wan-ren-bodi-kon" (one length straight permed hair, body conscious short dresses) look was the raging boom amongst the young ladies of Tokyo.
Guys would stay on the floor and, well, you can imagine what they were trying to do.
I won't post links or pics since this is a family oriented forum, but you can run your own google search.
Be advised some stupid restaurant with the name Juliana's Tokyo opened up in Alabama, so a lot of the hits you'll get will be on that.
I'd been hearing about Juliana's for quite some time while I was stationed in the US from 91 to 95. Unfortunately, when I finally got to Japan again in 96, Juliana's was no more.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
Oh dear, the days of bad, bad, hair!
What I saw the Juliana Girls mentioned in your other post I gathered that it would be something to that extent. Sadly my imagination works splendidly when it comes to that sort of thing and I understand your drift completely. *shakes head* if only engines were as easy to understand
Odd that a place would open in America with the same name. Was it one of those hack places that tried to rip off the original idea or just rather unfortunately named?
So, what did that book say about the petty thieves of Japan?
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.
Were they like go-go girls or like strippers?
Wow, wow. Awesome stuff.
Keep your mind in the middle and a leg on each side.
1979 GL1000
2007 Vulcan 500
Well, you're in real trouble now. I've been dragging these around with me for 20 years for a CB400F project I can never seem to get to. Yes... yes, I'mYeah, that Earls cooler probably cost almost as much as those Lockheed calipers. And I just managed to control my drolling over those.... I know.
It's not how fast you go, it's how little you slow.
Neither. Just normal girls enjoying the same power rush that go go girls and strippers seem to enjoy.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
You, sir, are CRUEL!Well, you're in real trouble now. I've been dragging these around with me for 20 years for a CB400F project I can never seem to get to. Yes... yes, I'm
I'm jealous...
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
I don't know anything about the 'Bama eatery, just a major annoyance while searching for Juliana girl pix.Odd that a place would open in America with the same name. Was it one of those hack places that tried to rip off the original idea or just rather unfortunately named?
So, what did that book say about the petty thieves of Japan?
I don't recall what the message was about the petty thieves, I just seem to remember it was pretty bleak.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
Different markets - that explains the 2 cylinder, dual carb and front disk I saw on a 'Japan model' CB125. It looked absolutely nothing like the US model, I don't know why they used the same model #.
Another significant market is the 250cc market. Remember all that stuff about the biannual and yearly inspections? Does not apply to bikes 249cc or less. Also, the cost of complusory insurance is like a third (IIRC) of what it would be for a 400cc bike. So, the 250cc market also becomes hotly contested. I don't know for sure, but I believe all of the big Japanese manufacturers market 4-stroke 4-cylinder 250cc (nominally, but actually 249 or less) models, My friend Haginamochi has the Kawasaki version, a Balius. I posted a pic of her bike on an earlier thread, I'll see if I can find it again.
The big handicap against 125cc (nominally, actually 124 or less) bikes is they are not allowed on Japan's expressways.
EDIT: Here's Hagi's bike
Last edited by W-P Bill; 02-15-2009 at 03:29 PM.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
Well, since this thread seems to be waning, let me close out with some changes in the underlying conditions which have occurred between the timeframe we were talking about and present-day Japan.
The inspection system is no longer as onerous as it used to be. Now, it costs just as much, but the previous requirement to return the bike to absolute stock condition has diasappeared. Due to pressure from the US government on behalf of auto parts manufacturers, sometime in the early 90's aftermarket parts were blessed. Which means you no longer have to find/keep the OEM exhaust system and remount it for inspections, you can take your 4-into-1 equipped bike in for inspection as is.
The gentlemens' agreement amongst Japanese manufacturers to restrict domestic sales to bikes of 749cc or less went away, probably something to do with the collapse of the bubble economy. I mean, if times are tight but there is still a demand for big bore bikes, one would be stupid to voluntarily limit oneself. Instead, now the agreement is to limit horsepower to 100hp in the domestic market.
Along with the end of the gentlemens' agreement, the process for getting an unlimited license got a lot easier. I can't confirm this, but I've heard the manufacturers appealed to the government to make it happen, increase demand for big bore bikes.
You see, previously a candidate could choose to take the lower level license tests at the driving school he attended, using the motorcycles and course he/she was used to. A certified examiner would visit the school once or twice a month, and these dates were pre-determined. You could also select which day to take the test. You could alway skip the school, or take a limited curriculum, and take your test at the regional test center. However, everyone knew the test center was much more difficult than taking the exam at your driving school. If you had the money, you went to driving school.
The unlimited license required a candidate go to the regional testing center, which was a real PITA. First, you had to get an appointment, which could be up to three months away and the date/time was assigned at the convenience of the test center. You could not ask for another date/time. Then, it was doo-doo shot which test bike you were assigned. Everyone in Kanagawa Prefecture (where I grew up) hated the Suzuki GT750 at the Futamatagawa test center since it was a peaky two stroke and hard to manage. (Sitting in the bleachers with all the other test candidates, you could see the dismay on the faces of the unlimited candidates when they first heard the ring-ding-ding coming from the bike garage.) Then, the last hurdle is that there were any number of test routes which could be assigned. You were given a course map about two hours before the test, and you had to memorize it. Deviate fom the course, automatic fail.
I've heard these days you can even take the unlimited test at a driving school.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
Found an amusing video this morning. I suspect the bike is a bit too new to be 'period correct', but nontheless...
It's not how fast you go, it's how little you slow.
Bike is actually period correct, being a Yamaha RZ350. 1980 or so.
Stunting style is modern day, though.
Neat video, thanks for posting!
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
That's quite an education reading through this thread. Thank you!
I noticed the guy in the video is wearing a gold-painted hard hat. I'm amazed it stays on while riding. I can only imagine where it would end up during an involuntary dismount.
Here are some you tube vids I found on the topic
YouTube - 音職人ＦＬＥＸ８２八木徹の旧車*45
YouTube - "SAYONARA SPEED TRIBES" short trailer
YouTube - 音職人ＦＬＥＸ８２八木徹の旧車*42
YouTube - 音職人ＦＬＥＸ８２八木徹の旧車*44
And some car stuff to go with it
YouTube - 音職人ＦＬＥＸ８２八木徹の旧車*38
Japanese car subcultures, Bosozoku and all that jazz
Retro Scene Magazine - All posts tagged 'bosozoku'
'08 VN900 Custom
..Can't dance, too fat to fly..
Those links reminded me.
You know, one of the FUNNIEST things I see here in the U.S. is all these import tuner cars sporting this sticker from Japan:
I suppose the kids here see these stickers on cars featured in Japanese car magazines, think ithe stickers are really cool, get them somehow and stick them on their Hondas and such here.
What that symbol stand for is "young leaf." The Govt of Japan mandates them to be displayed on cars when the driver has less than one year's experience. Us growing up in Japan absolutely HATED having to stick these embarassing "I can't drive for beans" markings on our cars. We would put them way down on the valance panel, etc, just to make them as hard to see as possible while still meeting the minimum requirements of the law. At the 366th day, those cursed things came OFF!
Here, the tuners think they're SO COOL for having these stickers proudly displayed on their cars. Every time I see one of them, I don't know whether to feel sorry for them, or just LOL. Usually the latter...
Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong in messing around with Japanese cars, Heck, even at my advanced age I do as well. just that before you stick something foreign on your car, make sure you find out what it really means first.
In fact, one day I saw a kid sporting a "wilting leaf" sign on his import. This optional symbol, below, means "Watch out! Old driver!" The GOJ even tried to make it mandatory for drivers over 65 but even the Japanese peopel refused to put up with it and got the law overturned. When I saw that car, I laughed so hard I almost crashed my car.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
But you need the knowledge, to get the joke. (Thanks for the knowledge!
Funny thing is, the Japanese do the same thing with American words/objects. I've seen some stunningly inappropriate things printed on kids shirts. Engrish.com is an amusing place to see some faux pas (pases?) made by non English speakers.
Edit:
Example #1
Example #2
Last edited by Stormdragon; 03-01-2009 at 02:14 PM.
It's not how fast you go, it's how little you slow.
Not so much funny, given the subject matter, but a vivid example sticks in my mind. One time I saw a kid on a Tokyo subway wearing a leather bomber jacket with the squadron emblem for the USAAF 509th Composite Wing. I doubt he knew that was the squadron which conducted both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic missions.
I didn't have the heart to tell him. I figured that sort of news would be especially bad coming from a foreigner. Hopefully one of his friends eventually told him.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever!
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