Motorcycle culture in 1970's and 1980's Japan

Folks:

I initally posted a link to this in the Census thread under Chit Chat, but felt it was worth a separate mention here instead.

I'm half Japanese, grew up in Japan from 1963 to 1981. Pretty involved in the motorcycle scene there during my teen years. Since it appears most of our bikes also hail from this period, I thought it might be worth posting a link to a thread on another Kawi forum, In it, I initially responded to a question from someone asking about Japan's motorcyle gangs (bosozoku) culture during those years, turns out the thread kind of morphed into describing many aspects of the motorcyle scene in Japan during those years. After a while it degenerated into a Motorcycles 101 thread, but I think for those of you interested in this kind of stuff, it would be a good read.

For the moderators: if it is wrong to post this link to a competing website, please let me know. I have copied most of that thread onto a word document, and can easily re-post it here if that is better, Thanks.

Anyway, here's the link. Had to delete some pix off my photobucket account, sorry.
www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/main-lo...search-question.html

yo bill thanks for the link.i don't have time today but will fully investigate it tomorrow.
so would you be willing to possibly do a little translation help from some japanese websites?
thanks,

leon holmes

wow!, very intresting link. Alot of cool information there. Didnt't really ride the 2 strokes becaue they didnt like the sound:angry: . haha, 2 stroke are kinda an aquired taste

Well done Bill! Great reading! I spent much of my youth in Japan (last time I was there as a youngster was in the early 1960's)...raised in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hokkaido...first language spoken was Japanese but I have lost most of it. I can remember running across a road in Tokyo and getting KO'd by a poor guy on a Lilac (I have a vivid recollection of the bike and subsequently, recently, figured out what it was)...he was more scared than I (Japanese national runs down American child)...I got a few scrapes and I just went home...he high-tailed it out of there after he checked on me:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: ). Got a chance to spend several weeks in Okinawa a decade ago and had a blast.

531blackbanshee wrote:

yo bill thanks for the link.i don't have time today but will fully investigate it tomorrow.
so would you be willing to possibly do a little translation help from some japanese websites?
thanks,

leon holmes

My reading comprehension is a bit rusty, but I can certainly give it a try.

That was a very informative thread, Bill. I wonder what effect, if any, they had on the Japanese designers and do you think the styles that emerged in the '80s among the Big Four were impacted by the bosokozus? Or, were they more influenced by European and American styles?

Hi Bill,

You asked: "For the moderators: if it is wrong to post this link to a competing website, please let me know."

Being moderators we've thick skin. Being KZR, Bring It on! We've no fear of loosing turf or membership.

Thanks for a great link!

KZCSI

For KZCSI: Thanks for the upcheck.

For N0NB: I'm gonna go out on a limb here. Might be a chicken/egg deal, but in my mind the big 4 took their cues from the privateers racing in Japan's biggest motorcycle event, the Suzuka 8-hr endurance race. This was THE event in Japan as far as the motorcycling community was concerned. Riders from all over the country would flock to Suzuka for the event.

Privateers normally couldn't afford full fairings ( i'm guessing), so they went with 1/4 fairings. Starting about 1980 or so, Yamaha and Kawasaki started offering 1/4 fairing equipped bikes. My buddy's XJ400 came with a 1/4 fairing, and we all know about the GPz400 (550 here in the US) Honda had the VT250, and I believe the Suzuki GSX400F came in a 1/4 fairing equipped version as well.

Pretty soon, Suzuki upped the ante with their GSXR750 sporting a "racer replica" full fairing and we were in awe. Prior to that, full fairings on the street were either on unobtanium exotics, or bosozoku bikes. Those of us within the ranks of the greater unwashed didn't dare sport a full fairing (even if we could have afforded it) because that was like waving a red flag in front of the police. I'm sure the big 4 leaned on the police to get them to acknowledge these new racer replicas as legit factory offerings and not arrest riders left and right.

As far as the "Americans" (i.e. cruisers) go, when they first came out they were a huge failure in Japan. For example, in 1979 it was pretty much impossible to find a new Suzuki GS400E on dealer floors. Suzuki did offer the GS400L (bigger rear tire, stepped seat, buckhorn bars) and these were languishing all over the place. Steep discounts, I remember in 1980 looking at a leftover new 1979 model GS400L being sold for about half price.

Sometime between when I left Japan in 1990 and returned in 1996, things changed and the "American" bikes were wildy popular.

Interesting read Bill. I'm glad you posted the link here because although I sometimes go to that site, the only section I ever look at is the vintage section. After reading it I've got a question or two. First what is the deal with the "Beet" finned side covers I saw on a couple of those bikes? Second you said all the Bozo bikes were 400 cc or less but this bike is clearly a KZ750 twin. Would this be a tribute bike to the express riders?

Thanks for your additional thoughts, Bill. I should have been more clear as I was looking for the possible influence of "standards" as they morphed from the styling of British bikes into the repli-racers of today. There was some sort of influence at work as within a few years the styling went from smooth curves to a bit boxy and then evolved over a decade or so toward the angular lines and the almost insect styling of today.

As for "American" bikes, well I understand that rather well and don't really care about it.

For Gringo: BEET is an aftermarket parts company big in Japan. Their most common offering was the finned sidecovers, but they also offered rearesets, exhaust systems, etc. They are still alive and well today, here is their website:

www.beet.co.jp/index2.html

I thought the white bike was a KZ400, but then again my Kawi twin recognition skills are limited. Yup, most bosozoku bikes were 400s or less due to the licensing standards, but there were some big bore bikes as well. The "holy grail" of bozo bikes was the Kawasaki Z2 (750 version of Z1).

Regardless of what the base bike is, though, that white bike is definitely a bosozoku bike. Very few press bikes had full fairings, having something inflexible that low would interfere with the task of squeezing between cars. The king/queen seat is a dead giveaway. That's so your flagpole waving passenger won't fall off at high speed. No passengers on press bikes, and the press bike flagpoles were mounted to the front forks.

By the way, I know this is sort of confusing but front fork mounted flagpoles were also a bozo bike trademark, with the primary difference being bozo flagpoles were much taller than those on press bikes.


For N0NB: Hmmm. Interesting train of thought. Not knowing any better, I'd guessing the round to angular was an extension of the British cafe racer influence. The HD XLCR, the Honda CB400F, and the first Honda Hawk 400T were all mid to late 70s bikes sporting angular lines.

Bill thanks for the info. Since we don't know where this picture came from I'm wondering. Since this 750 has a sticker on it in English and the, what looks to be a pressure washer in the background also has stickers in English, I'm wondering if this bike might have been built over here to mimic the Bozo bikes? Possibly someone from Japan who came over here and due to our lack of restrictions decided to just have at it and build one for the sake of nostalgia? I'm sure it could be a Japanese build but it sounds like the owner would have needed to have some big bucks.

Also what seems odd about this bike is that for all the work the owner put into this bike, the engine covers are all dingy. Looking at some of the other Bozo bikes everything seems to be polished, painted or chromed.

We better hope Steel doesn't see this bike or he'll have a new project in the works.:laugh: