Some nice "big4" footage from Nori in Japan.

Based on all the squealing, I guess brake shims are hard to find in Japan.

That's an incredible number of bikes.  How many of those are original 900 and 1000s?  If so they all would have been reimported, since this article claims the 750cc limit was in effect until 1988.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_two-wheel_motor_vehicle_(Japan)


I would love to know just how many of the big four bikes have been brought back to Japan.  Anyone have a guess?
 

Amazing showing. Made me want to fix mine up to be as pretty as most of those were.

DOHC post=853923Based on all the squealing, I guess brake shims are hard to find in Japan.

That's an incredible number of bikes.  How many of those are original 900 and 1000s?  If so they all would have been reimported, since this article claims the 750cc limit was in effect until 1988.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_two-wheel_motor_vehicle_(Japan)


I would love to know just how many of the big four bikes have been brought back to Japan.  Anyone have a guess?

There are literally companies all over the place offering money to anyone who has any bike in the goldie locks zone over the 750cc and under 1988 over here and in the states. In japan then there are dedicated restoring garages buying in that stock, they love there reso mods over there and stock bike so all are getting big money. Your bike DOHC, 45,000 bucks...below
page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d1000985795

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Amazing showing. Made me want to fix mine up to be as pretty as most of those were.



The japanese style is love it or hate it but they are not afraid to express them selves in their machines that much is true. I appreciate a fully or partial stock bike but also appreciate those who are not afraid to make the bike part of them.

 

I gotta make it over there one day for a meet up like that. an incredible amount of bikes

I just wanted to mention that this video can stream at 4K resolution (2160p).  It's worth it to watch it on a big screen.  The video is really sharp and there is a ton of detail.

wrote:

 Your bike DOHC, 45,000 bucks...below
page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d1000985795

Will that bike really sell for that price?  I know the exchange rate shows that price as $43k USD, but is that really equivalent to someone in the US paying that much?  That's a lot of money for a motorcycle.

I know folks pay big money for resto-mod bike from places like Sanctuary, but those bikes have a huge amount of labor in them and a lot of fancy parts.  It's hard to believe that the stock Z1-R sells for the same price as this:

www.ac-sanctuary.co.jp/%e3%80%901%ef%bc%...%80%91-rcm-504-z1-r/

I actually really respect that folks in Japan are so dedicated to these bikes that Sanctuary has been able to sell more than 500 custom builds at that price.  That's a serious dedication to the Z1.

I think that the general mistake (and is probably a debate on its own)  there is to compare Japan and like where i live in Ireland... to the states, ye have access too way more of these bikes over in USA and lets be honest the whole bike scene in the states is about 75% Harley and the rest bling bikes in all shapes and sizes, that 25% are those who gravitate to a bike that "gets them" or visa versa. I remember visiting a bike breakers in Ontario and they had all kinds of new and newish bikes being parted out in the front and this graveyard of vintage Jap bikes in the back with weeds growing through them cause no one gave a shite , I was was riding a 76 z900 cafe type thing back then and i was the only person in knew who rode a vintage jap bike. I suppose my point is that America is where the vast majority of these bike are and because of that the value you put on them is lesser, the Japanese collector has less of a pond to fish in and the are passionate about what they have, and well everything of a vintage nature is just super expensive there. And DocoRot i was there ofr a month and visited Kawasaki, it was worth the trip.
Oh and p.s DOHC my dream is to buid that exact bike that you used as an example.

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I think that the general mistake (and is probably a debate on its own)  there is to compare Japan and like where i live in Ireland... to the states, ye have access too way more of these bikes over in USA
 

I don't really have a good sense for how the exchange rate, which is tied up with a lot of economic complexity, reflects the cost of vehicles purchase and ownership.  But $43k USD is a lot of money for any vehicle here in the US, especially a motorcycle which is generally considered more of a toy than daily transportation.  Looking at the top models for new bikes, the most expensive HD I can find is the 2021 CVO Limited at $44k.  The over the top 2021 Kawasaki H2R is $55.5k.  The Ducati Panigale ranges from 21k to 40k, with 243hp for the top model.  But you can get a whole lot of motorcycle for much less than that.  The ZR10R ABS is $17.4k

Going off the exchange rate, the idea that a 40 year old mass produced bike would be roughly the same price as some of the most expensive and ridiculous bikes available in the US is surprising.  The exchange rate either fails to capture what vehicles cost in Japan, or shows that the Z1 derived models are really really desirable.  As desirable as the very best modern hardware.

Oh and p.s DOHC my dream is to build that exact bike that you used as an example.

The Sanctuary bikes are all stunning works of art.  I have often dreamed of trying to import one.  I have also wondered if it would be possible to send a frame to Japan for them to rework. 
Do you think they would brace up my frame, and send me back a big pile of really trick parts, like some kind of Sanctuary bike kit-in-a-box?  I can dream, right?

DOHC post=853993
Do you think they would brace up my frame, and send me back a big pile of really trick parts, like some kind of Sanctuary bike kit-in-a-box?  I can dream, right?


To be honest WEBike has just about everything that could be found on one of their bikes.. and i did "fantasy" shop once on a complete front and rear end of what i could recognise from their bikes to what was available on the site. My bill came to north of  14,000 euro and thats just thats without looking into bodywork, carb and engine. The price is high because the Spec is high, i can imagine after all is factored in that the probably get in profit what they would get for a mildly restored bike. Where they make their money is selling the parts to others that they manufacture to others, their exhausts go for crazy money.  Its like the finished product is like a rolling advert for the parts they want to sell you. On the site there is a description of the frame mods they do, i can translate it and post the pics if you want in another post tonight if you like. I just love the grass roots guy who owns a "Big 4" from the 73 Z1 that looks like it was battered by life and the sea to full on resto mod and everything in between, its like the are unafraid of the "resale value" or impressing others,  the mentality is just make a bike that makes you happy.

wrote:

I think that the general mistake (and is probably a debate on its own)  there is to compare Japan and like where i live in Ireland... to the states, ye have access too way more of these bikes over in USA and lets be honest the whole bike scene in the states is about 75% Harley and the rest bling bikes in all shapes and sizes, that 25% are those who gravitate to a bike that "gets them" or visa versa. I remember visiting a bike breakers in Ontario and they had all kinds of new and newish bikes being parted out in the front and this graveyard of vintage Jap bikes in the back with weeds growing through them cause no one gave a shite , I was was riding a 76 z900 cafe type thing back then and i was the only person in knew who rode a vintage jap bike. I suppose my point is that America is where the vast majority of these bike are and because of that the value you put on them is lesser, the Japanese collector has less of a pond to fish in and the are passionate about what they have, and well everything of a vintage nature is just super expensive there. And DocoRot i was there ofr a month and visited Kawasaki, it was worth the trip.
Oh and p.s DOHC my dream is to buid that exact bike that you used as an example.




 

Not really.  Although Harley is the biggest seller in the USA they are no where near 75%.  Ed