Biding my time off two wheels

Well, still no bike. Have you ever heard the expression "there's no such thing as a free puppy"? I kind of have that situation with my various vehicular possessions at the moment. I also alluded to the very different licensing situation that occurs in Japan for military folks with cars and bikes in my previous post. With the complicated, burdensome, and bureaucratic process the Navy overlays onto my riding  you have me, sitting at my desk instead of out riding on the lovely twisty roads we have here. Follow along as I try to explain a bit at what I've been doing to keep busy in the meantime.

One thing I wanted to do and planned for with my wife, was to buy a vehicle that would let us haul a bike to the track. Be it flat track or a race circuit, getting a bike to the track in Japan usually involves a mini van. Small utility trailers are illegal. Pick-up trucks as you think of them in the U.S. don't exist and riding to the track on your track bike is not usually a good idea. After a bunch of YouTube research we settled on a Honda Stepwgn (not misspelled). It is sized to fit the narrow Japanese roads as well as the tight confines of the parking structures we have here. If I remove the second row of rear seats and flip up the third row seats, I will have almost 2 meters (6' 6") of space to play with. Where this ties into my "free puppy" comment is that we picked up this particular Stepwgn for $1500. I have since spent an additional $1500 replacing the radiator, thermostat and cooling fans. Included in that cost was also the battery and the alternator. There is some clunking going on in the front suspension requiring another $700 of control arm replacement and the power steering pump is leaking. Once I get all of these taken care of, I should have a good bike hauler that will last the 3 years we will be stationed here.

Another little wrinkle in securing two-wheeled fun are the Navy's rules for registering vehicles and getting my motorcycle riding license. In the picture you see here I have the logic diagram for getting my bike license on base. This is the "simplified" experienced rider chart. The new rider chart has another couple of branches to work through. What you don't see here is the limit on number of vehicles I am allowed to own. We can only have one vehicle per licensed driver. Aside from the Honda mentioned previously, I have another "free puppy" in the form of a little Toyota Ractis compact car. It was free, as it was given to me by the person whose job I took over. The summer is a busy season for folks transferring into and out of the base. There is a glut of cheap cars available and my predecessor couldn't sell her car. I use this as my car while the wife hauls the family in the Honda. Since I have two vehicles and two drivers I now have to ask my base commander for permission to buy a bike. This is due to limited parking available on and immediately off the base. That will take time to work out, then I can jump into the flow chart and get my bike. Maybe by Christmas I can be back on two wheels....

While on the subject of convoluted transportation laws, the pictures of these these two forlorn bikes are a bi-product of the Japanese motor vehicle Safety and Registration laws. As best as I can tell, both of these bike have been abandoned in place. The Suzuki Savage has most definitely been parked for a few years as it has vines growing through the frame. The Honda on the right hasn't moved since I checked in three months ago. Both look to have been left to die. The Suzuki probably just got too expensive to register. The Japanese safety inspections can get pricey as the vehicle gets older. You also have to pay for junking a vehicle. It is much easier to just leave it somewhere. The police are too polite to tow a bike and most likely the owner doesn't even live nearby. The Honda was probably abandoned by a service member on the base. Much like my Toyota, it probably couldn't get sold before the member left Japan on new orders. Similar to the Suzuki it was parked and the owner walked away. The base police are very willing to tow, but they don't have space to haul away all of the clunkers rotting in the various lots around the base. If I can figure out how to do a salvage claim and pick up the Honda, it would be a fun project. I dig the weird pelican hard bags and the half fairing. I don't know what model it is, but it is a twin cylinder and reminds me of my FZ1.

Once I get up and running on a bike this is the world that awaits. Here is a picture of the main road I take to and from the base. Narrow roads with large trucks stopped on the side to unload their cargo and lots of stop lights. Getting to work in the morning is pretty quick. At 7:00 am, the roads are still clear. Having a bike wouldn't change that. I would cut my commute time coming home. Technically, lane splitting is illegal in Japan. There is a provision for very small bikes where they have to use the edge of the road. While illegal, the law is very laxly enforced. You really have to piss of the police to get called out for it. I have seen some pretty sketchy bike behavior. Not like the streets of India or Vietnam sketchy, but still questionable. I have seen people wearing no gear and even small kids being transported by scooter. A 50cc scooter is like a Toyota Camry here. The expense of gas at $5.00/gallon and the troubles with parking make having a scooter almost a necessity. I have been riding my bicycle to and from work using the road as a way to get some exercise and to get me ready to lane split. It seems to be working as I'm getting fairly comfortable with cars whizzing by and close range.

Once I do get a to a place where I can buy a bike, I have so many choices to pick from. The bike above is one option. The workhorse of Japan, the venerable Honda Cub. Used for everything from Ramen noodle take out to pizza delivery. The Honda Cub is so revered that I recently found a little vending machine selling these cool Cub toys for a couple of bucks. I can pick up a beat down 50cc bike for as little as $800 bucks. I have seen them outfitted for fishing, surfing, grocery getting and heavy loads of newspaper delivery. I have a magazine that specializes in small bikes an have seen articles about Honda Cub endurance racing. Maybe one day I'll do that!

Well folks, even though I haven't been riding, I have been keeping my eyes on the motorcycle scene. I will be up on two wheels by Christmas, or at least that is the goal. Right at the moment we are cleaning up from a typhoon (hurricane) that rolled through town. We got through it relatively unscathed. This is typhoon season and Japan is well versed in taking these storms head on. If you're out there riding, ride safe. If not, get out and ride. See you soon!

Blue