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The morning I set aside to visit a local Honda shop, I was informed that it was in fact no longer in business. The bad part is that this really was my only option for anything close to where I was working or staying. For the most part, aside from one lone new CBR1000, everyone here is on scooters or older classics (with regard to style).

I’m not sure I would have a nice bike either. Storage - check that - space in general is at a premium. From what I saw, most bikes are left outside in a public bike rack, in a driveway, or under a carport. That’s motorcycle abuse!

Having been witness to traffic habits, road conditions, etc., I would probably still have a motorycle. The type(s) would depend on the storage situation. One nice thing is that storage is not really a matter of security, but rather a matter of protection of the elements. Theft is just not commmon here.

I could easily make use of several bikes given the terrain that Japan has.

A bigger scooter would be the commuter work horse.
A 250cc two-stroke or 400cc four-stroke crotch rocket would have mountain duties.
A sport tourer (my Futura) would also be a good all-day machine, but possible a little big.
And finally, some sort of cruiser to lug through the rolling hills and mountians with the wife on the back.

Seriously. Is four motorcycles and proper storage really so much to ask for? I never found out about insurance costs, but nothing here is cheap. Suffice to say that my $250 per year for ull coverage on my Aprilia would probably sound like a steal. Never mind those $1k plus class fees and license plate costs. Heh - it’d still be money well spent.

The trick would be to send my Japanese model crotch rocket back to the US is a couple “parts” boxes for reassembly later.