WHAT BIKES WE RIDE

 Q.What motorcycle will we be riding?

A. A 110cc Honda Dio (Honda Vision in some markets)

The bike will be less than 3 years old

Q. Why don't you ride a Harley Davidson /Africa Twin /Hyabusa?

A.1) Cost.

The Honda scooters we use are cheap to buy, cheap to register and cheap to run. This means we can keep the cost of our expeditions low. Parking for under 125cc bikes is usually free, Fares on the car ferries are significantly lower, and tolls on bridges are cheaper. Filling up with fuel costs only a few bucks. There are plenty of tour options in Japan using ADV or sports bikes but the price for these tours is significantly higher.

2) Road conditions.

Away from the highways the speed limits on public roads in Japan are very low. A typical road in rural Japan will have a 40 or 50km/h speed limit with even lower limits through villages. The roads are very narrow with lots of tight turns and in some places the road surface can be in poor condition. We also ride on top of sea walls, river flood banks and forest roads. In most places you wont be able to go much faster than 50kmh no matter what you ride and a good rider on a scooter will be able to keep up with people on much more powerful bikes. You will see people riding sports bikes like GSX-R or Hyabusa but they wont be having much fun as they ride along in 2^nd gear. Like wise for riders of big cruiser or tourer bikes. Wrestling a 400kg Harley Davidson through the hairpin corners of the UFO Line is not most peoples idea of a good time. The Honda scooters we use are perfectly suited to the low speed narrow roads of the mountains and coastline. We can also use some bicycle lanes like on the bridges of the ShimaNami Kaido. There’s nothing more fun than shouting encouragement to sweaty bicyclists as you wizz past them up a steep hill.

3) Ease of use.

Anybody can ride a scooter. Enough said.

With its small frame its easy to stop on the side of the road if you see something interesting such as a submarine or a bridge made of vines. This happens a lot as the are many random interesting things to be seen

4) Safety.

At 30-40km/h you will probably be able to walk away from a crash or if you fall off. Everybody can then laugh at you and you will have a story to tell when you get home.

As speed and bike weight increases, the safety margin decreases. 

Its simple physics. Mass x Velocity = broken bones and hospital visits.

5) Fun factor

It is better to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow.