OK, no offence to the two Johns but I've looked at Honda UK's sponsored photo for too long !
Luckily, most of us have an inbuilt filter that means we hardly notice them anymore. I do get annoyed at tripping over bits of plastic though.
In the words of the R.S.M. "Get that Shitehawk off my P'rade Ground !"
Sadly, having showered us with all the insults about leaky British machinery in the 1970s, the Lovers of Jap Tat are now playing the same game and trying to take over the old bike scene. Why don't they stick to their own shows ? I know that their old bikes are 'better' than my old bike. I'm happy in my little world and I don't want to discuss it with them.
Looks like quite a few us have a rice burner stashed away someplace-mine's a RD350 from the seventies which I used to race sporadically and then one day I happend to ride a hand geared BSA XO, after which I've been pretty much hooked as far as old thumpers are concerned, my favorite rides these day are my M20-of course-a 16H and my rigid 5T
I had an air-cooled RD350 in the seventies and had a lot of fun as a teenager on it but it's not the basis for a proper serious hobby for a gentleman of mature years.
I don't have a problem with people liking them. I just feel that it's a completely different world from what interests me. To be honest, I'd rather see bits of 1930s cars in between the bike stuff at Beaulieu than Hondas at Stafford.
Mixing the Jap stuff with the European is rather like a plant nursery putting trays of plastic plants between the real ones or an antique shop putting IKEA furniture between the Chippendale. It wouldn't make for an enjoyable shopping experience.
I recently bought an old (95) Diversion 600 for £100 as a hack to run around on while I rebuild the BSA. It is also meant as a bad weather hack as I don't want to run the BSA in extreme weather (wet is OK but snow and ice is not good).
I had two Honda Superdreams a few years back that I hacked about on..they were good bikes but unfortunately a combination of a total lack of interest (zero maintenance) and continuous thrashing sent them both to an early appointment at the recycling center.
I happily confess to a perverse pleasure in reducing the worlds population of Hondas by 2 and will always view Japanese motorcycles as expendable.
They are undeniably a reliable, efficient means of transport and some have justifiably become iconic 'landmark' motorcycles, but they'll never get me excited.
Nevertheless, there is a growing interest in them and the generations that grew up with Fizzies and CD 175s are looking to the older Jap bikes as restoration projects...so I guess we will have to get used to seeing them at the jumbles.... Ian
I haven't owned a Jap bike for over 20 years now. It used to be the arguement every weekend, Brit sh*t verses Jap cr*p. I would argue the Brit side until I fell over drunk in the early hours. Everyone was in a bike club then and we did some miles, my Norton was reliable and it was often me that went back to pick up someone who'd broken down on a Honda, which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside
I had this belief until someone said a Jap bike is like a Tampax..! Use it and throw it away
I was killing the Norton keeping up with 1000cc Japs on the motorway so I bought a Jap bike to hammer the miles, and lost all interest in the bike itself, it was just a tool to do a job. A mate said if you like your Norton get an Evo Harley, it's a big Brit bike and you'll love it. I've had my Heritage Softail for 20 years and all I do is change the oil. But I still love blasting around on my Norton's
Somebody sold my son a VFR 400 RR as an 'Ideal' learner bike..... Yikes! I had the front wheel up several times and got 135mph (on the clock, two up)before the rev limiter kicked in. It was a monstrous bike to work on but was a hell of a ride. I later bought a a Ducati 900 Monster S. It wasn't that fast but it was a beautiful bike to ride, except in traffic, where the dry clutch was very heavy. I do like more modern bikes, but I love the oldies.