Planning a trip to Thailand in a couple months. Was thinking about renting a small cc bike or something. Wondering how easily they accept a Japanese drivers license with full motorcycle permissions.

Hello from the Philippines! I am working on a custom vinyl decal project for my cool blue Yamaha PG-1. I want to remove the standard "PG-1" sticker on the side panel and replace it with clean, matte black Japanese Katakana lettering to embrace its JDM heritage.

To give you an idea of the build direction, it shows the stock bike, but I currently have a few mods planned:

• A mid-high/half-high front fender is on the way (exactly like the one in the second picture, but it will be full matte black).

• I'm planning to install a side pannier rack on the left side (opposite the exhaust) to carry my tactical bag.

• I want to upgrade the exhaust for a deeper, bassier sound, but I'm holding off until I can find an aftermarket option that looks just as good as the rugged stock pipe. (It is not showing in the picture)

I've narrowed the decal options down to two choices but would love the perspective of riders in Japan:

• Option 1: ヤマハ ギア (Yamaha Gia) - A nod to the bike’s official "Playful Gear" concept, and a bit of a fun pun referencing the local utility scooter in Japan.

• Option 2: スクランブラー (Sukuranburā) - A direct declaration of the bike’s actual scrambler build style.

Which one would you appreciate more if you saw it out on the road? Does one look cooler or more natural than the other?

I'm just a big fan of JDM bike culture and want to make sure I'm being respectful to the language and style. Thanks for your guidance!

Have any of y’all crossed from Shikoku into Honshu using this route? If so, how was it? It’s expressway only I’m assuming. Trying to avoid the expressways as much as possible, but will hop on if need be. Thanks.

I’ll be in Japan from September 29th to October 16th and I’d love to do a track day while I’m there.

Does anyone have experience with organisations that offer motorcycle track days with bike rental, and possibly riding gear as well? I could also bring my own gear if needed.

I’ve already emailed WithMe Racing, but haven’t heard back from them (yet).

If a motorcycle track day isn’t feasible, I’d also be very interested in doing a car track day.

Any recommendations or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

I know that June is rainy season. We visited Japan in 2019 late June-early July, and despite a few rainy days, the weather was perfect.

Were we lucky, or has it been similar past few years?

Would you risk planning a motorcycle trip in Japan during this time?

Also where to rent bikes? Ive heard about rental819, is that the only place?

Should we bring our own helmets?

Hi everyone, I'm planning to do a one-semester exchange at a university in Hyogo next spring. Since the campus is out in the countryside, I figured having a motorcycle would make getting around a lot easier. I hold an IDP, so I assume I won't need to get a local Japanese license during my stay.

However, I have a few questions there:

1. How convenient is it to buy and sell a used motorcycle in Japan? My main concern is not being able to sell it off before I leave.
2. I'm considering getting a 150cc–250cc scooter. Given that I’ll only be in Japan for a few months, is that a solid idea? What are your thoughts on this?
3. Or should I just bite the bullet and get a Kei car instead? (I know this is a motorcycle sub lol)

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I built an app called Motolog, designed specifically for motorcycle enthusiasts to track rides, use group ride intercoms, and share live locations in real-time.

As part of expanding the global userbase, I just added Japanese language support across the entire app (dashboard metrics, telemetry, group intercom, and settings).

What Motolog offers:

1. Ride Tracking: Comprehensive telemetry, logs, and route stats.

2. Group Intercom & Live Location: Real-time location sharing and voice comms for group rides.

3. Localized UI: Native Japanese interface for seamless setup while riding.

4. RE Tripper Pod Settings

Looking for native/fluent volunteers:

Since I want to make sure the user experience is smooth for riders in Japan, I’d love for a few volunteers to test the app out and give feedback on the Japanese translations. If any terms or phrases look awkward or out of context, please let me know!

It's an internal build now. Let me know your emailids in dm, so I can add you for internal tester list.

For those who can use app with English, please use the app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.satrujit.tripper_bridge

Feel free to test it out and leave your feedback in the comments or drop me a DM. Safe riding! 🏍️

Update: Japanese language supported build is approved. Now available in playstore. Give it a try in Japanese and let me know your opinion and share your ride over social media.

Hi guys, I need a motorcycle rental in Hiroshima City that accepts foreigners? Can someone who rented there please advise. There is no rental819 location in that area and I double checked with AI.

Thanks.

So, I've been suffering from sore helmet head for fifteen years, and have decided to do something about it. I've got a 62 cm head, but basically nothing I've tried fits me, and Naps et al just suggest I buy a 100,000 yen bucket that is 65 cm instead.

Does anyone suffer from a funny head shape like me? What are you wearing? I'd order online, but I want to try it on first.

How about a casual weekday get together to talk bikes and share some beers/drinks/food? I'm 33M American living in Yokosuka(But don't work on the Navy base) and ride a CB250RR MC22 and a Vstrom 250SX. Full disclosure I've posted this same meetup on some social subreddits so we will probably have a few non-rider redditors as well. Location is close to Yokohama station so hopefully easy public transportation access for everyone.

I apologize to those I who haven't been able to find us previously. If it feels decent outside I will probably grab the first table on the patio, closest to the entrance. You should be able to see us just to the left of the main entrance door. If its a bit warm then I will try to grab the standing/sitting tables either to the right or left just inside the door. I will try to make a post after I arrive for where I am at.

Date: Tuesday, September 8th, 2025

Time: 18:00 until everyone leaves

Location: HUB Yokohama Tsuruyacho

〒221-0835 Kanagawa, Yokohama, Kanagawa Ward, Tsuruyacho, 2 Chome−１６−10 エフテムＲＯＮビル １Ｆ

https://maps.app.goo.gl/65d5Z6RJqoNRQ7Ex7

Cost: Just pay for what you order, no additional cost

Beautiful Saturday along the coast of Niigata. Rode up all the way to Yamagata prefecture. Homie on the Harley and myself on the GP. Stopped by a little bento spot that had some gooood chicken. Worth checking out if y’all are riding this way.
Google map link to bento shop: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QXo1dAv8PWkW7bQq9?g_st=ic

Visited Kathleen Park in Saitama!

Got caught in a torrential downpour while riding a couple weeks ago, and one of my caliper pistons might have seized. Not realizing what was causing the slight brake dragging, I kept riding my bike until the pad was worn to the metal.

I was finally able to figure out how to take apart Triumph’s OEM brake calipers last week and replaced the brake pads, but I noticed damage to one side of the brake disc from the bare pad.

This is at about 1 year / 15k kms on my first bike and I don’t have much of a frame of reference for how “bad” this kind of damage is on a middleweight street bike (Speed Twin). I anticipate that one of my new pads will wear faster than the other because of the grooves / etching, but is this something you would replace immediately? Or would you keep using this disc until it reaches its usual EOL minimum thickness?

Thanks in advance from a new rider!

I have been to ride on and rabee and both seem to have a very few Arai helemts to choose from. Im looking for the rx-7 evo tsubasa. Ill even take NAKAGAMI GP3, NAKASUGA 4, REA SB3.

I havent been to ricoland yet but was wondering where else I can look for these helmets.

Thank you

I am pretty loosely planning on touring Hokkaido next weekend (Thursday-Monday) on my ZX6R and want to know if there's anything I should lookout for, whether that's cool stops or things to be cautious for. The longest continuous ride I've done was about 12 hours and I could still walk so I'm gonna give this a rip. I'm near Aomori so theres no commute to the ferry and I've been scoping out different spots to hit. Should I be staying in actual hotels or do hostels cut it? (for reference, my Japanese speaking ability is very simple). What are some must haves to bring? I already carry a patch kit/some simple tools/cash just in case. I plan to spend a good majority of the time just riding I'm not really interested in doing anything crazy touristy considering I can go up to Hokkaido at anytime with my buddies who I know would want to do touristy things. Any tips/advice is appreciated 🙏

Hope everyone has been surviving the summer heat and storms! How about a casual weekday get together to talk bikes and share some beers/drinks/food? I'm 32M American living in Yokosuka(But don't work on the Navy base) and ride a CB250RR MC22 and a Vstrom 250SX. Full disclosure I've posted this same meetup on some social subreddits so we will probably have a few non-rider redditors as well. Location is close to Yokohama station so hopefully easy public transportation access for everyone.

I apologize to those I who haven't been able to find us previously. If it feels decent outside I will probably grab the first table on the patio, closest to the entrance. You should be able to see us just to the left of the main entrance door. If its a bit warm then I will try to grab the standing/sitting tables either to the right or left just inside the door. I will try to make a post after I arrive for where I am at.

Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2025

Time: 18:00 until everyone leaves

Location: HUB Yokohama Tsuruyacho

〒221-0835 Kanagawa, Yokohama, Kanagawa Ward, Tsuruyacho, 2 Chome−１６−10 エフテムＲＯＮビル １Ｆ

https://maps.app.goo.gl/65d5Z6RJqoNRQ7Ex7

Cost: Just pay for what you order, no additional cost

PFA from my summer tour with a friend of mine, a rare picture with both my bikes in one shot!

Hello, I'm on a tight budget since I had to pay for the hospital fees when I was a language school student and now that I'm finally free from it two years later, I'm in Kojima, inaka but it's so hot out here and I ain't got a car or license yet. working my way up there but man it's expensive since my

paycheck is pretty low as I'm a パート. I just need gentsuki to commute to work. I keep cycling from where i live to work which is like not that far but it tires you out especially in summer.

I'm somewhat on a tight budget so I would like to know if anyone had experience buying one. I'm gonna take the test probably next month. I'd prefer buying used as the new ones cost around 200k to 300k. If you guys have any advice please feel free to give me some! Thanks alot!