Characters In Exile

Characters in Exile

UP FRONT

MARK HOYER

A FEW YEARS AGO, I WAS SITTING WITH a bigwig at one of the major manufacturers talking about, what else, motorcycles. One of the significant points in the conversation was how things were changing from a technologically driven, high-performance market to one that would put more emphasis on the spirit and feeling of the ride, with a strong undercurrent of value.

And, here we are. Performance and technology will never go out of style: Check out “The Unusual Suspects” (p. 60) for a perfect marrying of performance, spirit and the feeling of the ride.

But there has been a clear shift in emphasis in the market. Which is one of the things that pushed us to get the “Characters” bikes together for this issue’s cover story.

While we do have a great choice of Character-type bikes here in the U.S., there are a few models available overseas that we think deserve a chance here, or in some cases, another chance in America. The choices that follow are limited to products from the Big Four Japanese manufacturers because we felt most deprived of coolness by them.

Topping the list is Kawasaki’s retro parallel-Twin, the W800. I wrote the test on the $6499 W650 in the February, 2000, issue and found this Kawasaki to be one of the most charming motorcycles I’d ever ridden. The bevel-driven-ohc mill was sweet and torquey and sounded more like a Triumph than Triumph’s own reborn Bonneville did when it hit the road in 2001. The W650’s coolness and character could not be denied.

But Kawasaki did virtually nothing to promote the bike here, and it was not in the lineup for 2002. Imagine if it had been kept in the line for more than a decade, building loyalty, getting enough bikes in the hands of riders to support an aftermarket, much like has happened with the Bonneville.

The W800’s 773cc version would have to be sweeter still. It retails for about $10,100 in Japan, where bikes typically cost quite a bit more than in the States. Using the Ninja 250R as a “correction factor” guide—about $6200 in Japan, $4199 here—the W800 might drop 30 percent, down to a pretty palatable $7200. Heck, let’s call it $7999, and it would be going admirably head-to-head with the Bonnie, which ranges from $7699 to about $10,000 depending on the model.

In a similar vein is the Yamaha SR400 Single. We used to get the SR500 here (1978-1981), a classic, British-inspired lightweight sporting machine. Tiered licensing in Japan means it’s been a 400 over there, but it’s still available and costs $6850. Using Yamaha’s own WR250R as a correction factor ($8328 in Japan, $6590 here), we end up at $5411 for the SR400. Make it a full 500cc like in the old days and hit it at, say, $5499. The new EFI would make the kickstart-only machine that much easier to live with, and think of the street cred you’d have throwing a leg at your bike to get it going. I can feel the hipsters already tuning up their pipe wrap.

Suzuki gets credit for playing in the U.S. market with its $4099 TU250X, a nice, standard-style Single with a retro flavor. But may we suggest the Bigboy

250 Grasstracker? It’s about $5500 in Japan (maybe $4599 here would work?) and kicks the Cool Meter into the red zone. Consider also that the $5399 S40 (née Savage) 650cc Single cruiser is being converted by Ryca Motors into a café-style machine. Suzuki, somebody is building a business selling your bike to a market you clearly aren’t reaching. Oh, and by the way, Ryca is working on a scrambler version of the S40, too. Build your own 650 Grasstracker and call it the Really Bigboy, Suzuki?

On the other end of the spectrum is Honda’s Japanese-market CB1100 fourcylinder. I was fortunate when the bike debuted in 2010 to get a chance to ride it stateside. It was fun, smooth, comfortable and light-steering. Its looks, its sound, its character all made me feel like I had a direct line to Honda’s original CB750 Four and the powerful history of the brand. The CB1100 is about $11,800 in Japan without ABS. If Honda could squeak that one under $10K (or cheaper, if you please!), it would be sweet, indeed. This bike bled Honda Red and had at least as much character as any of the machines we featured this month. It just felt good to ride.

Sure, it’s easy to be an armchair quarterback like this. There are real costs involved in bringing a bike to the U.S.— very large sums must be spent on spare parts, manuals, marketing, DOT/EPA/ GARB certification, etc.—and it’s not hard to find past examples of “character” bikes that have not made the cut.

But it is pretty clear that riders new and old are looking for a spiritual connection with their motorcycles much more than they were even just five years ago. Maybe the time is right for Japanese makers to tap their own strong history and get in on the simple, approachable, affordable end of the market with stylish bikes evoking the spirit of what has helped them be such wonderful contributors to our life on two wheels. □