mkvgti Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Hi guys, just bought 2020 Tracer GT at a local bike shop in Suzuka. Can't wait till 22nd March. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Welcome to the forum @mkvgti. I wonder if your bike didn’t have to travel far? 1 Red 2015 Tracer, UK spec (well, it was until I started messing with it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 1 hour ago, mkvgti said: Hi guys, just bought 2020 Tracer GT at a local bike shop in Suzuka. Can't wait till 22nd March. Thankyou for greeting. I am happy joining this forum from origin country. Am I the only one member here from Japan native? Yea, my bike isn't going to travel far from Yamaha factory. I live around 150km (94miles) away from there, I used to live the town where Yamaha HQ, 7 years ago that's why I choose riding Yamaha. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phpaul Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Konnichiwa and Welcome! I was stationed in Japan for several years back in the 1970's at Misawa Air Base near Aomori. Loved the country and the people. It's also where I got hooked on Yamahas. My first new bike was an RT360 and I shipped an RD350 back to the States with me when I rotated out. I'm a little surprised to hear about an FJ in Japan. When I was there, bikes over 200cc's were VERY expensive for Japanese to register and insure and were very very rare to see on the road. Has that changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Konnichiwa, Hello phpaul san. Thank you for your service during the cold war, I was born in 1973, perhaps you and I were on the same soil. Hope your bike are still there in your garage. Displacement over 750cc was the limitation which motorcycle companies' voluntary restraint until 1988. And also taking a rider's license over 401cc was very very strict and insurance were also expensive at that time of era. But this license regulation, registration fees and insurance circumstance had changed in 1995, we are now able to own a high power motorcycle with reasonable cost. During 1981-83, I was in Boston MA. Now I don't remember much but I went to Maine too. It was beautiful scenery, enjoyed drive with my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phpaul Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 We were indeed. I was there from January 1972 to June 1973 and then re-enlisted for orders to go back to Misawa from February 1976 to November 1978. The second time, I was married with 3 children and the whole family has fond memories of our time in Misawa. My daughters were lucky enough to go to the Sapporo Ice Festival with a Japanese family. We also went to the Hirosaki Castle Cherry Blossom Festival a couple times. We'd practice what little Japanese we knew and the Japanese families there would practice their English with us. We got by quite well that way and were always warmly received. My favorite motorcycle ride was from the base in Misawa to Lake Towada. Quite hilly and a very nice twisty road. The speed limit of 60 KPH got very badly bent a few times. 😉 The bikes I mentioned are long gone unfortunately. Youthful attention span and the urge for something new and different. Wish I had both of them (and some others from over the years) back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) Wow, that's great to hear that. In my youth I lived in Ibaraki, where Hyakuri air base (JSDF air base) locate, close to Tokyo. Unfortunately I had no chance to visit Aomori. Wish I could to see a Nepuda festival in summer. Hope your children enjoyed days living in Japan with good memories, if you have a chance to visit again, you'll surprise to see how different there are now. (checking google map is very convenient, I sometimes do this for fun to see how it changed in Boston) Riding motorcycle in Misawa area seems great in spring to late summer. 60KPH is just a reference! Safe and Comfortable speed is your 60. Btw, how did you keep your bike during winter in Misawa? Didn't you had a lot of snow? Edited March 3, 2020 by mkvgti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member roadrash83 Posted March 3, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted March 3, 2020 Welcome to the forum @mkvgti. I am looking forward to seeing the mods you do to the GT with parts that we can't get over here. Enjoy! He who dies with the most toys wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phpaul Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 16 minutes ago, mkvgti said: Wow, that's great to hear that. In my youth I lived in Ibaraki, where Hyakuri air base (JSDF air base) locate, close to Tokyo. Unfortunately I had no chance to visit Aomori. Wish I could to see a Nepuda festival in summer. Hope your children enjoyed days living in Japan with good memories, if you have a chance to visit again, you'll surprise to see how different there are now. (checking google map is very convenient, I sometimes do this for fun to see how it changed in Boston) Riding motorcycle in Misawa area seems great in spring to late summer. 60KPH is just a reference! Safe and Comfortable speed is your 60. Btw, how did you keep your bike during winter in Misawa? Didn't you had a lot of snow? Yes, Winters in Misawa are pretty brutal. Winds and snow off the Sea of Japan, 1.5 meters per month in December, January and February was not unusual. I belonged to the base motorcycle club (Misawa Dusters) and we had a pretty good sized building we stored them in over the winter. I googled Misawa not too long ago and could identify the base housing we lived in. The base itself has changed tremendously. The command I was attached to was completely disbanded a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 8 hours ago, roadrash83 said: Welcome to the forum @mkvgti. I am looking forward to seeing the mods you do to the GT with parts that we can't get over here. Enjoy! Hi roadrash83, Thankyou. My first mod will be ... lose my weight to decrease power weight ratio lol. Actually, video cams for both front and rear will be the first mod. Then sliders and engine guards maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 8 hours ago, phpaul said: Yes, Winters in Misawa are pretty brutal. Winds and snow off the Sea of Japan, 1.5 meters per month in December, January and February was not unusual. I belonged to the base motorcycle club (Misawa Dusters) and we had a pretty good sized building we stored them in over the winter. I googled Misawa not too long ago and could identify the base housing we lived in. The base itself has changed tremendously. The command I was attached to was completely disbanded a few years ago. We rarely have snow in Mie prefecture, I can't imagine 1.5m of snow!!! Glad you had a place to store bikes. Wish I could have a garage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 Had a call from the bike shop at Suzuka that my Tracer GT came. Reached there and found it stripped to do some riding recorders and electrical toll system installed. Have to wait for few more days lol. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) Finally picked up my ride on Sunday, while riding back home I took a pic with my old TT-250R Raid. Did you guys know that JDM Tracer 900 GT does not come with side panniers? I didn't even know that GT panniers are painted with same body color in overseas!!! There is no colored panniers on a option catalog... Edited March 23, 2020 by mkvgti 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgy Knees Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I thought all the GTs came with panniers.?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvgti Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 37 minutes ago, Dodgy Knees said: I thought all the GTs came with panniers.?? For Japanese market, it’s an option. But we can’t afford painted panniers like the one you have in overseas. However GT price setting is cheaper due to w/o panniers, so it’s 1.2 mil JPY w/ tax, about 11.1k USD. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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