G'Day to All

Just a quick 'hello' to you all.
I'm from Sydney but now live in Japan with my wife. I ran a service station for 10 years, and am now a high school teacher.
I've been riding since I was a nipper. Here are some of the bikes I've had over the years.

1980 z50 Honda when I was a 10. It was a roadworthy bike, lights blinkers and all. Of course I never registered it.
1986 BR250 Kwaka; had to get a 250 back in the day for my L's and P's.
1984 GPz900R; Bought this the day I got my full licence. Many fond memories here.
1994 GSXR1100; Traded the Kwaka for this, my first brand new bike. Great bike, but only 5 gears, was forever searching for the phantom 6th gear.
2006 CBR1100XX; Bought her brand new. Had to sell her when I moved to Japan. Too bad Honda doesn't make these anymore, it was a great bike. Smooth with a nice top end.

I currently ride a 2010 GSX1250FA Bandit. It's a good bike. I'm trying to get her to behave a bit more like the Blackbird but it's going to take a bit of work. Am awaiting a TFI box, K&N Filter and other parts from the States. Down low she's got more grunt than the old Bird, but she runs out of puff too early.

I don't work for Dale Walker at Holeshot.com directly, but do receive $10.00 everytime I mention the word 'HOLESHOT' on a forum and a 10% commission on any referred sales. 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT' 'HOLESHOT'.
Just kidding.

hello & welcome

Welcome to the forum.
Japan. That's a long ride from here

Welcome to the forum.

Hi there

I've used Dale W's stage 1 kit (too lazy to pull out the secondaries at the moment)..... Yoshi R77 & K&N. Much smoother & easier reving now.

They're a great all round tractor. I went for a scoot on a demo GSXR750 the other day .............. and came back thinking "Gee I'm glad I purchased the Bandit".........!

I always imagined the GXR750 to be a step above the Bandit.Never having ridden one i'm interested in your thoughts about it.Was it
just the riding position ? I always wanted a Lav. Jota until i rode one .Any chance of a small ride report ,realising what right for one
person maybe not right for the next. Perhaps in General Topic so we dont hijack this post,thanks Jaba 01

Gday
Hows the riding in Japan? mainly high ways or what?

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the warm welcome.
Big Al, the roads are varied in Japan. Japan is small in size but big in population and there are roads all over the place.
Some of the so called arterial roads are nothing more than what would be small single laned suburban streets in Sydney. The highway system is good but very expensive to use, you 'pay by the k'. I never use them. We live about 70 k's North of Tokyo, it's semi-rural, so if you get up early on a Sunday, you have the road to yourself. Good riding through the rice fields.

The Pluses: Not many cops, but more than the usual amount of bike cops on VFR800's and CBF1000's. They are good riders too. They are less agro than NSW cops, but they will paint-ball your arse if you don't pull over!
Speed cameras are all fixed and forward facing so sweet. I've probably been snapped 100 times already!
Lane splitting is tolerated and there are often special sections at the front of the lights reserved for lane splitting bikes.
There are mountain roads all over the joint. Got to be careful in the winter though.
Lots of bikers here. Every few weeks there are ride days and you can test ride pretty much every bike out there on closed courses for free. Last time I got to ride everything from an RSV4 Aprilia to a V-Max.

The Minuses: Traffic can be a bitch especially on public holidays, some traffic jams are 40km long!
Japs are all pretty much short-sighted genetically, so they all tail-gate like sons-of-bitches. The first few months here, I almost kicked the shit out of one guy who was tail-gating us for 10 km. He was surprised and didn't know what the fuss was all about.

Gus, I haven't ridden the 750 gixxer but the new 600 is pretty fast. It's pretty much just a race-bike. Uncomfortable, 1st gear too tall (140 k's!). It rides like a dog at traffic speeds and is awkward. The Bandit practically rides itself. I'm getting a little long in the tooth, so all these boy-racer bikes don't impress me anymore. Who's gonna use the full capabilities of these bikes on the road anyway? Not me that's for sure.

I received the Stage 1 Kit from Dale Walker yesterday arvo, just as I walked in the door. Good to hear about that Jaba, I'll let you know how it goes this weekend.

Cheers