Do Jap bikes have soul?

[Blatman]

If you had asked me this when I was 18, or 20, or even 23 I would have said an emphatic NO!! Jeez, I hated anything non-British. Really I would have run them off the road. But now, maybe I'm getting old. The old Brits were cool at the time, but fuck they did need constant looking after. I travelled through the world on all sorts of old tin and late in life bought my V-Max. I tell ya, it has character by the truck load!
Dunno why, but if we own a Duke we have to denigrate other brands, Harley riders etc and the Jappers hate them, it goes on. I mean I frickin' get a stiffy at the sound of a Duke or a Harley or a V-Max or whatever. Love 'em all!
How bout you?

[JimO]

Dunno why, but if we own a Duke we have to denigrate other brands, Harley riders etc and the Jappers hate them, it goes on. I mean I frickin' get a stiffy at the sound of a Duke or a Harley or a V-Max or whatever. Love 'em all!
How bout you?

try a Italian bike with a japanese motor, the fact its fast, cheap to run and cost the same as a 10 yo duc monster some people dont get it

[The Stranger:Me]

If you had asked me this when I was 18, or 20, or even 23 I would have said an emphatic NO!! Jeez, I hated anything non-British. Really I would have run them off the road. But now, maybe I'm getting old. The old Brits were cool at the time, but fuck they did need constant looking after. I travelled through the world on all sorts of old tin and late in life bought my V-Max. I tell ya, it has character by the truck load!
Dunno why, but if we own a Duke we have to denigrate other brands, Harley riders etc and the Jappers hate them, it goes on. I mean I frickin' get a stiffy at the sound of a Duke or a Harley or a V-Max or whatever. Love 'em all!
How bout you?

Well if any of the last 100 threads on this topic are anything to go by the jury is still out.

[Molly]

I think nostalgia plays a big part. A TS185 takes me back to my youth and I'd happily rip around on one again from time to time (don't know if that's soul though actually). Hmmm. Maybe it's down to the engine configuration. I've never found an inline four that floated my boat. Maybe a SP1000 like Joey's???

[martybabe]

I'm with ya, used to argue the toss that brand x was better than brand y, don't give a monkeys any more, if I like it, I like it, no matter what the name on the tank says.

The only big make that has never set me alight would be Triumph but I'm seriously considering a thunderbolt now. Honestly if hyosung came out with bike I really liked I'd buy it, no brand prejudice here .

As for jappas with soul, tonnes of em..Z900, CBX 1000, FJ1200, Katana, even the old plastic maggot, loads of em.

[allycatz]

Soul is a personal thing..its about bonding...Ive known a few people bonded to their bikes....does a bike personally have soul....who knows...maybe the jappers that kamikaze into things think they do

[Korumba]

Some do some don’t, My ZZR 1100 had a fucking huge one, and my R1 has none.

[98tls]

Define soul i guess,ive owned later Ducatis that supposedly are full of itboth the 89 750 sport and 90 900 SS were nothing but piles of shite,the 78 900 SS however is to me the motorcycle that is most deserving of having the labels soul/character attached,beautiful.In a different way the old TLS has character,end of the day what one defines as a bike with character another wont,no matter what names on the tank.

[Gremlin]

Yes, lots of bikes have soul, I only buy ones with soul... thats why I don't buy suzukis

Well if any of the last 100 threads on this topic are anything to go by the jury is still out.

well... I think I settled it...

[MVnut]

Soul .....NO, Character ....YES.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Do Jap bikes have soul?

nope and neither does any other bike...


Character issues on other hand

[Molly]

Soul is a personal thing..its about bonding...

I think you could be right. The bikes I've been closest to were ones I'd had for some time and / or done a lot of work on (Katana 750, crashed and rebuilt H-D Springer, my present Guzzi).

My new H-D doesn't have soul. Not yet. It's too 'new', too 'tight' if you know what i mean; too much like any other one off the showroom floor. Ask me again in ten years when I've done a bit to it.

[Solly]

Answer: Yes, at least one......the one on the seat....it's an arse-soul

.......yep, I know [for the more intellectual], I have opened myself up.....but what the hell....it's worth it

[Mom]

My blue lovely has soul. She is an old girl that someone still loves.

[Mikkel]

I'd say my 750 is a soul - a banshee to be more precise. It's an eeriely beautiful howl that she makes, but it will kill you - or at least make you go deaf.