Buying a motorcycle

[farstrider]

I want to buy a motorcycle, but I'm not even sure where to begin. I've been told that I need to have the hokken (insurance) arranged before I can actually buy a bike, but how do I go about doing that? Is there anything else I need to do prior to purchasing? Also, what about the purchase itself? Will I be able to finance a portion of the cost, or is it likely that I'll be required to pay the entire cost up front?

[word]

(1) Do you have your motorcycle license? Are you currently on an IDP?

(2) You can usually arrange for insurance when you buy it (that is, during the purchase process), but you can't ride it until you're insured. This will just depend on your insurance company. In my village, all I hafta do is take the "title" (I don't know what it's called in Japan, it's the paperwork that shows I own the bike) to the city hall and add it to my insurance. That's 'cause I get my insurance through the village office.

(3) Whether or not you can get financing will depend completely on the seller/financier. I was able to get my car financed, but only because I had a Japanese friend who was willing to co-sign for me (a rare thing, indeed). Some people have managed to get credit here. Others have not. Are you trying to buy a new motorcycle? I'd highly recommend looking into something used. There's a chain in my area called "Red Baron" that sells very nice used bikes for quite reasonable prices.



Edit: I used the wrong "you're" up there... an unforgivable mistake if ever there was one!

[farstrider]

1) Yes. My American license covers motorcycles, as does my IDP.
2) I actually went over to the bike shop yesterday and asked about this. They told me the same thing: when I purchase the bike, all I need do is fill out a piece of paper (name, address, etc) and my insurance enrollment will be "automatic", apparently.
3) I was originally planning to buy a new bike, but I found a used Vulcan 900 at the same shop where I enquired about the insurance; and I'm now leaning heavily towards that

[word]

1) Yes. My American license covers motorcycles, as does my IDP.

Fantastic!

...for a year, anyway. When your IDP runs out (either on its expiration date or the exact 1-year anniversary of your arrival in Japan), you will hafta get your Japanese motorcycle license. Unlike our UK, Canadian, Austrailian, and New Zealandite friends (as well as ALTs from pretty much every nation on earth other than the US), you will hafta take a test in order to do this. Just be prepared for this!

[farstrider]

1) Yes. My American license covers motorcycles, as does my IDP.

Fantastic!

...for a year, anyway. When your IDP runs out (either on its expiration date or the exact 1-year anniversary of your arrival in Japan), you will hafta get your Japanese motorcycle license. Unlike our UK, Canadian, Austrailian, and New Zealandite friends (as well as ALTs from pretty much every nation on earth other than the US), you will hafta take a test in order to do this. Just be prepared for this!

I know. I've heard the motorcycle test is much easier than the one for cars, though. I even came across an anecdote about a [foreign] girl driving off the course and still passing

[farstrider]

Next question: How accepted/expected is haggling?

[AJG88]

I am on the same boat.. I am currently looking for a bike as well. I have not had a chance to go check the shops out yet.

I had an r6 in the states. Luckily I live about an hour from about 8-10 motorcycle shops.

I hope to have one by the end of September.

[kajiryuu]

It's usually easiest to just purchase a bike from a shop since they will be able to help you out with the paper work and if everything goes well, after a few signatures, faxes, and waiting you could technically drive away the same day you went in.

A quick note of caution about using your IDP.

For example if you buy a Vulcan 900, that's considered a "big bike." Big Bike or ogata in Japanese is not an easy license to attain. I think if you even decide to do a translation of your U.S. bike license they will only let you receive a "mid-size bike" or chuugata license. In order to get your ogata license, I think you will have to attend a driving school for a special course. I'm not sure if this is the same in every prefecture, but I'm assuming it is, and therefore is something to keep in mind. Getting an ogata license is actually really damn hard, that's why most people don't have them. There is also the consideration that bikes over 400cc are pretty useless in Japan anyway due to speed limits, and most people who have them are usually collectors, racers, or wasting time and money. Any bike over 400cc is considered a big bike and cannot be driven with a chuugata license especially if you decide on a new large displacement bike and can't get a Japanese license after a year.

Also remember that bikes over 249cc require shaken, a type of inspection insurance that is not cheap! So if you are buying a larger bike, make sure you ask about this and if the bike has valid shaken know when it expires.

And don't think getting a bike license is easy. My friend was an motorcycle instructor back in the U.S. for two years and when it was time to get his Japanese license due to IDP expiration, he was hit with a bunch of red tape. He never even made it to the practical test. Needless to say he risked deportation and just drove without a license.

[farstrider]

I want to get a "big bike" because they're generally better (more comfortable) on long hauls and I'll probably be riding from Hiroshima to Osaka and back once or twice a month.

As for the difficulty of getting an ogata license: I've been riding motorcycles for 20 years. If I take the test in the spring -- after having several months to get used to Japanese ways -- I really don't foresee the practical bit being a problem, unless they fail people for no other reason than keeping the pass rate low. Also, since my IDP still has almost a full year left on it, if I start attempting the test in the spring, I'll have plenty of time for several failures.

Anyway, back on task. The asking price for the Vulcan I'm looking at is higher than what the same bike would cost, brand new, in the US. Considering Kawasaki is a Japanese company, and the bike itself already has 10,000km on the odometer, that seems a bit pricey to me. So what are the odds on being able to haggle the price down a bit?

[word]

The J-friend who helped me buy my car haggled the dealer's price down quite a bit, so it may be possible. I don't know if it's bad form or not, but I was really grateful that she was there and willing to do that for me in the car situation.

Unfortunately, though, stuff is expensive in Japan... especially anything associated with a hobby, and motorcycles are considered an expensive hobby by most Japanese.

[farstrider]

So I went over to the shop last night, intent on buying my bike. I thought I was prepared for everything -- I had my gaijin card with me, IDP, cash, etc. When the salesman asked for my gaijin card, I handed it over and he went off to "verify" it. When he came back, he told me I needed another piece of paper from the local city office that, apparently, is just supposed to verify that my gaijin card is authentic/valid. Unfortunately, he didn't know what this piece of paper is actually called

So now I have two more questions:

1. Does anybody know what this verification paper is called? Not knowing the name makes it rather difficult to trot on down to the city office and ask for it...
2. Does requiring a separate paper to verify the legality of my gaijin card -- from the SAME office that issued the card! -- seem a little unnecessary to anybody else?

[Jen_KyotoPA]

So I went over to the shop last night, intent on buying my bike. I thought I was prepared for everything -- I had my gaijin card with me, IDP, cash, etc. When the salesman asked for my gaijin card, I handed it over and he went off to "verify" it. When he came back, he told me I needed another piece of paper from the local city office that, apparently, is just supposed to verify that my gaijin card is authentic/valid. Unfortunately, he didn't know what this piece of paper is actually called

So now I have two more questions:

1. Does anybody know what this verification paper is called? Not knowing the name makes it rather difficult to trot on down to the city office and ask for it...
2. Does requiring a separate paper to verify the legality of my gaijin card -- from the SAME office that issued the card! -- seem a little unnecessary to anybody else?

There is a separate form called the "Proof of Alien Registration:" http://www.city.toyota.aichi.jp/e/ac/ac ... enpyo.html
(登録原票記載事項証明書, toroku genpyo kisai jiko shomeisho）

You can get one issued for a few hundred yen.

Generally, people only use it in place of the Alien Registration card when they've first arrived, before the card is actually issued, for setting up phones and bank accounts. I've never heard of someone being asked for it after that.

[Maviko]

I remember having that Proof of Alien Registration form before getting my physical card. My friend was asked for it alongside her Alien Card when she went to get her Japanese License (Canadian) but other people in my area weren't, even though they went to the same licensing office. She had brought it along thinking she was being paranoid but in the end it paid off.

[farstrider]

Finally, more than a month after starting the process, I'm the happy new owner of a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic.

As might be imagined, the process was far from painless (or quick, obviously), but I did learn quite a bit. I guess now I should start preparing for the inevitable hassles associated with obtaining an ogata license next year...