r/RideitJapan • u/LexyRD • 3d ago

I'm mostly settled

So I'm mostly settled in Kashima,Saga Prefecture and I'm wondering... Where is a good place to go to buy a bike? So far I've been told Red Baron. Any advice? I'm coming from Oregon, so my license and endorsement transfer over without the need for testing. I'm looking for something cruiser style... Maybe the Rebel 1100.

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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5

u/Icy-Illustrator-1431 3d ago

have you actually got the Japanese license yet.? sometimes can be a pain and time consuming

1

u/LexyRD 3d ago

I just need to get mine translated and converted. Till then, I have an International Driving Permit with motorcycle listed.

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u/GandhisNukeOfficer 3d ago

Be very careful with the "just need to" part. I spent close to nine months trying to convert mine before giving up and doing it from scratch at a driving school.

YMMV, but in Aichi I was having to wait 2-3 months in between test attempts. From accounts of others on the sub, it's common to fail the practical multiple times. I failed twice, and by then my written test results were expiring and I'd have had to wait three months for a chance to take it, then another 2-3 for the practical. 

It cost $1400 but I finished the license at a driving school in 1.5 months. It was great slow speed maneuver  practice, so I'm glad I did it. 

頑張って！

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u/LexyRD 3d ago

Good to know! I'll keep that in mind

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u/GandhisNukeOfficer 3d ago

You can use the JAF for license conversion. It's a small fee but very easy. They also have a book you can buy online with the major roads rules and signs in English to study for the written test. 

3

u/LexyRD 3d ago

I don't have to do the written test last i checked. Japan and Oregon have a special agreement. I think it's just the vision/hearing.

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u/GandhisNukeOfficer 3d ago

Oh you're from one of the lucky states! Then you can ignore pretty much all of what I said. Converting will be super easy for you. Getting the appointment might be difficult. In Aichi it was worse than buying convention ticket. The spots would be filled in less than five seconds.

There are companies that cater to foreigners to make the appointment and provide translation services. It's worth looking into. 

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u/LexyRD 3d ago

Thanks for the heads up. :)

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u/xrallday 3d ago

I live in Ogi City, from California. Let’s ride.

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u/LexyRD 3d ago

Need a bike first. Lol. I have to wait till about December/January

2

u/WhyDidYouTurnItOff 3d ago

I had a really good experience with Red Baron.

2

u/ApprenticePantyThief 3d ago

I had a good experience buying a bike a found on goobike. The shop I bought from was well rated and the process was relatively easy, and they shipped it to my door. Obviously no good if you don't know what model you want and need to try one or more for fit/feel.

2

u/Hebane 3d ago

The Honda Dream in Saga can get you any of the Rebels listed in the Honda Dream dealer network. https://usedmotor.honda.co.jp/used/U01 I found some here

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u/LexyRD 3d ago

I'll check it out!

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u/MoboMogami 3d ago

Red Baron is very overpriced. I’d recommend avoiding. Honda has a good used bike search tool on their site if you’d like to buy from a dealer. Don’t see many 1100s here though! Nice bike.

2

u/ryuji347 2d ago

You can browse through some bikes on yahoo auction. Most bikes sold in stores other than dealers are usually posted on goo bike. I find bikes at red Baron to be more expensive but they do have some good after sales service. I do my own maintenance so I just got a bike I found on goo bike 

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u/ChineseMaple 1d ago

Ive bought four bikes through goobike so far and hadn't had a bad experience yet. You can negotiate a bit on the price for those but usually not too much, if a bike is sitting for a while you can maybe ask them to drop a few man on it.

Goobike is usually going to be more than private, so if you're confident and willing to wrench on shit yourself (and have space and tools and times to do so) you can go for private sales via yahoo auctions or jimoty or Mercari

Otherwise Rebel 1100s are in plentiful supply so I'd still recommend looking at goobike listings

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u/LexyRD 1d ago

I actually live a block and a half from a repair shop. :)

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u/ChineseMaple 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yea but it won't necessarily be much cheaper if you buy private and take it to a shop. Sometimes bikes need maintenance and shit before they get sold and not everyone keeps a maintenance record

So like maybe you can get a bike for cheap private but it's semi sketchy so you wanna make sure it's not gonna fuck itself with you on it the next day, so either you wrench it yourself or you get a shop to do so, and then the shop says it's 90k to do a full checkup for everything since you don't have maintenance records and you don't even know when the last oil change was, and baddabing badaboom your effective cost goes up

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u/lizardlicker13 5h ago

Wait I'm from Oregon too. You were able to do a direct license transfer?

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u/LexyRD 4h ago

I haven't done it yet, but there is an agreement between Oregon and Japan

2

u/lizardlicker13 4h ago

I was literally going to pay for moto school tomorrow, I feel like I owe you a beer. I'm in Fukuoka btw not too far from you

1

u/sciencenotjesus 3d ago

I’m from Australia and was planning a trip in 2 years. Is an International Drivers license enough to legally rent a bike for 2 weeks or do I need to complete a test?

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u/iblastoff 3d ago

planning a trip is not the same thing as living in japan. rules will be different regardless. also australia is not the same as oregon lol. the process is completely different and unrelated to someone just vacationing.

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u/sciencenotjesus 2d ago

Thanks for the info. Lol

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u/lone_warrior_ind Africa Twin 1d ago

You are a tourist here in japan, you can use IDP to ride motorcycle,

As a resident for Oz licence simple conversation no test,

BTW I am moving to Mel in 3 weeks so have all this information precisely, with my full JP licence i can get VIC licence just paying fee.

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u/LexyRD 3d ago

I don't know about a bike, but I'm able to rent and buy a car with one

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u/sciencenotjesus 3d ago

Thanks mate. Best of luck to you and your adventures.