Yokohama New Year's Exotic Car Run

The Porsche-designed engine in my H-D V-Rod means I get to hang out with the local Porsche guys and gals. This year, I was invited to the annual New Year's Exotic Car Run held on Jan 3rd. (Plus, it helps when the event organizer is your friend and a fellow Kwaka-holic).

Meet at one highway rest stop (where an informal gathering of such cars is held every 1st Friday evening), look at cars and swap lies for a couple hours, then take the long way to another highway rest stop located within the spiral access road leading up to the Yokohama Bay Bridge.

When I pulled into the rest area, I noticed a guy on a 2012 V-Rod, so I invited him to participate as well. He was pretty psyched at the invite, and went along for the run. Turns out he's part of a Yokohama based V-Rod group, so starting this month I'll be hanging out with those guys every 1st Saturday evening at the Yokohama Bay Bridge rest area.

30 some pics, so the usual link to my PhotoBucket album with a few choice pix posted here.

Link:

Exotic car run Jan 3rd 2012 pictures by wpb3pan - Photobucket

Pix:

Befitting the New Year, here we have The Old and The New. The silver one is mine, a 2002 first model V-Rod. The black one is the latest 2012 model.














I was behind this guy for most of the run. He was probably loafing laong at quarter throttle, I'm bouncing off the rev limiter. But, what a SWEEEEET exhaust note. Pure mechanical symphony emanating from those quad pipes.




Not part of our group, but at the second rest area there were more Skyline GT-R's than you could shake a truckload of sticks at:

Nice post, again, WPBill...is this the same group of car people that were involved in the million-dollar pileup a short time ago in Japan?

Mcdroid wrote: Nice post, again, WPBill...is this the same group of car people that were involved in the million-dollar pileup a short time ago in Japan?

Nope. That spectacular crash happened about 450 miles away. There are a few exotic car groups in Japan which have a bad rep. That Ferrari bunch was one of them. There is a closer bunch of about 10 Lambo driving chowderheads, they used to come to this annual New Years' gathering but their antics were so bad they got themselves declared persona non grata by the organizer.

WPBill wrote:

Mcdroid wrote: Nice post, again, WPBill...is this the same group of car people that were involved in the million-dollar pileup a short time ago in Japan?

Nope. That spectacular crash happened about 450 miles away. There are a few exotic car groups in Japan which have a bad rep. That Ferrari bunch was one of them. There is a closer bunch of about 10 Lambo driving chowderheads, they used to come to this annual New Years' gathering but their antics were so bad they got themselves declared persona non grata by the organizer.

Gotta love that classic skyline! Thanks for the pics! Although I dont think there are any good drivers/riders in japan anymore. Very sad considering how many talented racers there were in the 80's and 90's. Thanks to popular trends, all the bikers have switched from sports bikes to Harleys, and all the drivers have switched from sports cars to luxury sedans and Hilux vans.

I can't speak for the Ferrai and Lambo types. but half of the Porsches you see in those pics belong to amateur racers. No longer stupid enough to do Wangan high speed runs, they all compete out on the track. I was shocked to see so many Porsche body panels held together with fishing line and duck tape.

I don't know where you live but here in the Shonan area the ratio of sport bikes to Harleys/metric cruisers is about the same as it was 16 years ago. If anything the ratio of Harleys to metric cruisers has shifted in favor of the Harleys. Its mostly the 250cc and up scooters, and the associated auto tranny bike license, which have sucked the life out of the two wheeeled scene.

Did you happen to notice the MV Augusta parked behind the two V-Rods? Another change is the ratio of Italian and German bikes has gone up significantly. Triumphs are still relatively rare.

i just miss the good old days on the mountain roads, where everyone gathered with their RZ250's, CBR250R's, and suzuki ganmas. We used to drink coffee from the vending machine, then smash the steel cans and duct tape them to our knees. The night sky would light up with sparks around every corner.

As far as I'm concerned, it was the best decade ever in Japan, a time long gone. When riding the mountain roads, it wasn't unusual to see 300 sportbikes gathered in a 1-mile section. Yoshimura jackets and shoei helmets. Custom racing tsunagi's with team logos. Still got my pop-yoshimura jacket.

Oh, I see where you're coming from. Yeah, compared to back then, the overall motorcycle riding population in Japan has declined significantly. All the major bike manufacturers are feeling the pain, Honda recently decided to start building big bikes in Thailand.

Another major issue reducing the bike riding population is parking enforcement. Used to be one could park a motorcycle on any sidewalk or side street w/o getting a ticket. Nowadays such action, especailly in Tokyo or Yokohama, almost immediately results in a ticket. While a bunch of coin parking lots have sprung up for cars, they do not welcome motorcycles. If I'm going to central Tokyo, for instance, its easier to park my car than to find a spot to park my bike.

Add to that the increasing sophistication and organization of bike thieves, lot of folks have pegged their F-it meters and have gotten off bikes.

About the only positive news is track days have gotten a lot more accessible. Riding on the track is no longer a high strata reserved for a select few.