Mista-T & Motorcycle

Mista-T's Okinawa Touring Guide

Mista-T & Motorcycle

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Motorcycle is the answer...

Soon after moving to Okinawa island Mista-T recognized that Okinawa is a car society. Unlike mainland Japan, Okinawa does not have railroads. Bus is the only public transportation in the island. Everybody from young to old drive a car just like the United States. Mista-T needed a good transportation just for the purpose of exploring Okinawa's nature and tourist sites on weekends.

Mista-T chose a motorcycle to get around the island. He had some reasons to make that answer:

1. Motorcycle does not take a space to park in the city.

2. Motorcycle has good gas mileage.

3. Motorcycle expose you directly to the wind so that

you can feel the nature and smell its scent.

4. Motorcycle is costless as for tax and inspection. (if you

live in Japan)

5. Motorcycle can go narrow roads without stress.

The only drawback for choosing motorcycle is to ride in the rainy day. The weather of the island changes frequently in the summer that sudden rain showers may be expected even in the fine day. Otherwise, Okinawa's mild climate enables you to ride motorcycle throughout the year.

Mista-T's first motorcycle owned in Okinawa was Honda V-Twin Magna. V-Twin Magna is a 250cc cruser bike manufactured by Honda, Japan. Mista-T feels the bike is a bit underpower for a cruser (only 27ps) but it has a good gas mileage just like a moped. V-Twin Magna actually was the best seller among 250cc class motorcycles in 90's. It is still one of the biggest (or heviest) motorcycles in its class that drew the popularity.

Just like other cruser bikes, V-Twin Magna does not turn on the tight corners with high speed. However, Magna is a comfortable bike on the straight road and mild corner. The wide tires and low weight design helps the bike to generate balance on any road conditions. It is hard to fall down Magna while you ride. If Mista-T would ask some improvement, he would like Magna to have more power and forward control or highway peg. But for now, Mista-T is satisfied with the bike.

The Performance of Honda V-Twin Magna

The chart bellow is the performance of V-Twin Magna compared to two other 250cc class Japanese cruisers. All three bikes are unique in their performance but they are all good as a touring bike on the road of Okinawa.

	*Honda Magna V-Twin*	*Kawasaki Eliminator 250*	*Yamaha Virago 250*
Top Speed	144 km/h	143 km/h	132 km/h
0-100 m	6.17 sec	-	-
0-200 m	9.64 sec	-	-
0-400 m	15.47 sec	16.5 sec	17.4 sec
0-1000 m	31.90 sec	-	-
0-50 km/h	2.24 sec	-	-
0-100 km/h	7.29 sec	8.54 sec	9.45 sec
*From*	*50 km/h*	*with last*	*gear*
0-100 m	5.95 sec	-	-
0-200 m	10.52 sec	-	-
0-400 m	18.25 sec	-	-
0-1000 m	35.56 sec	-	-
50-100 km/h	16.57 sec	-	-

Mista-T had to let go of V-Twin Magna in order to get a good commuter bike yet able to travel long distance without stress. As the second bike, Mista-T currently owns Honda Silver Wing. It is one of big scooters (250cc up to 650cc) getting popular among street bikers in cities. Honda placed Silver Wing as GT scooter, which means that the bike can go long riding with comfort. Indeed, it is designed for city ride as a commuter bike and for country/highway ride as a touring bike. It has pretty big trank space under the seat and functional compartments on the front besides the handle bar. Since the wind protection shield provides excellent aero dinamics effects, the bike gives the rider "on-rail" feeling. Silver Wing or any big scooter riders who came from general motorcycle background may feel odd to have no cluch or brake on the foot. Anyway, Mista-T enjoys exploring Okinawa on this comfortable scooter ever more than he enjoyed on V-Twin Magna.

Specifications of Honda Silver Wing

The following chart is the specification of Honda Silver Wing 600 (US version).

There are 400cc and 600cc versions of Silver Wing in Japanese market even though 600cc was originally developpped. Silver Wing 400 equips with "T mode" that produces extra power when needed in order to make up 200cc (11ps) power difference.

Model	2002 FSC600
Suggested Retail Price	$7,499
Engine Type	582cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke parallel twin
Bore & Stroke	72mm x 71.5mm
Compression Ratio	10.2 : 1
Carburetion	PGM-FI with automatic enricher circuit
Ignition	Computer-controlled fully transistorized with electronic advance
Transmission	Automatic V-Matic belt drive
Front Suspension	41mm hydraulic fork, 4.7" travel
Rear Suspension	Swingarm with dual hydraulic shocks with 5 position spring-preload adjustability, 4.7" travel
Front Brake	Single 256mm disc with CBS 3-piston caliper
Rear Brake	Single 240mm disc with CBS 2-piston caliper
Front Tire	120/80 - 14
Rear Tire	150/70 - 13
Wheelbase	62.8"
Seat Height	29.1"
Dry Weight	476 lbs
Maximum Weight Capacity	366 lbs
Fuel Capacity	4.2 US gallons, including 0.9 gallon reserve
Colors	Pearl Black, Candy Dark Red

All motorcycles bigger than 250cc engine class are required to have inspection in every two years under Japanese law. The inspections usually cost you about 30,000 yen (approx. 300 US dollars). For this reason, 250cc motorcycles are the most popular class in Japanese market.

Mista-T agrees that mopeds are the most practical and easy transportation if you want to get around in the city. Either renting a motorcycle or a moped, you need an international motorcycle (drivers) license and a passport to ride (drive) Japanese public road in the same way you rent a car.