Takuma Aoki is the 2nd son of the 3 Aoki brothers, who made their name in Japan and international road racing in the 1990s. After winning the All-Japan championship, he moved up to the 500cc class of the World Grand Prix, and just when he was about to make his breakthrough, an accident during a test in 1998 left him unable to move the lower half of his body. He then switched to 4-wheel racing and recently competed in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. He also enjoys track days on a hand-shift motorcycle, and his activities on two wheels are once again attracting attention. In this series, Takuma Aoki shares his passion for motorsports, which continues to overflow nowadays!
I thought fast was best and up-to-date was best.
The other day, I was interested in discontinued old motorcycles, so I visited the headquarters showroom of Uematsu, which is said to be the number one seller of such vehicles in Japan. Of course, discontinued models are so-called "old motorcycles" that were active in the Showa period, such as the Kawasaki Z1 and Z2 and the CB750FOUR. I am sure you must be wondering why I, a racing rider, became interested in old motorcycles in the first place? No, in fact, I think that is true. I myself was brought up with the value of "the fastest motorcycle is the best, and the latest is the best," partly because I competed in the World Grand Prix, where I rode works machines that were the most advanced in terms of technology available from the manufacturers. I have always held these values until very recently, and to be honest, it is a bit of a mystery to me.
Well, the reason why this has changed is that I am now able to ride motorcycles again with the hand-change system, I have met new fellow motorcyclists, and I am able to look at motorcycles from a different perspective than when I was all about racing and the fastest, which is actually a recent development! I am very happy to see that. And you would be surprised to hear that the used price of a Z1 or CBX400F is several million dollars, wouldn't you? I wondered what attracted people so much, so I decided to take a look at them.
As I said, I used to ride motorcycles on public roads as well as racing machines more than 20 years ago. I didn't have a motorcycle of my own, but we had a Honda VFR400R that my brother used to ride...not the NC30, which became popular because of its second endurance image, but the model with a single-light aero cowl that preceded it. When I had some business in Tokyo, I used to borrow that VFR and ride it on the Kan-etsu Expressway with safe driving. Since it was the heyday of replicas for my generation, the NSR250R, Suzuki's Gamma, and Yamaha's TZR were very popular among my friends in the area at that time. Therefore, they were a later generation than the discontinued models that Uematsu mainly handles. Even so, some of my friends rode motorcycles handed down to them from the older generation, and I vaguely remember hearing the names of the old RZ250 and Kawasaki KH.
The discontinued Z1 and Z2 are the most popular Kawasaki models. However, when I heard the historical value of the world's most powerful specs at the time of release and the first straight-4 DOHC mass-produced motorcycle, I was convinced. And what's more, they are rugged and cool!
Honda's VFR750R, aka RC30, was also placed there. It was treated as a super treasure with a "price ASK"! This was the machine I raced in the Suzuka 8 Hours for the first time, wasn't it? I heard that the RC45 used when I won the All-Japan championship was one of the first used motorcycles that could not be found in circulation.
Dare to enjoy the old motorcycles.
Now, as I have told you in the past, you all know that three years ago I was able to ride a motorcycle for the first time in 22 years through the hand-change system. I am sure you were all surprised to learn that I was able to ride a CBR1000RR-R or RC213V-S with over 200 hp and 300 km/h, but it was also a very shocking experience for me. I was also very shocked, because I, who had not ridden in more than 20 years and in this physical condition, was able to easily leave black marks on the first and second corners at Suzuka. Even though I was used to speeding due to my old experience and continued 4-wheel racing, I was impressed by the fact that I was able to do such a ride in a flash, and I felt myself becoming increasingly puzzled. I was surprised by the progress of the machine and tires, and I realized that I was able to perform surprisingly well because of the help of the machine and tires.
Of course, I think it is wonderful that technological advances have made it possible for many people to drive in ways that were not possible in the past. Nowadays, what I also admire the most is a fast machine. At the same time, however, I have realized that there is also the pleasure of taking a motorcycle that is difficult to ride or old, but that I have grown attached to, and shown it off by riding it well. Recently, a friend of mine in Kumamoto told me about his plan to restore his air-cooled Z in his garage with his eyes shining like a child's. He seemed to be having so much fun that it made me feel a little envious. A motorcycle is often compared to a horse, and I think that's exactly what it is. The longer you ride a motorcycle with it, the more you understand its feelings. I think you can feel as if you are dating a living creature.
Racing is not the only way to ride a motorcycle. There are many ways to enjoy them. The old motorcycles that are popular today are supported by people who are looking for more than just performance. I think there are many riders who can identify their youth with the vibrant motorcycles of the 70s and 80s. It would be wonderful to live a life of riding such a beloved motorcycle for a long time. As Mr. Edagawa, vice president of Uematsu, who gave us a tour, said, many people who really like old motorcycles think about taking good care of them. I think that taking good care of old motorcycles may be in line with the recent SDGs trend. I introduced the scene of the event on my Youtube channel. If you are interested, please take a look.
Integra with cowl on CBX400F. It's hard to believe now that it was in the early 1980s when cowls and separate handsets finally became legal.
Hisashi Edagawa (left), vice president of Uematsu, and Shinji Mineo (center), sales manager of Uematsu, who were available for the tour. They gave us a valuable talk about the various discontinued model.
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Takuma Aoki's Motorsports Channel
