JDM imports

[A500leroy]

Three questions;

How difficult to insure?

Do you NEED to convert the speedo from KM to MPH?

Any issues once theyve been registered?

[smifffymoto]

Don’t know what it’s like now but in the mid 90s they were very popular,especially 250 and 400cc.

[bogie]

A friend who has had a couple of 250/400 in the past never had any insurance difficulties. You can get away with some stickers on the speedo.

JDM was a novelty purchase for some, to get models not officially imported and/or the same model at a cheaper price than officially imported bikes.

For many people having the UK history is important, some people dont care, this can affect resale....some people only want to buy "official" imports for a variety of reasons/perception.

[dibblecorse]

No problems to insure but you do pay a bit more, lots of JDM stuff out there being used.

Regards speedo, my last one just had a sticker overlay on the speedo to deal with the MOT.

[airsafari87]

I didn’t have any problems with my GSXR 400.

That was back in 1993 though so maybe not too relevant now.

[A500leroy]

Super, thanks guys im intrested in getting a c50 as a fun alternative for local trips.

[Pirks]

I’ve got a CBR400rr that I’ve had since 2005. Bought it with a sticker overlay on the speedo but quickly purchased a kph to mph speedo converter that goes between the the bikes clocks and the speedo cable.
Had it on for many many miles and many years without a problem
There’s no problem to insure it, it comes up as grey on the insurance form (grey import) and it’s cheap

[LordFlathead]

A500leroy said:

Super, thanks guys im intrested in getting a c50 as a fun alternative for local trips.

Look here for cheap C50's

https://fourstrokebarn.com/en/

[Hugo Stiglitz]

bogie said:

A friend who has had a couple of 250/400 in the past never had any insurance difficulties. You can get away with some stickers on the speedo.

JDM was a novelty purchase for some, to get models not officially imported and/or the same model at a cheaper price than officially imported bikes.

For many people having the UK history is important, some people dont care, this can affect resale....some people only want to buy "official" imports for a variety of reasons/perception.

I've never understood negativity towards a Japanese import when it's out of the same factory just used in a different SALTFREE country (of origin) first...

[srob]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

I've never understood negativity towards a Japanese import when it's out of the same factory just used in a different SALTFREE country (of origin) first...

There used to be two markets - grey imports and parallel imports. Grey imports were models never imported to the U.K. (like most of the 400 and 250 Supersports bikes) and parallel imports were U.K. models just imported cheaper.

I had both back in the day but not sure if parallel imports are a thing now? I got a brand new ZX636-B1 from Bat motorcycles mega cheap (about 6 grand from memory). My best mate bought an official one as he was a snob and paid about £2k more for an identical machine from a U.K. Kawasaki dealer!

[bogie]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

I've never understood negativity towards a Japanese import when it's out of the same factory just used in a different SALTFREE country (of origin) first...

Me neither, I had a JDM imported car in the late 90s and it was in fantastic condition and spec.

For some people its the lack of (often zero) maintenance record. On a low mileage bike that looks like new, perhaps not so much of an issue...buying a 10 year old £25k car straight out of the shipping container its nice to know someone has given it a once over and oil change....

[bimsb6]

srob said:

There used to be two markets - grey imports and parallel imports. Grey imports were models never imported to the U.K. (like most of the 400 and 250 Supersports bikes) and parallel imports were U.K. models just imported cheaper.

!

Parallel imports died a death with the exchange rate going to ste and the leaving the eu, uk bikes were leaving the uk going to holland and germany by the lorry load! Grey imports have been hit by exchange rates and shipping costs going through the roof .

Edited by bimsb6 on Friday 26th May 10:13

[gareth_r]

dibblecorse said:

No problems to insure but you do pay a bit more, lots of JDM stuff out there being used.

Regards speedo, my last one just had a sticker overlay on the speedo to deal with the MOT.

No speedo check for MOT.

MPH speedo is a legal requirement but not an MOT requirement.

[mersontheperson]

I just imported one of my bikes from Japan, got it registers and MOT’d with a KMH speedo and no stickers