THE ‘GREY’ import scene was massive back in the 1990s – and still rumbles along to this day – meaning that on the used market you can find oddities that were never officially available from UK dealers.
During the 80s and 90s in particular there was a trend for Japanese manufacturers to create bikes solely for their home market, resisting all calls to officially bring them to Britain – usually because if they had the prices would have been too high to attract any sales. Often created with Japanese laws in mind, hence the proliferation of high-spec 400cc machines, the bikes may not have made commercial sense when new but as used buys they were an attractive proposition. Boat loads were brought over, and still are, often purchased unseen by the container-full as a sort of exotic lucky dip for brave dealers.
Of course there’s a down-side. The reality of a grey import can be a series of frustrating hunts for parts – the chap behind the parts counter at your local dealer will probably react as though you’ve asked for a medium-rare unicorn steak with pepper sauce – although the internet’s global market means it’s not as tough as it was back in 90s when most of these bikes were actually brought over.
We’ve picked 20 of the best and most interesting Japan-only machines that, with enough searching, you might be able to find on these shores. The list could have been longer, with luminaries such as the Kawasaki ZXR250, Honda CBR750 Hurricane and Yamaha FZR400RR
20: Honda CBR400RR
WHEN it comes to the ubiquitous grey import, it’s a showdown between the VFR400R NC30 and the CBR400RR for which is most common. So while many of the bikes on this list are here because they’re rare or unfamiliar, the CBR400RR gets its place because they’re still easy to find. You might well have even owned one. While the CBR400 dates back to the original, jelly-mould ‘Hurricane’ shape, it’s the RR that really made its mark here during the grey import boom of the 90s. Usually split into two series – the NC23, or ‘Tri-arm’ thanks to its braced swingarm design, and the NC29 ‘Gull-arm’ with its curved swingarm – both are great little machines. Not quite as high-spec as the NC30, since they were significantly cheaper when new, but still superb on both the track and the road.
19: Honda VTR250
THE VTR250 is a rare sight over here but for Honda it’s one of those evergreen mainstays that has been around so long that it’s unimaginable it could ever leave the range. These days it’s a trellis-framed mini-Monster, and has been since the 1990s, but the original 80s VTR – and the VT250F that preceded it – were faired sports bikes. With just under 33bhp from its DOHC V-twin, there was a time when the VTR250 looked like it might make sense over here, but with new licence rules ditching the 33bhp power limit for new riders in favour of a 47bhp class, that time has passed. There’s always one or two on eBay, though…
18: Honda CBR400F Endurance
WHILE the Honda CBR400RR is one of the most popular of all grey imports, the earlier CBR400F Endurance is a far rarer beast. Dating back to 1984, its style reflects the name – despite being only a 400cc four, it has the muscular looks of an early-80s endurance racer. The 58bhp, air-cooled inline four might be a bit of a let-down, but with ‘REV’ (the predecessor of the Super VTEC used on the VFR800, where only two valves per cylinder are used at low revs, switching to four higher up) it’s reckoned to be surprisingly flexible.
17: Suzuki GS1200SS
STICKING with the retro endurance racing looks, but moving to a different manufacturer, different decade and different size, we come to the Suzuki GS1200SS. Launched in 2001, this Bandit 1200 spin-off is one of those bikes that really makes you wonder if there wasn’t a market for it over here. Cheap to develop thanks to its Bandit roots, it looks about a gazillion times better than any Bandit – like it’s ridden straight off the circuit at an early-80s Bol d’Or or Suzuka 8-hours. Get the black-and-red one, add a stumpy exhaust and some Yoshimura stickers and it’s job done – something that will turn more heads than even the most spangly modern superbike.
16: Yamaha SDR200
IF you’ve never heard of it, then you’re forgiven; we’re into geek territory with the SDR200. Only made for a year, in 1986/7, it stands out now for how modern it still looks – just hitting the sort of updated-retro cues that manufacturers are trying to cash in on today. What really dates it is the fact that it’s a two-stroke, although that means you get 33bhp from a mere 195cc single. And the skimpy trellis frame (and matching swingarm – something of a work of art) means the whole bike is just 105kg. Scarcity means beggars can’t be choosers, but ideally you want Kenny Roberts speed-block colours…
15: Honda Hornet CB250F
BACK to reality with a bump, with Honda’s Hornet 250. Over here, the 600cc Hornet was a mainstay of sensible-but-not-too-dull, entry-level motorcycling for a decade, while the 900cc version was a step up for those who didn’t want to go the ubiquitous superbike route. But in Japan, the 250cc version predated both. Introduced in 1996, it updated the idea of the UJM – naked, simple styling with a cross-the-frame four-cylinder – with a pair of then-fashionable under-seat exhausts. Whole 40bhp mightn’t sound exciting, when it’s delivered via a jewel-like four conservatively red-lined at 16,000rpm, there’s fun to be had.
14: Suzuki GSX750S Katana
YES, we got some Katanas in the UK but the craziest one of all – the pop-up-headlight GSX750S – was never made as a British-market model. Confusingly, Suzuki is believed to have brought some over in Japanese and Australian spec, as sort of official-grey imports, but most will have been shipped over as second hand bikes from Japan. Why does it make the list? That headlight. Simple as that. There’s nothing more 80s than a pop-up headlight, and this is the only bike you’re ever likely to find that’s got one.
13: Suzuki GSX-R
THAT’S right, it’s called the GSX-R. Not GSX-R-something. This was the original, and in case you’re wondering, it’s a 400. While over here we wax lyrical about the GSX-R750 as the ‘original’ superbike, setting the mould with its aluminium frame and full fairing, in fact it was little more than an upscaled version of the existing Japan-only GSX-R which preceded it by a single year, debuting in 1984. As proof that this was the really important market segment, it lasted in this two years in this form before transmuting, in 86, to a beam-framed version – long before the GSX-R750 gained such technology. In 87, to clear up confusion, Suzuki added the ‘400’ to its name, but despite its diminutive stature, it’s the small version that can really lay claim to being a originator of the GSX-R breed.
12: Yamaha SRV250 Renaissa
OK, we’ll admit it, this isn’t really included for the riding experience. With around 26bhp from its Virago-based 250cc V-twin, performance wasn’t on the agenda when Yamaha designed the SRV250, but when it created the short-lived Renaissa version, style certainly was. While the base SRV had retro, café-racer-inspired styling, it was about as convincing as a 1970s mock-Georgian semi-detached. The Renaissa, on the other hand, built on the same chassis and engine, was the bike the SRV always dreampt of being. Made for a year in 1997/8, it still looks good today – in fact, the firm’s XS-V1 Sakura concept bike of 2007 revisited much the same style. Plonk a decent engine in there, along with uprated suspension, and the Renaissa could still be desirable today. As it stands, it’s one for the living room rather than the road.
11: Honda Dream 50 AC15
WHILE Yamaha was making its retro café racer with the Renaissa in 1997, Honda was doing its own take on the same idea with the AC15 the same year. If the Yamaha was let down by its limp engine, the Honda was made by its motor – despite being even less powerful. A mere 49cc, and a four-stroke at that, the AC15’s engine made just 5.6bhp. We’re in a zone where that ‘point six’ becomes important. While not powerful, the engine looked – and was designed like – a 1960s Honda race bike’s. The whole Dream 50 was intended to be a tribute to the 1962 CR110 50cc race bike, but was road legal (unlike the later Dream 50R which was sold by HRC as a track-only version). They might be slow, but when Dream 50s hit the market they can make big money today.
Want more?
You can see our 10 best grey import motorcycles here.
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