Comments on: User Shaken http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/ The continuing adventures of a couple of American bikers in the Land of the Rising Sun Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:17:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.3 by: Tom http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-13902 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:56:06 +0000 http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-13902 Did it! Went and got my shaken renewed myself. Grand total, about 27000 yen for my 400cc bike - 20000 for 2 year's insurance and the rest in taxes. (It's little more for a bigger bike I guess). But still, saved myself a LOT of money from the 80000 yen the bike shop was asking. Basically it went like this.. I brought all the necessary papers (insurance, old shaken, proof of tax payment) to the Tokyo shaken branch in Shinagawa, filled out a bunch of forms and was told to go to lane 2 of the testing center. Aside from waiting for the people in front of me (which didn't take long), the actual testing took under 10 minutes. They did/tested the following: 1. Banged my forks and some belts with a mallet to make sure things were stuck together 2. All lights working properly 3. Speedometer test 4. Front brake test 5. Rear brake test 6. Headlight offset test (on high beam only) 7. Exhaust test (CO and HC) Unfortunately the first time around I failed the HC (Hydrocarbon) test. They told me to really warm up my engine and turn up the idle speed, so I went for a bit of a ride, put the idle up to 3000rpm, came back and they pulled me right to the front of the line to just redo the exhaust test. Second time round I passed no problem and voila! I was done. Total 1 hour at the testing center, and I saved over 50000yen. Time well spent if you ask me! I highly recommend doing it yourself if you speak Japanese or can get somebody to fill in all the forms for you. Did it! Went and got my shaken renewed myself. Grand total, about 27000 yen for my 400cc bike - 20000 for 2 year’s insurance and the rest in taxes. (It’s little more for a bigger bike I guess). But still, saved myself a LOT of money from the 80000 yen the bike shop was asking.
Basically it went like this.. I brought all the necessary papers (insurance, old shaken, proof of tax payment) to the Tokyo shaken branch in Shinagawa, filled out a bunch of forms and was told to go to lane 2 of the testing center. Aside from waiting for the people in front of me (which didn’t take long), the actual testing took under 10 minutes. They did/tested the following:
1. Banged my forks and some belts with a mallet to make sure things were stuck together
2. All lights working properly
3. Speedometer test
4. Front brake test
5. Rear brake test
6. Headlight offset test (on high beam only)
7. Exhaust test (CO and HC)
Unfortunately the first time around I failed the HC (Hydrocarbon) test. They told me to really warm up my engine and turn up the idle speed, so I went for a bit of a ride, put the idle up to 3000rpm, came back and they pulled me right to the front of the line to just redo the exhaust test. Second time round I passed no problem and voila! I was done.

Total 1 hour at the testing center, and I saved over 50000yen. Time well spent if you ask me! I highly recommend doing it yourself if you speak Japanese or can get somebody to fill in all the forms for you.

]]> by: Big Ben http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-13860 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:43:57 +0000 http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-13860 Good luck, Tom! Good luck, Tom!

]]> by: Tom http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-13845 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 06:42:33 +0000 http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-13845 Planning on doing my own shaken tomorrow. The bike shops want over a week and ~80000yen and I figure I can do it for half a day off work and less than 40000yen, and get my bike back faster. Plus I don't have to worry about the shop trying to get me to repair things which the testing center could care less about. Thanks for the info - helped me decide to do it myself. Planning on doing my own shaken tomorrow. The bike shops want over a week and ~80000yen and I figure I can do it for half a day off work and less than 40000yen, and get my bike back faster. Plus I don’t have to worry about the shop trying to get me to repair things which the testing center could care less about.

Thanks for the info - helped me decide to do it myself.

]]> by: Big Ben http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-182 Sun, 30 Apr 2006 04:40:23 +0000 http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-182 Brian, The registration for modification is done as part of the <i>shaken</i> procedure. They've got two forms, one for vehicles with new modifications and one for vehicles without. Most bike shops will do it for you, or you can do it yourself, but there is a lot of kanji involved. As for dB levels, they only measure you if you're obviously over the level, so just make sure the bike isn't too loud, or switch mufflers for the test. Thanks for the kind words about the site. Brian,
The registration for modification is done as part of the shaken procedure. They’ve got two forms, one for vehicles with new modifications and one for vehicles without. Most bike shops will do it for you, or you can do it yourself, but there is a lot of kanji involved.

As for dB levels, they only measure you if you’re obviously over the level, so just make sure the bike isn’t too loud, or switch mufflers for the test.

Thanks for the kind words about the site.

]]> by: Brian Foster http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-180 Sun, 30 Apr 2006 02:41:22 +0000 http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/2006/03/31/user-shaken/#comment-180 Hey there Big Ben! It's good to see a site like this on the net when everything else related to Japan is written in the local language. I've been working on my Japanese for 2 years now but kanji still throws me for a loop! You mentioned that you had to re-register your bike after doing some mods (handlebars, forks, etc.). I'm 6'4" and need to do the same with my Yamaha DragStar 1100 after purchasing an extension kit for the footpegs, installing some aftermarket footboards, changing the pipes, and installing some new handlebars with risers in the near future. How did you go about updating the title legally and how did you measure the dB level on your pipes (or was that just by ear)? I wish I could join some of the groups out there on the mainland but I'm stuck here on this rock of Okinawa for at least the next year. After that it also looks like I'll be at the mercy of the U.S. military until I retire in about 11 years. I'd like to think that a rain-check is possible, when I finally have the opportunity to ride in Japan again, but that's quite a wait! I guess I'll just have to enjoy the sites from my computer by enjoying your posted pictures. Thanks for the site again! Hey there Big Ben! It’s good to see a site like this on the net when everything else related to Japan is written in the local language. I’ve been working on my Japanese for 2 years now but kanji still throws me for a loop!

You mentioned that you had to re-register your bike after doing some mods (handlebars, forks, etc.). I’m 6′4″ and need to do the same with my Yamaha DragStar 1100 after purchasing an extension kit for the footpegs, installing some aftermarket footboards, changing the pipes, and installing some new handlebars with risers in the near future. How did you go about updating the title legally and how did you measure the dB level on your pipes (or was that just by ear)?

I wish I could join some of the groups out there on the mainland but I’m stuck here on this rock of Okinawa for at least the next year. After that it also looks like I’ll be at the mercy of the U.S. military until I retire in about 11 years. I’d like to think that a rain-check is possible, when I finally have the opportunity to ride in Japan again, but that’s quite a wait! I guess I’ll just have to enjoy the sites from my computer by enjoying your posted pictures. Thanks for the site again!

]]>