Japan Builds Half the World’s Motorcycles….almost

Japanese firms manufactured 51% of the world's motorcycles in 2005…46% of the globe's needs in 2006 or 20.41 million units.

Whoa! That's a lot of two wheelers….and I am in the mood for wanting one, too.

Honda Motor Co., Yamaha Motor Co., Suzuki Motor Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. announced jointly that 44.15 million motorbikes were produced last year UP 12.3% from the previous year.

Motorcycle makers in China, India and Taiwan produced 23.74 million bikes, up 22.6%.

Other countries may be able to sell more bikes than Japan, but they are still

years behind in making them of the quality that Japan does.

But, then, how good does a bike need to be to navigate the back streets and allies of China or the countryside of India.

Japan wants to improve domestic sales by putting pressure on the government to provide more parking spaces for bikes and lowering highway tolls.

Bikes are a great option in Japan IF you do not live north of the Japanese Alps.