Oita, Freeway, and the Bikes BJ Makes
Oita, Freeway, and the Bikes BJ Makes
Every spring and fall I ride Kyushu with old friends, on vintage machines from a shop that opened its doors in 1986.
Home Away From Home
Oita sits on the east coast of Kyushu, the southern island of Japan. I ride there every spring and every fall with a group of local friends. I met them on my first trip to Japan, about ten years ago, and we have been riding together ever since. Oita is our home away from home, and the people at Freeway are family.
Freeway opened in Oita in 1986. In those days there were only a few Harley shops in all of Japan. The shop taught itself the work, and over the years its name traveled from Kyushu to the whole country. It has kept the riders of this island on the road for forty years.
BJ
BJ is the master builder. He makes vintage bikes one at a time, with the kind of hand work and feel for a machine that tooling alone never gives. The bikes that come off his bench carry the warmth of the man who made them.
To ride one of his machines through Kyushu is to ride a piece of history that still wants to run. I do not take that lightly.
The Island
Oita has more hot spring sources and more hot spring water than any other prefecture in Japan. Beppu alone counts about 2,900 hot spring vents, more than a tenth of the country's total, and more than 130,000 tons of hot water rise out of the ground there every day. You ride past steam coming up out of the streets.
The Yamanami Highway, Route 11, climbs out of Beppu and crosses Aso Kuju National Park toward Aso. The road runs over high grassland and around the Kuju mountains. On a vintage bike, with friends ahead and behind, it is as good as riding gets.
What I Ride In
I ride in horsehide. The Leathertogs 1933 is my tribute to a rare pre war American motorcycle jacket. It is cut from tea dyed Horween horsehide and set with fifteen hand poured solid brass studs made in the USA. The zippers are Black Bear Brand TALON vintage zippers made in Japan, and the jacket is lined throughout in black Cupra made in Japan. The leather and every piece of hardware are made custom for Black Bear Brand, and production takes about seven months.
Our leather jackets open for preorder only a few times a year. Between those windows there is no way to buy one.
At home in Seattle I ride a 1948 Panhead chopper. In Kyushu I ride what BJ makes. Both are machines made to be kept for a lifetime, and so is the jacket.
A Way Of Life.
Shop the Story
Leathertogs 1933 Pre War Moto Jacket
Related Reading
The 1948 Panhead: What a 76-Year-Old Chopper Taught Me About Design