The smell of iron and oil, and words. From the photo frame on the pit wall, Showhei Halumoto still pushes us forward

Today’s musings (‘ω’)

Motorcycles are becoming a “luxury hobby” at last. I sense an atmosphere where only people who truly love bikes and have deep pockets can maintain and continue riding. If you’re wavering about whether to quit, now is definitely the time to sell. The vintage motorcycle bubble seems to have peaked around the year before last to last year. The chances of prices rising further on domestic demand alone are extremely slim. If anything, it would be through overseas exports, but overall I see only a future of gradual decline. I pray that shops that have “pickled” used bikes bought at high prices (bonsai-fied them) won’t face a harsh winter (´ω｀)

Now, the “Strait of Hormuz problem” is about to flare up again. Why does it hit engine oil directly? There are three big reasons.

1. Container costs (pails and 4-liter cans) and logistics inflation Like thinner in a 10-liter can, the manufacturing cost of the steel can itself and the hazmat transport fees pile right on.
2. Base oil (mineral oil) supply squeeze Base oil, which makes up about 80% of engine oil, is made by highly refining crude oil. Refinery operations and the high cost of imported crude directly push up manufacturing costs.
3. Overseas-dependent “additive shock” (this is the biggest weak point!) The remaining roughly 20% of additives (detergent-dispersants, anti-wear agents, viscosity index improvers, and more) are highly sophisticated chemical compounds. A handful of overseas mega-suppliers like Lubrizol and Infineum control the lion’s share of the global market. When raw materials get disrupted or ocean shipping stops, additives don’t arrive, and domestic blenders (manufacturers) can’t make oil even if they want to.

It’s truly exhausting, but tires are riding another wave of price hikes in tandem.
An era where a front and rear set of 17-inch high-grip radials costs 100,000 to 120,000 yen is right around the corner.
Maybe an age is coming where we enjoy middle-weight to small-displacement bikes with thin bias tires, nice and easy.

Motorcycles are completely shifting from a pastime anyone can enjoy casually to a hobby for the chosen few.

One-year anniversary limited inspection certificate holders on sale now (*´ω｀*)

[HAL] Showhei Halumoto memorial meeting

Official site

The book bundle is already sold out. Only admission tickets available now (*´ω｀*)

Check the details via this link

A5 is half of A4

So it fits beautifully into an A4 photo frame like this.
Just putting little things like this in a photo frame makes them look so much more stylish.

↑This is the photo frame we’re using.
It’s surprisingly good despite being inexpensive.

We put the flyers we received in a frame like this and displayed them in the restroom.
We also got an A3 poster, so we ordered the same photo frame.

We have a few flyers, so let me know if you want one—really just a few though… ( ；∀；)