First stop was to the Bridgestone Tire Tech Center in Tokyo. Posing in front of the world's largest tire are (Back row, from left): Don Emde (Parts Magazine), Steve Turner (Bridgestone), Brad Wilson, Craig Lane, Brian Twardeski, Shawn Makarrall, Dave Wappler, Tim Culver, Brian Wood, Matt Stromgren, Taro Miki (Bridgestone). (Front row, from left): Brian Davenport (Bridgestone), Bob Graham (Bridgestone), Clyde Meyer, Ed Bardoe, Jeff Myers (Drag Specialties), Ed Schaefer, Malcolm Wood, Chuck Wade, Munehiko Kurita (Bridgestone).

Torsten Corum, Dealer Development Manager at Parts Unlimited shows the reps how light a Bridgestone tire and wheel built for Formula 1 racing is compared to other types of auto racing tires.

or those not familiar with the behind-the-scenes activities in the distribution business, one method that manufacturers use to get distributor sales reps to sell more of their products is to invite them to their factories for some product education sessions with some local hospitality tossed in as well. We recently went along on such a trip to Japan with a group of Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties sales reps as guests of Bridgestone Tires and EK Chain.      In addition to the 14 sales reps, attendees included Torsten Corum from Parts Unlimited/LeMans Corporate office in Janesville, WI, Bob Graham and two of his sales representative from Bridgestone's U.S. office in Nashville, TN., and Casey Wada from EK. Additional representatives from Bridgestone Tires and EK Chains met the group in Tokyo and accompanied us for various portions of our Japanese stay. Here are some highlight photos of the trip.

Following the tour of the Bridgestone Tech Center, the group was treated to a full Japanese lunch at a private estate known as Kyurinso owned by the Bridgestone company. From left to right are: Jeff Myers; Noboru Kato, Manager of the Bridgestone Motorcycle Tire Sales Department; Malcolm Wood and Tim Culver.

The next day it was up to the Motegi Twin Ring Circuit near Utsunomiya, about a three hour drive from Tokyo. Attendees of this year's USGP at Laguna Seca would have felt right at home with the enthusiastic Motegi crowds.

Former World Champion Kenny Roberts Junior, poses with Torsten Corum on Saturday just prior to final qualifying.

The place was really buzzing when Bridgestone-shod Loris Capirossi put his Ducati on the pole position for Sunday's MotoGP final. The fans went wild when he posted the race win!

Up in the Bridgestone Tire VIP suite, Bob Graham (right) from the U.S. headquarters in Nashville joins in the celebration after Capirossi's victory.

Any trip to the Honda-owned Motegi Twin Ring circuit should include a visit to the on-site Honda Museum. Many examples of Honda motorcycle street, trail and racing machinery, as well as cars and other Honda products are displayed.

It's impressive to see examples of the early Honda Grand Prix "multis" fittingly displayed there. Mike Hailwood, Jim Redman, and other greats of the 1960s made history with these bikes.

As you tour the racing room on the top floor, it's a walk through history. The days of Spencer, Gardner, Lawson and more are honored along this wall.

Watching the riveting process at the EK factory.

After the weekend at Motegi, the group was off to the other side of Japan to pay a visit to the EK Chain factory. The company president Mr. Ryukichi Sato is on the front row 3rd from the right.

Casey Wada, who heads the U.S. operations among many roles at EK Chain, participates in a technical seminar for the Parts Unlimited reps. Casey is personally involved in EK's race program with the Kawasaki MotoGP team.

EK hosted an authentic Japanese dinner for the Parts Unlimited group, adding to the many great experiences of visiting Japan.

The final day of the trip was left open, so many in the group went down to the motorcycle district in Tokyo to check that out. Businesses are all narrow, and multi-story. As the "Outlaw" rider on the billboard shows, they have their own trends and styles in Japan.

Out at the curb, the styles of Japan come to life. Riders chop and customize in Japan just as aggressively as in the United States. They just do it on different kinds of bikes.

One thing that was impressive in Tokyo was that despite limited space, the retailers had lots and lots of inventory.

Space is so tight inside some of the stores that product displays sometimes spill out onto the sidewalk.

Parts Magazine
Volume 12 #12

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