Sea side cafe 2004: In recent times the SR is enjoy a new surge in popularity, this also means many of you are new to the SR scene and may not have heard of these events back in 03 & 04. So to sum it up quickly, the Sea side cafe was a series of shows for the SR put together by the leading shops in Japan with support by Yamaha Japan and many SR owners, all of which made these events a huge success. The shows were held in three locations through out Japan during 2003 and 2004. The 2003 events were held in celebration of the 25th anniversary and I imagine due to the great attendance during 2003, the 2004 shows were held once again. Since the shows of 2004 there has been a few smaller events including track days, ride days and a few smaller gatherings, up until this year's great 30th anniversary event that is!

The trip out to Rinku Town from Kobe is a bit like watching paint dry, a trip I knew well after spending many a time going to the docks that line the shore of this area. Rinku town is on the waters edge close to Kansai International airport which sits on the man made, reclaimed land out in the Sea of Japan. With Kansai International airport [KIX] being the only airport to operate 24 hrs a day in Japan, this business hub is one of the largest and busiest area's for foreign trade in Japan. Although the train trip to get there can get boring after a while, this part of Japan has lots to offer, and is really worth seeing. The train itself looks more like a ride at a fun park with its big port hole windows. We reckon the guy who designed the train out to this area was a mis placed biker from the 70's. The big blue bus as it is called has a huge bubble window up front that the designer probably thought up while dreaming of a new Bell or Buco - reminiscent of an oversized bubble visor from the front of an early 70's helmet crossed with a harbour cruiser tourist boat!

Okonomiyaki. A must in this part of the world	KIX train complete with bubble screen and port holes	Glico man, always a winner

After finally arriving at Rinku Town station it was only a short walk down the road to the show, but a long enough distance to start sizzling in the hot summer sun. The entry cost for the show was being donated to a good cause along with proceeds from some of the shops stalls, so a swap meet of kinds was in full swing with plenty of goodies to ship home. The show had great support from owners and in typical Japanese fashion it was extremely well organised. The crowd was kept entertained by display riders on Yamaha trickers, a test ride area and judging of the best bikes at show.

As many of you know, the SR scene has found some new ground in recent years. Back in '04 there were not so many high end custom builds with modifications like we are seeing now. That said, the trend to build more radical customs was well on the way with bikes from Kamikaze garage & Brat Style (just to name a few), although back then the custom scene was not quite as refined as it is today using the SR as a base. In 2008 the SR has really evolved and we are seeing custom builds taken to a new level, both in Japan and abroad with a new generation of builders discovering the SR's magic. That doesn't mean the cafe racer scene is lacking, it is going as strong as ever. The SR's popularity has just been added to if you like. At this show you will notice that the SR Cafe styled bikes were dominant. Many of these builds will never go out of style. This show demonstrated that, and on the day there were plenty of bikes worth seeing. I'm sure many of these bikes have greatly influenced a lot of SR owner over the years.

We hope you enjoy the show! RinkuLand SR Sea Side Cafe 2004...