From Miyagi Prefecture in Japan to Graham Island in British Columbia, Canada, to Milwaukee, Wis., the motorcycle tossed across the Pacific Ocean by the 2011 Japanese tsunami has landed at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

The 2004 Harley-Davidson Softail Night Train owned by earthquake and tsunami survivor Ikuo Yokoyama is now on display at the museum as a memorial to those affected by the March 2011 tsunami. The motorcycle will be preserved in the condition it was in when Canadian beachcomber Peter Mark found it inside a cargo box that washed up on Graham Island in May.

Yokoyama, who lost loved ones in the disaster and still lives in temporary housing, declined an offer by Harley-Davidson to restore and return the motorcycle, asking instead that it be enshrined as a memory of the disaster. Continue Reading »

Harley-Davidson representatives in Japan have identified the owner of the motorcycle lost in last year’s tsunami but later found on a remote beach in Canada.

The 29-year-old owner, Ikuo Yokoyama, lives in Yamamoto, Japan, in Miyagi Prefecture, the region hardest hit by the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Yokoyama survived the disaster but lost three family members and is still living in temporary accommodations.

In an interview with Japanese station NHK, Yokoyama says he is thankful his motorcycle was found by British Columbia, Canada, resident Peter Mark.

“I found out at night from a friend and it kept me wide awake,” Yokoyama tells NHK. “I would like to thank the man who found my bike in person.” Continue Reading »

A shipping container holding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with Japanese plates was discovered on a beach in British Columbia, Canada. The container, which appears to be the cargo area of a box truck, is believed to be one of the first notable pieces of debris set adrift by the 2011 Japanese tsunami to land in North America.

Beachcomber Peter Mark discovered the containerwhile riding his ATV along an isolated beach on Graham Island, an island south of the Alaskan Panhandle.

“The door was ripped off it and I could see a motorcycle tire sticking out,” Mark told CBC News. “So I went closer and looked inside and saw a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.” Continue Reading »

Honda Motor Co. announced its forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.

Left out of Honda’s previous fiscal report because of the uncertainty created by the March 11 earthquake, the 2011-2012 forecast predicts a 63% decrease in net income compared to the 2010-2011 results.

Honda forecasts a net income of 195.0 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) for the year ending March 31, 2012, compared to a net income of 534.0 billion yen (US$6.6 billion). Honda attributes the decline to an expected 6.0% drop in automobile sales as well as the cost of restoration and removal of damaged property and equipment.

Motorcycle sales however are expected to increase 10.5% to 12.6 million units compared to 11.4 million units from the previous fiscal year. Asia is again expected to contribute a large portion of the increase in sales but Honda is forecasting increased sales in all other regions including a 5% increase in unit sales for North America. Honda predicts sales to reach 195,000 in North America, compared to 185,000 in the year ended March 31, 2011 and 189,000 units the year before that.

Related Reading
Honda Reports Q4 2010-2011 Results

[Source: Honda]