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WOW! Awesome! Yea, that about sums up what I thought to myself when I saw these photos. Following up our Dekotora Style post, Ryo Kaneta is back with something even more unique from Japan. “Big Scooter” or “Space Invaders”. The first thing that might pop in your head when you read “Space Invaders” might be the classic video game or a street artist. This time though, we’re talking about these custom low-rider bikes from Japan. I first ran into these while I was in Japan. Walking around Tokyo, I saw quite a few lightly customized scooters parked and driving around town, nothing like what you see here though. One day I was in a Family Mart and was just browsing through some of the magazines when I came across a custom scooter magazine. Instantly, this scene had another fan. Fast forward a few years, I’m chatting with Ryo on facebook and he mentions a set of photos he’s sending over, I had no idea what to expect but was more than pleasantly surprised when I saw this!

So let’s talk a bit more about the scooters themselves. Similar to the ruckus scene, the “Big Scooter” scene starts off with basic scooters that range from different makes, models and sizes. They’re so many of these in Japan, inevitably some owners get bit by the self-expression bug, the desire to stand out from the crowd. These are then customized like you wouldn’t imagine. Stretched, lowered on air, custom bodywork/paint, motor work, the list goes on and on. You would think we’re talking about a car!

I’m excited to say we have 2 prime examples of these scooters on SNTRL. Once again our good friend Ryo Kaneta of USDM FREAX/US-VIP has come through with an awesome an interesting feature. He shot these 2 on the same night he shot the Dekotora, which makes these shots all the more amazing. Enough from me, it’s time for Ryo to take over and give you some of the all important details on these works of art.

Ryo: About these 2 scooters, they’re are only available in Japan, Yamaha Majesty 250’s. They look very big, but are actually only 250cc, very slow…haha.

They’re modified by an air-suspension system. Even after that, they need more LOW & LONG style, so they modified the frame work. Changed the mount of the engine, made air pipework by stainless steel, etc…

They don’t need stands, because these machines can stand at a right angle by their grand slam!

Also, the body work is awesome! They use a lot of body kit parts so no one can recognize what the base machine is.

And! They chose ADVAN RACING A048’s for the rear tires. These styles are very popular in Japanese scooter custom culture. -Ryo

Hope you guys have enjoyed this unique feature. Here at SNTRL, we’re big fans of all types of custom vehicle culture, so this post fits right in! I’ve read that like the car scene, the owners of these scooters often spend quite a bit of bank customizing these to their liking. We’re talking upwards of 10-20k! Will this ever take off in America as it has in Japan? I guess that remains to be seen. For now, you’ll have to visit Tokyo to see these in person. For now, check this video out from French rapper “Joke” where you’ll see both the Big Scooters AND the Dekotora. Ryo was out there the night of the shoot, which is how this feature came to be!

Also, a couple weeks ago as I was browsing FB, SNTRL Fam Pravan posted up the following vid. Though he said he watched it on mute, the man usually shares some interesting content so I immediately hit play. While watching the video, I noticed something…the scooter from this feature! Not only that, but you see a few other examples cruising the streets. Check it out!

Big thanks to Ryo Kaneta for giving us a closer look at a couple prime examples of the “Big-Scooter” culture!

Words: Edo and Ryo
Photos: Ryo Kaneta, USDM FREAX / US-VIP

About the author

Co-Founder/Creative Director, Edwin has been applying his years of experience in the graphic/web design + development to SNTRL since day one. Highly interested in all forms of sub-culture, especially JDM cars, fighting games, street art, street wear, and the fascinating world of Dubstep. Follow @yo_edo to keep up with his quirky tweets about daily life in NYC.