If you are looking at different motorcycles, then you may be wondering what the difference is between the big cruising bikes from American manufacturing companies and the nimble racing bikes that are so prevalent in Japan. To find the differences, you need to look at the development of the motorcycles. For example, in Asia, motorcycles are a very common means of transportation. They were developed as a way for many people to get through the congestion of city traffic without the hassle of owning a car. When you live in a city with millions, it can be pricy to own and house a car, and motorcycles were just better at moving through the turmoil.
As the companies grew inside of their own Asian markets in the 1960's and 1970's, some of them decided to start selling motorcycles in America. However, they did not want to design a bike that would directly compete with the big American chains like Harley Davidson. Realizing that their motorcycles fit into a niche market that had been largely ignored by Harley Davidson, i.e. racing, they switched gears and started developing motorcycles that were targeted more at this audience.
In the 1970's Japanese motorcycle companies found that the American mindset of 'bigger is better' also applied to motorcycles, and they began building and marketing racing bikes that used four cylinder engines and were more than 250ccs. In the years since, they have worked to set themselves apart from the larger cruisers by designing bikes that were more aerodynamically trim and were constantly pushing at the limits for speed, while many American companies instead focused on larger, more comfortable cruising bikes.
