Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

That's Len, who came out to the both the opening of Zen Garage on the 30th and the Oshogatsu program (New Years Day). A decent way to end and start the new year. Below is something neat. Shinya Kimura doesn't sketch? Sure he does in some ways. Look at the drawing below!
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I'm glad I'm not from a Southern family. The fried quotient isn't too high here. In Japanese families, New Years Day means more than partying the night before. Actually, it's weird, when the clock strikes 12 midnight, most people are hiding at their families homes. A year ago, I was in Tokyo and was at a Shibuya countdown. Notice it's all in English and the people around seemed to be heavily foreigners.
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The last pieces of the Zen Garage show is Len Higa's Honda CB77. It's from 1961 and he converted it to a cafe racing style bike from that era. If you read up on the history of the CB77, it's a historical motorcycle, and folks like Steve McQueen, Pacino in Serpico, and the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance rode this cycle. Len Higa's bike is classic in design, yet it's not out of the realm of possibility for anyone to own. But because of work like his, the raw stock versions have become rare and pricier. We used a JANM crate to pose his bike. Did you know bike enthusiasts refer to a perfectly stock motor vehicle as “Bone Stock”? I found a 1961 cb77, Bone Stock!” Try using that term and see if they flinch. Shinya Kimura added this sculpture!
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Some pics from their rainy close on Saturday. They had a line that kept on going past 12 noon. It's been a great run, over 30 years in business and who knows Tokyo 7-7 might pop up again sometime soon. I hear their place and the next door Mexican restaurant are going to be sold, probably redone and turned into a…. bar. People will miss the place where you can get breakfast for under $3!
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