Tag: #ride japan

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What is a Twistybutt Ride?

A Twistybutt is an endurance-style motorcycle event designed specifically for spirited riders who want to hone their cornering skills, build long-distance stamina, get to know their bikes intimately, and experience the best backroads Japan has to offer.
Unlike traditional long-distance endurance rides that focus on grinding out flat highway kilometers, a Twistybutt is all about technical riding. It tests a rider’s physical and mental endurance by stringing together endless technical mountain passes (touge), sharp hairpins, elevation shifts, and flowy secondary roads—with zero highway miles.

Origins & The Annual Tradition

  • Where It Began: The original concept was born in the spring of 2011 as a continuous, single-day transit across the main island of Honshu—starting on the Pacific Ocean at sunrise and ending at the Sea of Japan by sunset.
  • The Spring Coast to Coast Twistybutt: To commemorate where it all started, Touge Express hosts its flagship annual event: “The Spring Coast to Coast Twistybutt“. This classic run spans 500+ km from Kanagawa’s Sagami Bay up to the coast of Niigata, crossing through some of Japan’s highest paved mountain roads.
  • Beyond Coast-to-Coast: While the C2C remains the benchmark, Twistybutt events are not limited to coast-to-coast paths. The same core spirit is applied to deep regional mountain loops, multi-prefecture traverses, and inland high-elevation routes.

Core Principles

  • The Ultimate Saddle Challenge: It earns the “butt” in its name through sheer hours in the saddle—typically 10 to 14+ hours of non-stop shifting, leaning, and weight transfer through thousands of corners rather than passive cruising.
  • Independent & Self-Reliant: A Twistybutt is not a parade, a race, or a follow-the-leader pack ride. Riders navigate at their own pace, handle their own stops, and take 100% responsibility for their own safety, machine, and pacing.
  • A Community Event, Not a Competition: While riders travel independently or in small pairings, everyone shares the same journey. The day finishes with riders gathering at the end destination to share route stories, grab local food, soak in an onsen, and celebrate a hard day’s ride.

Collectibles, Gear & Fueling the Legacy

  • Unique Event Stickers: Every ride features popular, custom-designed event stickers that participants proudly collect and display on their bikes, helmets, and gear as badges of honor.
  • T-Shirts & Apparel: Occasional event t-shirt sales give riders a chance to wear the spirit of the ride off the bike.
  • Supporting the Mission: Proceeds from apparel and gear sales directly fund the ongoing mission: scouting new terrain, formulating unique technical routes, and continuing the legendary ride tradition that first began in 2011.

General Expectations for Participants

  1. Self-Sufficiency & Safety: Bike must be 100% prepped (fresh fluids, solid tire tread, full tank at start). Riders must manage their own limits and weather gear for drastic elevation/temperature changes.
  2. Leave Excuses at Home: A positive, resilient attitude is mandatory—twisty endurance riding demands focus and adaptability.
  3. Respect the Road: Ride your own ride, respect local communities, and support fellow participants along the way.

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After 14 years of the original spring Coast to Coast Twistybutt, we now have a proven fall/autumn Coast to Coast Twistybutt, too. It’s still from the Pacific to the Sea of Japan, but in the Chubu region. We held our first one this past Sunday and here’s how it went down.

Eight riders met by the mouth of the Tenryu River in Shizuoka on the Pacific coast with typhoon whipped swell crashing and tubing in the distance. The typhoon had scared off more than a few of the 22 registered entrants with threats of rain all week. But those that did rock up at the start were keen and the atmosphere was great, despite the overcast weather and dark brooding clouds blanketing the mountains to the north, where we were headed.

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That big 659cc single cylinder and conrod spinning around between your shins like Thor’s hammer while your perched atop its paranormal suspension with the near telepathic quickshifter and deft brakes merciful of daft indulgences is quite a ride.

The more time aboard this quite un-Ducati contraption, the less clear it became what or who was the tool of conveyance here. It’s good, molto molto good!

It’s a lightweight at 151kg and 77hp but with a large dollop of modern Ducati refinement to round the rough edges off the big single, it had me wondering more than once where it came from.

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