This one has me confused. At first I hoped it was an early Japanese machine but the closer I look the more it seems to be a homemade special that just happens to have some Japanese script on the tank.
My overall synopsis of it is that the bike is something of a death trap. A powerful JAP ohv 'dog eared' sports motor with Triumph twin barrel carb, wobbly Triumph 'rocking' front forks, no front brake, belt drive and just a drive rim brake on the rear. It's rather hard to put a date on the bike, the overall spec suggests around 1920 but the engine comes from somewhat later (mid to late twenties).
The gearbox is a Sturmey Archer and the overall appearance very sporting. Having had a look at early Japanese bikes the number plate could just be Japanese but equally it could be British - if it is indeed British it comes from Bradford. The logo on the tank is a mystery but the most likely explanation is that the bike was put together as a special by someone who had a knowledge of Kanji script, perhaps an impecunious student who built their own sporting mount? Putting the tank logo through google translate comes up with 'about three' - maybe it refers to the number of different bike brands in this particular mongrel?
It has drop bars. Surely no factory would have put the gearshift in such a super sporting location. It skips a front brake but has a speedometer and gas lighting front and rear, full fenders and a tire pump. The bulb horn is prodigious. The gas lighting requires long tubes from the canister to the headlamp and tail lamp. Is the bit of tube connecting the final run to the headlamp clear (plastic)? If so, that would be a product of the 1950s on. This is surely a hard tail motorcycle but the rear frame looks so loosely bolted on it could almost swing. A fascinating mystery.
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