A friend of my Daughter's was in today who as spent time in Japan. I was showing him 576 and some of the "interesting" bits we have run across with these units.
I don't know if as a group we have ever come to consensus about why the "8" is marked on the heads of the bolts. I think we have tossed around lots of thoughts and ideas. Well here's one that SEEMED to make sense if you put your Japanese hat on and are heading up a project that you know must succeed.
As soon as my Daughters friend looked at the bolts he said: This bike is Japanese correct? Yes I responded. He said to the Japanese, the number "8" brings luck, wealth and prosperity. He said they believe
strongly in the number 8. He suggested that if their were no good engineering reason for the "8" bolts, that perhaps it was just the engineers belief that putting an "8" on the fasteners that held this project together, would bring the company success and good fortune. He said you have to understand how strong their beliefs are and to what lengths they will sometimes go to ensure success. I found that interesting.....
So, onto case markings. (inside in felt marker) I showed him the markings inside my crankcase that were dome in felt marker. Mine appeared to be " Q 17 " and Steve's was "25" As soon as he looked at them he said: they are not English markings. He then drew what he felt were better representations of what he saw in my crankcase. (see image) He could not interpret it however he said there are different dialects? in Japan. Kangl, Hiragana etc. If you look at what he drew, compared to what I thought was Q 17 it becomes more clear that these are indeed Japanese markings of some type. He is going to see if his friend can interpret them for me. Cool stuff!! Can't wait to hear his answers. He also took shots of the various "8" bolts to see if his Japanese friend has a different take on them, rounded vs flat, dot etc.
