If there?s any proof that motorcycling is a universal language, it?s the global fame of AC Sanctuary. Set up in the mid 90s by mechanic Hiroyuki Nakamura, the Japanese workshop rose out of obscurity to become a high water mark for fast and desirable retro racers.
That?s despite Nakamura-san and his crew speaking no English. The company website is mostly monolingual too, and until three years ago, AC had no overseas representation of any kind.

The Asphalt Cowboys opened a small office in Gardena, California, to ease the passage of parts and bikes into the States. And then they shipped over the bike shown here?for potential clients to test ride, presumably before wiring a few million yen to Japan to commission a replica.
This bike is based on the classic Kawasaki ?Zed,? the platform that AC built its name on. It?s one of a new series called A16, with a production run of 30 bikes planned, and it?s now back in Tokyo.
Eight A16s have been built in Japan already. The machine shown here is #4 in the sequence, and it?s part test mule, part demo bike.
Like most of AC?s Kawasaki builds, this A16 is dripping with high-end parts. The recipe is familiar: a custom frame, albeit loosely based on the Kawasaki original, plus Öhlins suspension. The wheels are supplied by OZ Racing, the brake calipers are Brembo, the discs are Sunstar, and the exhaust system comes from Nitro Racing.

The A16 platform incorporates multiple new refinements, and many of them are subtle but effective ame...