I'm not crazy about the blacked out engine, though.
As for bike prices getting crazy, it's pretty simple. International currency exchange rates have changed. The dollar is worth a lot less compared to the Yen. Since Japanese bikes are built with Yen, it takes more dollars to cover the cost.
A specific example. When I was in Japan about 6 years ago, a dollar was worth about 101 Yen. Today it's worth 83. So 6 years ago, a bike that cost 1,000,000 yen would equal about $10,000. Today, with nothing else changing, a bike that costs 1,000,000 yen will equal about $12,000.
Add in the cost of improvements to the bikes (all that unobtanium doesn't come cheap, and adding lightness is always expensive), general inflation, fewer sales over which to amortize costs, and yeah, Japanese bikes have gotten a lot more expensive.
If the U.S. would get it's butt in gear and take steps to reduce it's budget deficit, you'd see some improvement. If we'd reduce the trade deficit, the situation would improve even more.