A Harley-Davidson that was built in York, got washed away in Japan and was found buried in British Columbia, has at least another stop before it can return to its owner.

It will take five days for the bike to travel from the remote Graham Island in western Canada to a Harley dealer in Vancouver for assessment, a company spokeswoman said.

The rusted 2004 FXSTB Softail Night Train washed ashore last month as one of the remnants of a tsunami that ravaged Japan.

For Ikuo Yokoyama, it is one of the few things that survived from his life before the wreckage. He lost three members of his family in the March 11, 2011, disaster and has since been living in temporary housing. Though he was quoted in the Japanese media as calling the discovery "miraculous," it was unclear on Wednesday if he wanted the bike back, according to Marypat Blankenheim, a spokeswoman for Harley.

The Softail has sustained "substantial damage," she said, and Yokoyama's circumstances have changed significantly since purchasing the bike.

"We're waiting to see what he wants to do," she said.

During the last few days Harley has been working to track the bike's route. It started in Harley's York plant in Springettsbury Township, where Softail, Touring and Trike motorcycles are built. Then it was stored in a crate and shipped to Japan until the tsunami washed it away.

Last month, Canadian Peter Mark found it covered in corrosion on Graham Island and tracked the owner through a Japanese license plate.

"That island is so remote. We're very lucky an honest man lived there," Blankenheim said.

Upon his discovery, Harley was able to trace its path by using the vehicle identification number.

"It suffered a lot of water damage, but not enough to keep us from determining it was a Softail made in York," she said.

- Reach Candy Woodall at 505-5437 or cwoodall@yorkdispatch.com.