I like any bikes from old mopeds to monsters, but I do have a cut-off point when we get to near, the 21st century's sanaitised two-wheeled cars, maybe not in style but in applied technology, but sometimes both and I find it disturbing that low-tech options have all but disappeared, thanks to beauracrats.
What people ride and collect is a personal thing, sadly elitism is bound to creep in as prices rise, its not bikes I have a problem with, but ignorant people and boy, do you hear some jaundiced views and mistaken technical information @ many a gathering.
A lot of the camaraderie has gone in the last 35 years, when I turned up on a D10 to VMCC runs or a sprint event @ Houghton, or Rivington Barn, the older riders usually smiled or discussed when they had a Bantam. I suppose, "mine is faster than yours", will have always been around, its just the more wise know that there is more to riding than raw speed!
Sadly, the regional club network has declined somewhat too, I personally consider the scrapping of the Clubman's TT as one of the causes that made the British bike industry decline amongst many others!
The other impact has been modern dwellings, usually impracticable and the anathema of our "Supermarket" society to "Shed-man", oil & dirt on the driveway & the moth splattered Belstaff the tinkerer & home restorer, have no place in the modern home! The spam & chips ride to work motorcycle market has almost disappeared, until recently resurrected by the modern moped and some rare delights from the Far east, an area I have little wish to further explore, short of delivering a said Squirtbox to a punter, down the A2, awful, awful, awful, experience!
A resurrection of a good over- reaching national network of regional clubs, irrespective of marque ridden, would be a good start if you look @ the old TT mag's nearly every region of the UK entered one or two riders, with a certain number of appearances and results under their belt.
The increasing professionalisation of motor sports has also caused a decline too in participation of two-wheeled fun, plus health & safety and personal insurance combining in their over-enthusiasm in stopping all fun activity within our islands.
I suppose personally, we have all got hung up on stat's, bedazzled by, 1/4 mile, top speed, bhp, often the seeds of said elitism, however, how all this translates on the road is a different matter, most bikes never spend any time anywhere near WOT, but that's something learned through experience. If you park next to the latest rocket-ship with a top speed of 180+ mph, just smile and content yourself, that @ that speed the glorious weave of scenery of the British countryside is just a blur!
if you want to see some of the the "glorious" past, visit
http://ramsgatehistory.com/sprint.html, I now live in Kent and would like to see the event resurrected on the Undercliff @ Ramsgate if possible, although alterations to the road may have closed this venue forever, remember the "Controllers", do not like straight bits of carriageway, with possible use for Fun purposes. I do know that the VMCC & NSA miss the stated venue, we need more of these events to keep, riding and motoring alive..
Cheers
John
