They say that getting old isn’t for the faint of heart. No wonder, then, that ageing has little effect on motorcycles. Sure, there are many who say that old motorcycles belong in scrapyards, that they are relics which are no longer relevant. However, old bikes are always only a restoration away from being what they were built to be, perhaps even better. It’s an enviable advantage they hold over us mortals; after all, it is humbling to realise that you’re just a temporary stop for the 49-year-old motorcycle that stands as if it’s new in your garage. It moved someone before you got it and it will move others after you’re gone.
I’m hardly an old-bike fanatic like some others I’m fortunate enough to know. But I do believe that if you’ve to have five bikes in the garage, one for each finger on a hand, then one of them has to be an old bike. You might enjoy new-age music, the kind that sounds like it was recorded by a synthesiser that fell down several flights of stairs. But I’m equally sure even that the blues will never get old, even if it’s only for a change of pace or perhaps to discover what emotions it brings out in your trance-afflicted self. Old music is special. Old motorcycles are, too, for much the same reasons.
There are many reasons why it’s worth having an old bike or two in your garage. Some like gazing at the collection of oil stains on the floor with much the same intensity and intent as others who walk around art galleries. Some like the wholesome smell that rises from old metal, a scent that fi res specific neurons in the human brain directly related to the inexplicable urges to reach out for toolboxes. For others, it’s all about the chase; many months and much effort is spent in sourcing, fixing, painting and assembling parts to make a restored whole, only to have a restlessness creep in as soon as the last bolt is fully tightened. And then it’s time to get another hunk of junk to put back together.
Old motorcycles, like old monuments, paintings, sculptures and whatnot, need to be preserved because they’re a direct and extremely interesting link to our pasts. They tell us where we came from and, if we listen closely, they’ll tell us where we’re going, too. Most old motorcycles I’ve ridden and seen have had more smart ideas built into them than we see on today’s motorcycles. And they were certainly built to last; I’d like to see a 150cc motorcycle from today still running after 49 years.
However, the reason I like old motorcycles is the sensitivity they develop in people who spend time with them. Living with old machines is rarely a straightforward or uneventful process. All their cables, bushes, wires, nuts and bolts have a tendency to forge their riders’ minds as they wish. The right amount of throttle in a specific gear, the correct air-fuel mixture, the precise adjustment of the contact-breaker points, it all goes a long way in making a rider more attuned to listening to his/her motorcycle. Pretty important for a motorcycle tester, I say.
And all along the way, old motorcycles will ensure that you come across other old motorcycles, all with their own interesting stories. In my experience, people who spend time around old motorcycles tend to be richer in experience because they’ve seen more than their fair share of troubles. They’ve learnt to laugh at hardships, maybe because there isn’t a choice in the matter. Makes for epic stories, though. After all, nothing evokes nostalgia better than an old flame.
