How many of you have been lucky enough to have experienced riding a motorcycle from back in the fifties and sixties? Its definately not like riding the iron horses of today. Have you ever wondered about the build quality or building procedures were on those older bikes? Straight up bare bones cycling.
You could actually feel the road under you. Those early motorcycles didnt have vibration dampening components, sensors, ABS and all that. You had to ride them. The thrill of straddling a living breathing machine was more noticeable and yes, more tiring.
You got to where you were going with numb hands feet and sometimes entire face. Your arms ach from holding the cycle in a perfect path of your choosing. You had to remember to turn off your turn signals(how barbaric).
Bikes now pretty much run themselves. They're as comfortable as riding in a convertible car. Some come equipped with passenger armrests, stereo, walkie talkies, The whole list of creature comforts. Heated grips, seats. The day of having to frequently remove the rocker covers to adjust your tappets yourself are pretty much history. Technology today has evolved the motorcycle into a safer, faster, more artistic piece of working, rolling art.
This is a fantastic approach, but the time involved in the learning process together with the fact that the cost of mistakes and their fixes falls entirely on you, tends to dampen peoples enthusiasm.
Heres an idea to toss around....Notice how the cool car builders today are modifying new car parts and components to fit onto older body style cars and trucks. Has anyone done new bike parts, components fitted to an older motorcycle? Could be interesting.
There are motorcycle scrap yards to be found, And its in them that breathes the possibility of resurrecting some of them old motorcycles from their graves and putting them in the wind again, by modifying new age pieces to fit them and make them safe to ride in todays traffic.
For those of you that dont want to take on locating, purchasing, and restoring an older classic. Find a more recent model you like alot and can afford. Learn all you can about that particular motorcycle, and above all, have fun with it. Purchase a shop manual for the bike. If you have the room (or an awfully understanding wife) do a complete teardown of the motorcycle and order the parts you want to replace.
But the most important thing is to hold onto the motorcycle. It will eventually become difficult to find and it will rise in value and if you're still willing, thats the time to sell.
If you have children (or grandchildren) that are showing interest in motorcycles also, think about finding a good candidate for a family project. It does'nt have to be a huge roadhog type of bike, but instead look for something that your kids will be able to ride themselves in the future. Explain that the project will belong to everyone that participates in the build. Then go for it.
Building this type of project together as a family is a great way to not only spend QT with your family, its also an opportunity to teach the children a valuable skill and knowledge set that could eventually lead to a career in an exciting industry.
Take note of what area each child is most excited about doing for the project and concentrate on satisfying their thirst for knowledge in the area they're interested and curious about.
Children need to be able to experience the thrill of riding a classic no frills motorcycle. This would help them understand the difference in technological advances in motorcycle mechanics and technologies throughout the years that motorcycle manufacturing has been going on.
Classic motorcycles will always retain value in certain circles of people.
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