What is a Classic Bike For ? (2016)

I have never really been “one make” club material and I could never understand why some riders get so dedicated to one make to the virtual exclusion of all others, refusing to accept that another make and model might in some ways be better than a similar model of their own chosen marque. When it comes to old (classic?) bikes then I have even less understanding as to why what was originally manufactured as a mass produced, or at least what passed for mass produced in regards to the smaller manufacturers, should only be brought back to life from a wreck in exactly the same state as it was first manufactured. I can understand the desire to do so if the need is to show exactly what the model looked like as new, such as in a museum exhibit. I just cannot grasp the idea that some seem to have that to not fit exactly the right parts for the right year is somehow akin to defacing the Mona Lisa.

I actually used this Italian 640 Lbs bike solo for a while. It was only enjoyable on the main roads though

For around twenty years now I have been in the habit of taking a weekly run out on one of my bikes to a tea hut at High Beach in Epping Forest where I usually meet up with a few other "regular" motorcyclists and others who are occasional visitors on all sorts of motorcycles. Quite often an occasional visitor will turn up and it is obvious from their movements and actions on the bike that they do not really seem to be enjoying the actual riding experience at all. They no doubt enjoy meeting up with and chatting to everyone else and are seemingly proud of whatever bike they are riding and have got that bike because either they liked the look of it, or it is a model that they always wanted when they were younger, or one that is currently "sought after" (either in the modern or classic world) and therefore readily attracts an audience and presumably makes them feel good about owning it. It might also have cost them a great deal of money to own it - and yet the owner appears uncomfortable, uncertain and even nervous when riding it. It could of course be that the owner has become fearful of traffic due to riding only rarely and the possibility of falling off or having an accident makes them nervous, and indeed a few people I know who have previously been enthusiastic riders have now given up riding because as they have got older they have become more fearful of the road and their own frailty. However I can't help thinking that some are mainly feeling that way because their choice of motorcycle is more of a handful in traffic conditions than they can now cope with and that with a less glamorous but more practical (for their purposes) motorcycle they would no longer feel nervous about riding the thing and start actually enjoying the experience of riding again rather than just talking about it. I have mentioned this to one or two of them but they do not seem to understand what I am talking about and just blame today's traffic conditions as the reason for their no longer enjoying the riding experience.

Not as heavy as the bike above, but they do seem to get heavier as the years roll by

Despite what I have said I am actually quite happy that my choices of bike are not particularly sought after and in fact none of the many motorcycles that I have owned throughout my life have been “sought after”, at least at the time when I owned them. It means that they were cheaper to buy in the first place, any autojumble finds were likely to be cheaper than for the collectable models of the same marque and perhaps also were less likely to be a target for thieves. Not being sought after did not make them, however, any less enjoyable to ride and for me that is the only really important part. I sometimes read owner’s views in motorcycle magazines where they mention that to be seen on a particular bike, or even just to own a particular bike, makes them feel good. If that is indeed so then they can only be talking about when amongst those who feel exactly the same as themselves because others with different ideas of what constitutes a “good” bike would not be more than mildly impressed. To the average “man in the street” a motorcycle is just an unsociable means of transport and a poor substitute for a car. When it is an old bike they are looking at then often the first statement they are likely to make is, “I bet that is worth a bit now”, which I find particularly irritating as their only interest is going to ever be in the monetary value of the thing and that doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Surely motorcycles and motorcycling is better than that. The enjoyment is in the riding of them, that is what they were designed and built for after all.

350cc Matchless G5, not quite such a lightweight as the name suggests but it suits me just fine

Even lighter and still enjoyable to ride around the minor roads, you just need the right frame of mind to enjoy your ride

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