6:26 PM
Nicholas Biebuyck, who works at Bonhams, contributes his perspective on riding old, and new motorcycles...
Why are new bikes so boring?
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| The Biebuyck family 1928 AJS K8 'Big Port' |
Thanks to undying enthusiasm, youth and (especially) my day job, I'm granted access to all sorts of cool places: afternoon tea in the Drivers Club at Goodwood Festival of Speed, bumping into Ago and King Kenny at Festival of 1000 Bikes, riding a wide selection of motorcycles of all vintages and types. In the past 4 weeks I've thrown a leg over a 1928 AJS 'K8'overhead valve 500cc flat-tanker (The superbike of the period), a 1971 Norton Commando 750 Roadster that my father bought new in Birmingham (again, The superbike of the period), and my 2003 BMW R1100S super tourer (well, not a superbike). These rides have reinforced a feeling which has writhed inside me for some time: modern motorcycles are incredibly boring.
They certainly serve their purpose; if you want to go from A to B at maximum speed in relative safety and comfort, they're fine. And that's my point: they are...fine. Not great, or fun, or riveting, or exhilarating, or particularly enjoyable, just...fine.
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| Nick riding the 'Big Port' on the Banbury Run this year |
I compare riding a great motorcycle to riding a great horse; you understand each other, you want to go the same places, at the same speed, falling into corners at the same rate, you feel a harmony... in a way you simply cannot with a machine which gives you no feedback, and cannot be repaired at the side of the road.
On the 1928 AJS, you can [and must! - Ed.] hear every tiny noise from the valve train, you can see each drop of oil through the Pilgrim pump's sight glass, every undulation of the girder forks is visible, and the hand change gear selection depends on 'feel' to avoid nasty noises. It really didn't want to start this Spring, after a faultless performance on the Banbury Run last year, but there's a great sense of satisfaction starting a motorcycle with a lazy magneto, which has refused to rouse from your kicks the last 10 minutes. Especially in the pouring English rain...when you know there's still a great ride ahead.
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| The family 1971 Norton Commando |
Although the Norton Commando was built 45 years later, the experience still is similar; a conversation between yourself and machine. If you wring its neck past 5,000rpm, it wails, which you ignore at your own risk. The vibration at idle on the Commando is notorious but equally reassuring: if the engine doesn't look scarily ready to liberate itself from the frame at 1,000rpm, you know something is wrong...off balance crank? loose carb? badly adjusted isolastics? better check. Yes, the right carb came loose while riding, but I knew it was coming because the stallion told me: it made a strange noise, followed by a loss of power. A quick glance down told be exactly what had happened, so I pulled over and fixed it. Voilá.
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Maybe I've become a Vintage/Classic Motorcycle Snob (a title I am content with), but it seems to me riders of new bikes are discouraged from understanding how an engine works, and are offered only utility from their motorcycle. I struggle to believe that's all they want, given the number of new Royal Enfield Bullets and Triumph Bonnevilles on the road. Until you ride something that really speaks to you, and takes you on a different kind of journey, how can you experience what's best about motorcycling?
c.2012 Nicholas Biebuyck
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