‘Sometimes, bikes can surprise you
Lots of classic owners – and customers of ours – know what they want from a bike. It may be a model they owned (or wished they’d owned) when they were young. Or maybe a bike a family member had. But others are just looking for something that catches their eye or appeals to them on some other level. It makes sense to have some idea of what you’re looking for in a classic machine. But, as I discovered years ago, it might not always pay to stick rigidly to your list of ‘must haves’ – or ‘must not haves’. Sometimes, bikes can surprise you.
At the start of the ’80s, I was working in a bike dealership and got invited to the Krauser Rally in Germany by Krauser importer, Simon Hill. Turning up on a German machine was the done thing– that meant a BMW R100RS borrowed from the shop where I worked. Back then, a BMW was the last thing I wanted to ride. They were for old men chugging round sedately on ‘touring holidays’, weren’t they?
To cut a long story short, by the time I’d got halfway to Germany, I realised what a superb bike the Beemer was. Fast and comfortable, with good handling - it was a revelation. And I thought I was riding pretty rapidly until I got passed by two guys grounding the cylinder heads on their BMS.
That trip opened my eyes to opening my eyes. Embracing bikes and experiences I may never have previously thought might interest me. Today, I think the BMW R60/6 is a delight to ride – so smooth and relaxing.
I’ve noticed it’s an attitude a lot of my customers embrace. They’ll buy a bike, really get to know it, appreciate it and enjoy it for a few years – and then change it for another bike and another new experience. They don’t get hung up on practicality or perceptions of demanding maintenance schedules, either. Why worry about the riding position of a Triton if most of your rides are a 50-mile blast with a few mates on Sunday morning? And who cares if a bike will need £1000 worth of specialist attention after 10,000 miles? That’s probably five years riding for a lot of us. And if you buy from a specialist classic dealer like us, you’ll be getting a bike that’s been thoroughly checked over anyway.
Try something new, something you may never have considered before. You don’t know what you might be missing.