AN AGELESS DEBATE
Two things have been debated in these pages before: fuel, and the age of owners or people interested in classic bikes. At Founder’s Day this summer there were young people taking part in the trials riding, as the VMCC Taverners section encourages this activity. But the people on the club stands and visitors to the show, including ourselves, are aging. Are we owning, riding and fettling tomorrow’s museum pieces? In, say, 40 years’ time there will be an awful lot of old motorcycles and other classic vehicles to be housed. These vehicles are our heritage and form part of the 120 years or so of our history. What’s to happen in the future, I do not know. Will we still be able to ride them, show them and repair / restore them? Will there still be barn finds? What will traffic conditions be like: the roads, and the fuel?
This brings me onto fuel, will it still be easily available? We currently have dual fuel cars and major manufacturers are developing electric technology. Let’s give the government a mention too; reducing emissions, inner city charges, all electric cars by 2050? MAG may have a voice at present, but how will it fare in 2050? Yes, there are lots of questions here, but remember 2050 is only one generation away! The sands of time are slowly but surely moving on.
On a happier note, my 1965 Royal Enfield Continental 250 was serviced this time by my eldest son, aged 26. The bike is promised to him when I hang my boots up. I do wonder what’s in store for him during his custodianship? James French, member 3068
Well, all this will change; that much is certain. The pace of change may be disconcerting, but worrying about three decades hence is probably unproductive. In 1987, did any of us imagine the impact of mobile technology and the internet? I did predict that motorcycling would become a leisure pursuit much like snowmobiling and jetskiing (yay: got that one right!), but I mistakenly forecast that road safety hysteria would legislate two-wheelers off the public highway, and we’d only be able to ride at track days and purposebuilt parks (yay: got that one wrong!). Electric vehicles? Leaving aside the politics and the practicalities, there’s no reason for all-electric motorcycles to be anything less than thrilling to ride. They might inspire an entire generation of new riders to try two wheels. Who knows? As for not seeing the younger generations at established old bike events – well, that’s because hanging out with a bunch of arthritic greybeards at static shows doesn’t look much like fun for people under 50. We were in London on the day of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride this year, and there were stacks of dashingly-dressed ‘young people’ dashing about. Younger riders do exist, but soggy gazebos in a stately home or closelystacked machines in a cowshed simply don’t inspire much interest. It hardly helps that older riders have a nasty habit of deriding their taste in motorcycles, coffee and personal grooming, too. Rowena