The next generation

I am a fairly new member here but not to new to nortons , 51 years of liking them .
I have learned a lot here from knowledgeable members and really appreciate it .
looking forwatdto building my 71 project and will need more advise asi get into it.
my thoughts on the amount of knowledge in so many members here comes with experience.
I think experience comes with involvement and age .
I am 68 now , still buying bikes and riding . ( two more sportsters purchased this week )
I think a lot of members here are like me , grey hairs .
so then I think that we , grey hairs have an attachment to nortons because we grew up with them and even today they stand out .
so I I wonder how many norton owners or fans are the younger generation .
to carry on our norton bikes?
do we have many younger individuals in this group .?
we need to pass these bikes on in a good finished condition , not just piles of parts .
I recently just passed two 69S models to my grandson (I bought them new , still origional and running )
he is like me , very interested in motorcycles , especially nortons , and exp aircraft .
I thought he was the perfect guy to get my bikes and he talks about passing them on to his son . Not just selling them .
the other thing I really like to see is women riding bikes and flying aircraft .
a problem with many hobbies is how do you get the younger generation involved and enjoying it ?

You pose a great question. I’m 54 and my Dad taught me everything he knew about bikes as he was a life long vintage bike enthusiast. I grew up going on VMCC club runs in the UK on the back of my Dads 1920s bikes. I spent countless hours in his garage helping out with his bikes and also my own machines. I still have his ‘47 Sunbeam. Recently I decided to build Commandos for each of my 2 sons and my brother in the hope that we can do some rides together. . Trying to get the boys interested has, and continues to be, tough. I think they humor me by helping out in the shop but I can tell they don’t have the passion for it yet. That last word is the one I hang on to. For most of my teens, motorcycles were transportation and my passion was playing in bands. It’s wasn’t until I left college and had a couple of bucks spare that I got back into bikes. I’m hoping that my boys will somehow get that spark and hopefully learn what meager skills I have as it would be shame for all those things my Dad taught me to stop With me. The internal combustion engine is coming to the end of its development cycle so maybe that’s it.

I talked with a friend who because of health issues can't ride anymore. He is passing on is bike to his son.

In as few words as possible, I think the culture of building/repairing/maintaining your own things has been in rapid decline for a long, long time. In twenty-five years, people building/repairing/maintaining their motorcycles, cars and trucks will be the subject of National Geographic documentaries....... much like the lost tribes of New Guinea...

My son has forbidden me to ever sell my Norton - he wants it when I'm gone. He will ride it and maintain it properly. He does a lot of his own mechanics on his vehicles.

My son would throw away a dull pencil because he doesn't know how to sharpen it. Nor does he care to learn.

My son wants my Atlas as soon as I am ready to part with it. Unfortunately, he has no clue how to maintain it. His momma took him away from me before I could teach him wrenching.

I will have to shut my eyes so I do not see the Atlas deteriorate to ultimately become someone's barn find.

Slick

I've seen this discussion come up a lot on old bike forums. I think that there will always be people interested in our old bikes but as pointed out above, the petrol powered IC engine will be a thing of the past in the not too distant future. Certainly within the next 30 to 40 years. When that happens the cost of buying fuel to run an old Norton on, not to mention any taxes that might be levied on an old "polluter" like these, will become prohibitive to all but a few. At that point they're all just museum pieces.

from a younger generation's perspective (not me, I'm 67) These old bikes are way too much work and expense compared to modern machinery. A restoration is a lot more than a new bike. And doesn't perform like modern bikes

Its odd, I am finding it easier, as times go on, on finding out how to fix things, Youtube has how to fix everything on there and plenty of other resources. Upgraded a 10 year old laptop recently based on a Youtube video, took 1 hour and £150 of parts and the thing now flies along. Yet at the same time more stuff is thrown away or sold, well can't complain as my next major purchase will be a new old car next year.

My two boys , now adult men never had an interest in my bikes or planes.
my oldest could do circuits with me from take off to landing at 12 years old . I thought he would become a pilot.
no way , the bikes and planes skipped my kids generation and my grandson went into both , full bore. He and I are more like good buddies .
I think at times for my boys , we had cars , (classics ) trucks , planes and motorcycles in our driveway ( runway at home ) and too them it was just like everyday transportation , maybe they were too used to it ?
at least my grandson can have my stuff , and take care of it .

No matter how long petrol is around for, I would guess these older vehicles will be frowned upon for noise and emissions, and doubtless be legislated into retirement..

EstuaryBoy said:

No matter how long petrol is around for, I would guess these older vehicles will be frowned upon for noise and emissions, and doubtless be legislated into retirement..

Click to expand...

Certainly legislated away from daily use, but as historic vehicles there is a while to go.

Not going to say anything about the next generation, just note that the responders here who declare an age are like me +/- a couple of years, around 67.

These bikes are from our generation, but I have '56 stuff too, reminiscent of my early childhood.

But pre war stuff is definitely run by the 'next generation' of their period!

Yep, would seem a few of us are in a similar position. Me, I’m 65 with a son who has zero interest in bikes, or cars come to that. On the bright side, my grandsons love them. I only hope I can stick around long enough to see them get to be teenagers with the same enthusiasm.

My mid-50s step son rides a 74 Interstate and a 72 Kawasaki H2 and wrenches on both. My oldest grandson talked me out of my 72 BSA B50MX and has raced it a few times and he is learning to work on it. My youngest grandson is pushing me for a Triumph 500. Last year I built a Triumph 500 for a 40 something which was his 2nd bike - his first was a BSA B25 I rebuilt for him. This year I've finished a 750 Commando and a 850 Commando for two 40 something's. The Combat I sold earlier this year was to a 30 something - his first bike.

So, there are still people getting into it. But it's not like us old guys. My first bike was a Honda 160. The first time I got it over 60 mph, a tank slapper started - fortunately, an old guy told me what to do if that ever happened. Once I it got back under control I rode to the Triumph shop thinking I would have them look at it but instead rode away on a used Triumph 500.

One thing I've found very interesting this year is the number of people, especially younger, that ride 60s/70s British bikes and do little to no work on them themselves. I could easily stay busy working on old British bikes if I wanted to.

I have no children of my own but I had high hopes for my stepdaughters son. Unfortunately he's more interested in burning down the world and rebuilding it as a workers paradise, which I'm pretty sure won't include old bikes. None of my bikes are show pieces. I ride them like I did when I was 18, although I do maintain them a bit better now that I can afford it. With that in mind I gave my wife a very short list of like minded Brit bike friends and told her that should anything happen to me either sell them if she needs the cash or give them to whoever on the list gives the best whisky laden toast at my wake.

Same here, my kids have no interest in motorcycles at all. The closest I have come to passing the torch is buying my friends son (17) a Buell M2 while his Dad was away for the summer. His Dad spotted a bike near me and trusted me with the funds and buying of the bike. He loves it, but no interest of ever getting anything older.

Kids today aren't interested in getting their hands dirty, my youngest daughter and her BF are into Japanese drift cars and have spent a small fortune on them, but do they get their hands dirty, no way they pay others to do all the work, hence why they spend so much money on them souping them up, with my daughter's car and her BFs car the money they both have spent on them they could have been in their own house instead of still living at home with their mums and dads.
My daughter had her own dirt bike when she was 9 years old she is a very good rider, but when she out grew it the car bug got her, I have my 2013 Triumph Thruxton that I told her if she gets her bike licence she can have the Thruxton, but 6 years later after getting her car licence at 17 she still not interested, I was also building her my Manxman cafe racer project bike for her but its no longer on her minds so it will be my other play bike, but at the end she will end up with all my bikes, she is the youngest daughter my oldest daughter will get the house, my oldest don't even drive or interested in the bikes.

Ashley

Not just the Commandos....also all the special tools and literature gathered over decades. My son and sons in law will likely end up with my machines. They’re going to need a forum like this one.
Something I decided after selling my JPN in 2003....you buy Nortons, you don’t sell them.

Our kids and grandkids have all been riding since they were old enough and big enough to safely hold their head upright with a proper-fitting helmet on. All of them still ride with us.

Some years ago, I let my two older boys pick 3 bikes each from the collection; both of them sold one each because someone asked if I'd sell those particular bikes when they came across pix of my collection. Each of them still have one that belonged to my late kid brother, and won't ever let those leave the family (they both have boys and also ride, so it's a done deal).

My youngest son is only 10, but he's big enough to ride; the only problem is, he only has one digit on his left hand, with only one semi-opposable joint. The cool thing is, we went to a prosthetic appointment a month or so ago, and met "One Arm Bob" who has a trick setup with throttle and front brake on the left, and a PUSH operated clutch lever facing him. Looks like that's the route we'll take, unless I install a rat-trap clutch pedal that I have on the shelf, with a left-hand slap shifter.

As to working on the old stuff, my oldest son can handle anything that comes up, but can afford to take it to a shop if he wants to. The middle son does a fair bit of wrenching and tinkering (he's in the Army flying Blackhawk MedEvac copters). He built the bottom end of a '65 Triumph up from a holed engine with weeds growing through it. He would have finished it, but he shipped out to boot camp and never got back to it (I finished the main assembly and sold the bike).

I think my youngest son will pick up the wrenching bug, but will have to deal with the challenges his left hand presents. Hopefully, his new prosthetic will be effective; it's a general purpose "base" unit that has MANY different attachments for various uses. He will also get to pick 3 bikes when he turns 16 and gets a license.