The next generation

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I went on a motorcycle camping trip this past summer with my buddy’s dad and his brit bike friends. One member of the group jokingly inquired when we were introduced:

”Aren‘t you way too young to be hanging out with these guys?”

I’m 41 and guess I am at the “younger” end of the vintage bike spectrum.

Growing up riding dirt bikes, I never had anything new. If you wanted to go for a rip with your friends, you had to learn pretty quickly how to wrench and maintain your old machine.

This said, I still hold out hope for the next generation . My son just turned two and repeatedly asks to go out to the shed to see the gogobikes.
 
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I've heard this topic come up numerous times beginning when I started working on British motorcycles in 2004 when I was 23. I've had my BSA, my first bike, for 16 years and absolutely love it. My 'newest' bike is a '73 BMW. All 5 of my motorcycles are antiques.

I replaced the clutch in my stepdad's Model A a couple of years ago when I was visiting them. Out of all my parents' kids, I have the most mechanical aptitude, so the A is my inheritance and I enjoy driving it and doing the wrenching.

Likewise, I spoke with a coworker today who has two bikes, both '60s vintage BMW /2s. And he's younger than me. I think there are a number of us in the younger generation who love these old bikes, but I look forward to doing this for the rest of my life!
 
No interest at all from anyone in my family and every motorcycle dealer I have talked to in the last few years have said the same thing..."Seems like the only people who come in here and buy motorcycles are people your age!" So that's pretty sad. My niece - now 28 - was interested for a bit - bought an old KLR and rode it from her home in Washington DC to a meeting in Arkansas - crashed it about a mile from her destination. Broke her ankle/took a plane back home. That was the end of her interest in motorcycle riding. :(
 
I'm in the wrong part of the country. The limp wristed governor wants everyone to stay home and shelter in place until covid is under control. News flash, it never will be under control anymore than the flu is. Car and bike show gatherings, which were great places to talk to younger generations are dead, and the genpop around here has embraced the new antisocial mask wearing normal. Chances are the left wing is going to do all they can to get older vehicles off the road now that they have time to reevaluate what is important. Old fossil fuel guzzling vehicles are not as important as alternative energy vehicles and a good pair of rainbow colored rubber clogs.

My son is in his 30's. He likes looking at my toys, but isn't really that interested in them. He got addicted to computer gaming young, and that is his jam. He's a programmer by day and gamer by night. I'm not sure what the heck I'm going to do with my Norton. I'm not done modifying it yet. I suspect it won't be much good to anyone that doesn't already have a lot of motorcycling experience by the time I finished with it. If I'm lucky I'll sell it to a younger grey hair that has kids with some interest in motorsports.
 
Computer on-line gaming is as addictive a thing as there is. I got into it some years back and, for around five years on weekends often ended up starting at 7:30 in the morning and literally sitting at the computer until almost midnight - just taking bathroom breaks and grabbing Snickers bars. During week days - got off work and immediately sat down at the computer. Had trouble sleeping because I'd re-think my gaming strategy all night..."Maybe when I was being pursued on that last map and lost the match by one 'kill,' if had I jumped and immediately reversed direction/ fired a rocket instead of the grenade launcher and then immediately ducked and slid left, I could have..." etc, etc, etc. I finally figured out that I was "addicted." DUH! It took a serious effort to quit and now I never play on-line games anymore because I know if I started, the cycle would begin again.

I've compensated for no online gaming by drinking a lot more! I wouldn't drink back then because it would slow down my game reactions!

SO...be careful of on-line gaming. Maintaining old Nortons is FAR less stressful!!! :)
 
MexicoMike said:
Computer on-line gaming is as addictive a thing as there is. I got into it some years back and, for around five years on weekends often ended up starting at 7:30 in the morning and literally sitting at the computer until almost midnight - just taking bathroom breaks and grabbing Snickers bars. During week days - got off work and immediately sat down at the computer. Had trouble sleeping because I'd re-think my gaming strategy all night..."Maybe when I was being pursued on that last map and lost the match by one 'kill,' if had I jumped and immediately reversed direction/ fired a rocket instead of the grenade launcher and then immediately ducked and slid left, I could have..." etc, etc, etc. I finally figured out that I was "addicted." DUH! It took a serious effort to quit and now I never play on-line games anymore because I know if I started, the cycle would begin again.

I've compensated for no online gaming by drinking a lot more! I wouldn't drink back then because it would slow down my game reactions!

SO...be careful of on-line gaming. Maintaining old Nortons is FAR less stressful!!! :)
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If I ever lose my internet connection, when I start the 'System diagnostics' I'm always asked if I'd like to 'play a game?' while that programme runs!
 
I often wonder what I’d be addicted to if it wasn’t motorbikes!

Chances are it wouldn’t be any healthier me thinks...
 
I'm addicted to doing things people on the internet tell me don't work. Might also be a sign of insanity, but it keeps me busy.
 
trident sam said:
I can honestly say I've never played any computer games whatsoever , not interested unless it has tappets and leaks oil. :)
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I can almost say that, the last game I played was Pong, circa 1973 maybe, it was a brand new thing and a complete waste of my time.
 
I am 79 and my two sons are in their 50s. The older one had a road motorcycle many years ago, other than that they have no interest in motorcycles. When they were babies, they both watched me crash at about 90 MPH. If either of them got hold of my Seeley, they would not know what to do with it. I have one 8 year-old step-grand-daughter who is keen So when I die, the coffin-chasers will descend and buy the bike. I hope they enjoy it as much as I have.
 
trident sam said:
I can honestly say I've never played any computer games whatsoever , not interested unless it has tappets and leaks oil. :)
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I played Sim City for three days over a long week end. Since then, I have never played a computer game. Back in the 1970s, I had access to the first computers in Australia. We wrote our own software and developed all the card games and a space game on it. We also used it to handle data off an emission spectrometer. So I have been there, done that. These days I use computer for making videos about motorcycle racing. To me computers are the same as any other tool - I can drive a lathe or a mill equally as well..
 
I wonder how many guys have used a computer to develop the advance curve for their programmable ignition system on a Commando ?
I suggest that most cannot even convert degrees of crank rotation into piston distance from top dead centre.
 
There is a major problem with our Australian education system. My primary professional qualification is the Diploma of Applied Chemistry which I achieved by part-time study while working in large engineering defence factories in which the best products were foreigners. Most guys there days, cannot apply themselves to making or developing anything. If I have a difficult problem with my bike, I am capable of completely re-engineering it.
I know a few young guys, but I never see one like myself among them. We are a lost generation.
 
It is really funny. There is a competent engineering shop in our town. They seem to like seeing me walk through their door. The old guy who owns it has retired, but his son has a hot rod which has a V12 Toyota motor and is making his own body for it. I don't know hoe he will ever get the required engineer's certificate for it.
 
Really interesting question. Hard to answer. Most young folks can't tell the difference between salad tongs and a crescent wrench. And have no skills, interest, or place to work on anything. We almost need a Mad Max scenario where the feeding tube they have grown up with is abruptly removed from their nose. Then they might be forced to learn how to do stuff to survive. And will also discover it can be rewarding to make and fix stuff by yourself. Maybe the pandemic is step one. Is this too dark?
 
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While it was my son that suggested I get an old Norton for riding to work .... he surprisingly shows little interest in having it these days , partnered up with an 8 yr old .... the gd. Son loves my red bike (Ducati) ... my son is red seal auto mechanic in city and his partner has forbidden motor bikes .... hope this phase of her’s is short lived .....
 
I'm 31, been into motorcycles from the age of 14.
Bought my first E-start bike this August. All the others were kickstart only. Was never interested in new bikes or computers. In fact, I dislike computers.
Bought my Norton at 29 after 6 years of waiting on the bike. It was ALWAYS Norton's for me.

Norton's are too expensive for young people, I could buy a decent newer used bike for the same as a basket case Commando.

Everyone has their story.

Vintage bikes are a poor investment and money is getting harder to come by...
 
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