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Are retros the future of motorcycling?

15K views 113 replies 63 participants last post by  Bonnocam 
#1 ·
Been thinking about the number of manufacturers jumping on the "retro" band wagon. I suspect that naked retros just might actually be the future of motorcycling.

Bikes are again being produced in classic configurations by their original manufacturers. Look at the Guzzi V series, the Triumph classic twins, and Honda's CB1100, appearently soon to come to these shores. Now, we get word that BMW is to introduce a classic airhead boxter twin , though details are scanty.

I went so far as to contact BMW last year about how frikkin' heavy and/or ugly and soulless their bikes had become, and that I would not own one. I can't be the only rider out there who feels this way.
 
#81 ·
I think that Retro will remain a specialty and may or may not survive, but I think that naked, standard bikes will gain in popularity, and then hit some leveling off point. There are people that want a do it all bike, and one that is fairly simple, and isn't shrouded with plastic. Just my 2 cents.
 
#83 ·
Asking a bunch of old men if retro is the future? Pretty low hanging fruit. I think the ZRX is an ugly lump but men of a certain age all lust after it. They bling it up with expensive parts and ride like old ladies. Everything from scooters to race replicas to cruisers are the future. Honda's NC700 shows innovative thinking and the new GoldWing F6B, in black, is a beauty! I wish someone would build a bike like the Royal Enfield C5 using modern manufacturing and quality control. If mine had been reliable I would still have it.

Some things that were considered ugly are now "cute". My car is a perfect example. '58 Metropolitan. Everywhere I go, people all love it.
 
#86 ·
Went to Fast by Ferraci yesterday and sat on a 2013 Moto Guzzi V7 Classic and the chromed out, red framed Racer. Both very handsome bikes that harken back to air cooled, standard upright and cafed machines.

I'm looking forward to seeing the 2013 Honda CB1100, again a standard, upright machine that has purposely been designed to remind folks of the CB750. If you rode one back then, you have never forgotten it.

Will people buy these? I think so. What people? A significant number of folks in the 60+ range are now retiring or about to retire and have some extra change in their pockets. But they're going to pass on the $14,000+ high tech, super horse power screamers. Most of these retro bikes will be priced well below that, and most will be naked, fairly easy to ride, fun bikes for former or new riders looking for a way to tap into a two wheeled time machine.
 
#90 ·
Saw the new Honda at the bike show in San Mateo over the weekend. Liked it, but not as much as I did in the pics. In particular I didn't care for the plastic chrome 'carb' covers as they really looked plastic.

It did have a crowd around it every time I walked by though. Looked bigger in person than I expected, but felt small when I sat on it. Interesting; glad to see it on the market though I won't be buying one myself.
 
#94 ·
A crowd of graybeards! Yeah, I was one of them. A few years ago Vespa came out with the LX150S. It had a rectangle headlight from the late '80s. Huge seller in Europe but bombed in the US. We think of those heavy, underpowered ill handling cars when we see that rectangle headlight.
 
#97 ·
To me simply the retro thing means you get a versatile bike thats easy to maintain and is jack of all trades master of none. That's why I ride a twin. With a few tweeks, a change of tyres etc you can go off piste, do track days, tour, ride to work etc etc. It goes back to the days when you had one bike that could do a bit of everything rather than excelling at just one thing. The only other style of bike like that, is the Tiger type bike but frankly they are ugly big and mechanically complex in my opinion.
 
#99 ·
Well said, kreemsicle and Nickwiz. This is why I still have a penchant for the Harley Davidsons and the Guzzi Eldorado. As one old biker told me, "It's a bike you can enjoy going slow."
That said, I couldn't own another Harley without keeping my Bonnie for more spirited riding.
 
#102 ·
The retro phase answers the desire for those of us who like a simpler riding experience. The basic bike can be outfitted to the riders taste. I've never been a fan of the dresser, interstate cruiser, chopper or rice rocket type bikes, but to each their own. The logical phase would be for "bare" frame and engine packages to be offered by the factories. Then the buyer can go to the dealer and get the bike "finished" with fender, light exhaust, seat, tank and paint to suit them instead of pulling things off and swapping components. Factory customs. Sound interesting?
 
#103 ·
Though I've never been interested enought to pay the big bucks to do this with a Harley, Harley does offer factory custom. When buying my Triumph, I had wished that Triumph had.

It may be an American-buying idiosyncrasy to want it "my way", but cannot believe this isn't a universal desire. Yet, I'd imagine that there's a huge cost to in running a separate "custom" manufacturing line, a cost that the consumer might not be able to bear.
 
#105 ·
How expensive would it be to ship a bike sans fenders and tank, with a basic wheel choice (wire or mag) mnius the pipes and silencers and a few other trinkets. A lot of the dealer set up cost would reflect the options and installation. They don't mind the buyer adding windscreens, bags, changing the drive gear, swapping pipes with the necessary rejetting etc. Send the tanks in primer and let the customer take them to a shop for finishing. That's easier than removing the factory finish. Seat choice shouldn't be a hassle. Send it to the dealer and let the customer pick out one. I'm not talking about a ground up build, but if you can cherry-pick options and order a car, why not a bike?
 
#109 ·
I'm old enough to remember the days when the retro bikes were just plain old motorcycles. You rode any little bike with 2 wheels and a motor. Then marketing changed everything. I remember back in 1985 , looking at a Kawasaki Ninja and thinking it was just what I needed to prove my racing prowess and blow my firiends away. At the same time I thought a Bonnie was an outdated POS, sure to get humiliated by big 4 cylinder Japanese bikes. The Ninja fit my racing fantasy.

Now, the problem wth marketing is, it is not reality, its fantasy. The fantasy is never as good as you imagined. And the "plain old bikes" are actually more fun. They don't dominate everything, are more subtle, reseved, less intense. They leave space and time for enjoying the ride, for just dropping into the turns, and blasting through the gears, or going slow and looking around. Thats what is important to me. By the same token, they also leave room for your own style and personality, better if you want to customize and modify.

Less is more. This step back is a huge step forward to putting the fun back in motorcycling. F#ck the racers and cruisers, give me a d@mn motorcycle and I will have fun.
 
#112 ·
The latest episode of RideApart speaks exactly to this issue. They interview Miguel Galluzzi, Vice President of Design for the Piaggio Group. Galluzzi talks about the current proliferation of plastic on bikes and how it came about because we forgot what motorcycling is truly about, enjoying the ride!

To paraphrase his philosophy on design: There is just design and there is design with soul...and soul lasts forever. He also endorses soulful design as simple design.

It is a great watch:
 
#113 ·
Thanks for that wakx....that was interesting to watch. The man really seems to know what I like in a motorcycle.

Time to pop down to the local Guzzi dealer....

The latest episode of RideApart speaks exactly to this issue. They interview Miguel Galluzzi, Vice President of Design for the Piaggio Group. Galluzzi talks about the current proliferation of plastic on bikes and how it came about because we forgot what motorcycling is truly about, enjoying the ride!

To paraphrase his philosophy on design: There is just design and there is design with soul...and soul lasts forever. He also endorses soulful design as simple design.

It is a great watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frSiuRNbv_M
 
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