NGC: Separating value from Sentimentality, Kevin Cameron

[mhershon]

https://www.cycleworld.com/story/bikes/separating-value-from-sentimentality/

Oh, my, is that old Yamaha example of worthlessness gorgeous!

[MotoG5]

Great article and bike. Brought back a lot of memories from the beginning of my motorcycle life long love affair.

[GuzziPilot]

Superb article!

Reminds us all that riding a moto back then actually required some grit and excellent eye-hand coordination...that is...if you could kick start the beast...cold, warm & hot. My Dad loved British bikes...slightly off topic from the article...true. He always said they were "real mens" bikes. Back then, you actually had to know how the thing worked, what to expect from it, and know when you have pushed it beyond "your" capability of riding. The sting of failure was immediate. How true? My first ever ride was on a BSA Goldstar, race-tuned, flat bars and unforgiving pegs ground down from aggressive cornering. To say the least, it scared the daylights out of me...but I rode it anyway.

That was followed up on a Vincent Black Shadow...truly a monster of power. Years later I was amused at my Dad's new found fondness of the BMW K-bikes...so refined and comfortable :-) But in my mind......awfully boring. Even he accepted that moto's had evolved and were actually easier to live with, and ride!

Sorry for the history story....

GuzziPilot

[Rich A]

This is similar in a way to a point made early in Zen, which is that some folks just want to ride while others want to know about the machine, how things work, how to keep it tuned, etc.

Rich A

[dxhall]

It’s been claimed that the electric starter ruined motorcycling by opening the sport to non-mechanics. 

[Tusayan]

It seems to me that virtually every article Kevin’s Cameron writes nowadays is a diatribe on why older bikes are badly engineered and should be considered obsolete, with the argument based on a narrow set of criteria and a few race bike examples which he then attempts to broaden into universal truth.  Notwithstanding that his pay comes ultimately from the advertisers of new motorcycles, which provides ample motivation to beat that drum in the face of resurgent real world interest in older bikes, it really does come across to me like he’s trying to convince himself! I also find it paternalistic and mildly offensive.

His idea that the appeal of older bikes is based on sentimentality is particularly weak, when there are many reasons why an older bike may be considerably more practical and useful for a given owner, not less so. 

[oldbike54]

 ^^^Dunno , KC probably knows as much about old Japanese motorbikes as anyone , he built Kawasaki triples that scared factory bikes . The fact is , outside of old beemers and Guzzis , most of those old beasts were smoky rattly things .

 Dusty

[john fish]

Every time I read Kevin Cameron I'm reminded of one of his editors commenting on how hard he was to edit because of KC's scattershot writing style.  I still like reading him but he does require some work and an occasional head scratch.

And yes, old bikes aren't as "good" as new bikes concerning comfort and ease of use but if I really cared about that I wouldn't be riding a bike in the first place.  I'd be in a Honda Civic. 

And yeah, that old Yamaha is a beauty.

[LowRyter]

I think Kevin like to write about his  "war stories" building race bikes by trial and error.  Then he relies on his personal experience to show how technology has progressed to address the described issues.

I'd think that any bike 50 years old wouldn't be as advanced as new one.   The common sense title just reinforces that most restorations projects don't make sense financially. 

But I saw a Crocker, running and original, sell for $750k on a TV auction rerun last night.

[jumpmaster]

I generally give up quickly on reading any linked magazine story, if I even try at all.  They always have an irritating number of pop-up ads which freeze the screen from scrolling down until they are da#@ed good and ready and jump the text around, making an 10-minute read into a half-hour battle with my patience.  This particular story may be my new champion of these characteristics!