All these factors add up to create an impression that the bike is the boss here. You don't just jump on and tear off the way you can on today's machines, perhaps thinking about business while you absently tune the radio. On a Velocette, you couldn't hear a rock if it were perched on your gas tank. A modern mainstream motorcycle has been so thoroughly developed, so many of its rough edges have been smoothed off, that it has become first cousin to an appliance. The classics demand your full attention. You must actually RIDE them. Such is the root of their appeal, and it has a genuine charm.
