Ugly: The new beautiful?

Ugly: The new beautiful?

Or: Misses from the past do not guarantee any guarantees for the future.

This weekend I was driving a Johammer. An E-motor whose looks form a tension between the Junkers JU52 and Art Deco, or let it be Art Nouveau. The thing literally looks like nothing. And whether it will be a sales hit? The future will tell.

What nobody used to want ...

But there are quite a few machines that could be sold very badly in their time, and that are now being sought after, or at least interesting. We call the BMW K1 straight from the wrist. It was a bridge too far for BMW Fahrer and too many BMW for non-BMW drivers. Or too ugly to want to be seen. The time that you bought a decent K1 for 2.000 euros is really over. And the prices are still rising.

Shoemaker, keep reading

De Triumph T150 three-cylinder? The wolves howled about that. The design was done by a bunch of car designers. And according to the traditionally conservative motorcyclists, they didn't get it at all. That tank, the exhausts. The side covers. Horrible. The USA version, which looked exactly like a Bonneville, was considered acceptable.

SPOILER ALERT:
In the June issue of 2017 there is also such an ugly duckling, such a subdued child: De Ducati Paso. That machine combined an appearance that was too far ahead of its time with a set of constructive technical tricks that simply were no good. At the time, they were only sold after the price had gone through. That's why you still see them regularly. And, just like with the K1, their prices are now rising. From 1.250 euros to 3.000 + euros in three years is not bad.

With regard to motorcycles such as the Ducati Indiana and the Moto Guzzi Nevada, I think there is little perspective. Things are just unimaginative ugly and boring. The Victory Vision could score a number of classic points. Moreover, the brand recently passed away. That is also a plus for collectors. Right now Victories prizes are in a free fall. But a Vision is so convincingly ugly that you have to wear hard investor glasses to see the potential.

Then we would rather go for a Honda Valkyrie Rune. Because classics are fantastic, but because science fiction is also a thing. The Suzuki B King, on the other hand, shows what too much overtime and too much rice wine can do to the human mind. So let it stand!

Technology vs appearance

In the past, the sale of a motorcycle went onto the beet bridge if the machine was technically poor. Think of the infamous Lilacs, who can now also be sold again. Because: "Scarce!" The more recent misses are generally not killed by technical failures in sales, but because the 3D designers are being pushed to great heights by marketers since they live behind screens, without any contact with reality. Marketing used to be researching what the market wanted. Now it's coming up with New! Concepts! Who must conquer the Market! And sometimes the market doesn't feel like it at all.

Nowadays

Meanwhile, the weaknesses and / or appearance of the sales misses are now more mildly endearing than highly annoying. And they are already rare and yet not (yet) expensive. We also know a few people who have nice K1's and Paso's put away under a flannel sheet. As a piggy bank.

And what will it be with that Johammer?
No idea.
But the thing didn't go bad.