"Everything used to be better" is a dead remark. In the past there were a few things that were clearer.
But the classics that we now enjoy so much? They then represented the then current state of the art. Change oil to the 2.000 km? An oil consumption of 1 liters on 1000 kilometers, a top-up revision at 20.000 kilometers? That was all normal. Just then, and now no more a problem. Because we no longer use our classics 'round the bread'.
And then there is the Intermot, the biennial motorcycle exhibition in Cologne. And in that mecca for everything that is modern, there were quite a few motorcycles that are a kind of tribute to the past. First, China has discovered the past on its way to the future. In China, under various vague or stolen licenses, a huge number of Honda and Suzuki engine blocks are made into such an 250 cc for the home market. But those usually 80s blocks of course look highly dated to us. And yes: There you have Brixton, Hanway, MASH and Skyteam. Those companies make - for small change - the nicest pieces pay homage to motorcycling then. Of course they are not classical, but as a 'toy for there' or ff messages + a round to do the village they are endearing. The nicest thing is that behind the 'design' of at least the MASH and the Brixton there is respectively French and Austrian capital and design quality control. And certainly the latter is not unimportant.
Takeaway Chinese
The takeaway Chinese are usually a little less finished than traditional Japanese, the design is sometimes just right, the engine blocks usually have less power (compression) than the originals from the sixties-eighties of the last century, but still ...
Only when watching the Skyteam Snake did we get a little weird. Because what went wrong in Soïchiro's name when a Chinese came up with the idea to provide a frame with thirty-year looks with a simple telescopic fork and an 125 cc (Hondaclone) single-grain. The Snake must also be a tribute to Indian ... Yet there are twisted fun things in the Skyteam program ...