The leaves are (almost) off the trees – column

And then the nicest things come to light. The chance that you will make these kinds of discoveries in the Randstad or on the Veluwe is not that great anymore. For that we would have to go back about 80 years, when the Netherlands was teeming with ex-military transport left behind by our liberators (and a few occupiers).

Shortly after the war, until the fifties, BSA M20s and Harley WL types were very practical transport for small entrepreneurs and families. That was out of necessity. Not because motorcycling was a lifestyle thing. Poorly protected against the elements, many a motorcyclist dreamed of a little car… And his wife and children did no less.

In the late sixties, early seventies, those ex-liberators were the bottom of serious motorized transport. And they were so cheap that they were ridden by students, aspiring concrete reinforcement workers and other low-income earners.

In that whole route they made serious kilometers and the winters - which were of course still Real Winters with at least two Elfstedentocht per week - were the time in which the single cylinders and twins were overhauled. After that they were driven again. And there are still people who have joint pain, because the motorcycle clothing was not as good then as it is now (and because of those horror winters and all that driving of course).

If you look at this fall, we are in a much better position now. Okay, we are not usually 21 anymore, but the basic conditions have improved a lot.

First of all, our classics are now largely in hibernation mode. And the attention we give them is now more out of love than out of desperation. Add to that the fact that our advertisers now sell tools and parts for reasonable prices, which used to be out of reach for enthusiasts. The quality approach has also changed quite a bit. “This is the best crankshaft of the three I still have. So the one in the block can come out, and this one can go in.” Also nice: nowadays you almost automatically grab your torque wrench instead of tightening things by feel. “Turn until it breaks, and then back off a quarter turn” sounded better than it was.

Of course, nowadays we have the workshop manuals and the make and type clubs where we can get our wisdom from. But the best are the instructional videos on YouTube, where you can find information in words and pictures about almost every classic car you can think of. If the narrator happens to speak Indian or Russian, you just have to pay a little more attention to the image. Or turn on the subtitles in the language you can read. And in case of misunderstanding, you can always rewind the video again.

In short, as classic car enthusiasts we live in a great era.

It's a shame that you can no longer get a side-valve Harley out of the crate for the equivalent of 150 euros.

It's also sometimes a bit of a shame that we are usually no longer 21.

But leave the youth to the youth.

We have the memories and the experience…