Retro. Can we do something with that?

Retro is modern. We are going back to then. In 1969, BMW proclaimed to the world that 50 DIN horsepower was the absolute highest safe power for a road motorcycle. The Honda CB750 Four delivered 67. Then it went fast. There was also the self-limitation imposed by the Germans to 100 hp. But it also blew over. Now you can buy a motorcycle with 200+ hp over the counter.

Senseless violence?

In terms of appearance, such a motorcycle has also grown very much from that wonderfully clear 'form follows function' concept. I often find them look like they come from Japanese Manga comics. A top speed of 250 km / h is only mentioned in texts. Because you can never know where you can drive how fast.

Apart from reality

But yes: in recent years, only the marketers, designers and engineers in the motorcycle world have become younger. That while motorcycling here in the Netherlands is still a matter of people over XNUMX. The average age within the Goldwing club is already over sixty. And then as an average motorcycle enthusiast you soon find yourself with Wim Sonneveld's question: “But now I wonder: What moth me with that madness? "

Salvation through retro?

Somewhere in motorcycle country a few people have woken up. They thought that not everything was better in the past, but that riding a motorcycle used to be more fun. The 'retro idea' was born. Funnily enough, it was Honda that made the first cross with the CB500T. But that nostalgically pimped double rake was too far ahead of its time. It was too early to be retro. Kawasaki's W650 was a bike that was completely redesigned as a retro bike. All the goodness of a modern bike, but in moderation and with exactly the looks of a real old-fashioned bike. The W650 was also a bit too early. He disappeared and is now gloriously reborn as a W800.

Also read: The (Kawasaki) retro bikes. The new classics?

Retro is hot!

The real old-timers like the Enfield single cylinders and Urals get stuck on the eco-regulation. The most recent models are endearingly upgraded classics. An Ural with a Brembo disc brake, a starter motor and injection. It shouldn't get much crazier! But the new Royal Enfields 650? The Kawa W800? Those are showroom new tributes to the engines of the past. They are purely retro. And that they have disc brakes, ABS and a starter motor? You can live with that. Especially if your kick knee can no longer handle the kickback of a large British stamper.

Also read: Kick start or electric start. An electric leg and retro bikes. Is that allowed?

With some help from China

The nostalgia / retro market is well served by new brands. Mash and Brixton are the rising stars. Mash is Franco Chinese. Brixton's pedigree is Austrian-Japanese-Chinese. In the meantime, a whole range of 'such brands' has been added.

Those European-Chinese retro's are really just old-fashioned utility motorcycles with a fresh look. They do not offer technical feats, they are not heavy or fast. Usually they are between 125-400 plus some cc. But there are now also 650 cc machines.

Such a Mash, Brixton, Kawa or Royal Enfield is a delightful slowing engine that is more maintenance-friendly and possibly even more reliable compared to a Genuine Classic.

But what do we all think about it?

That is why we would like to throw it in the group from the editorial team ”Retro bicycles: are they an acceptable alternative for us as classic enthusiasts?” For 'the youth' they are now. And perhaps old looks are the start for a very fresh generation of motorcyclists.

We are curious about the reactions.