He who has the youth… – column

Who has the youth… has the future. We used to be younger. We had little money. And we wanted to go faster. In the local village hall, everyone over the age of 15 smoked shag and there, at the bar, our Zündapps and Kreidlers drove at least 85 km/h with a beer in hand. We tinkered. Things broke. We broke things. We learned. And grabbed another beer for the road.

In the meantime, we are very experienced and a little less young and we are surprised that 'nobody' tinkers anymore. The world seems like a keyboard: flat and boring. You find other classic motorcycle enthusiasts here and there. That also happens online. And in your own safe bubble of men with experience and passion for classic motorcycles? There, the terrible digital world simply becomes a kind of village house with more or less like-minded people.

These kindred spirits come in all shapes and sizes. For the last quarter century, my focus has been on circles of Guzzi riders and lovers of ex-Soviet rocking horses. These are brands that I really like, and usually the riders of them also fit into my frame of mind.

Oh yes: a while ago I bought – cheaply – a Mash 125 cc. A thing from 2014 or 2017. I should look that up. Not expensive. But good enough to get cigars within a radius of 30 kilometers. While searching online for info & parts I came across a FB site (mashrijders.nl) that was set up by an enthusiastic Mash dealer. The questions and stories that I remembered from my youth played a role there. I discovered online a kind of Mash (what they call a 'community' these days), a collective of interested moped and motorcycle riders who, I guess, are just 'young'. They have questions of the kind that our teachers used to say: "There are no stupid questions". Now that being young will pass by itself. And then you may not get online, or 'in the wild', the same world in which Ural/Dnepr riders M/F (or whatever) live. Friendly, without airs and graces or inflated egos and with the perspective that 'perfect' is just plain boring.

And will those Chinese takeaways from Mash ever become classics? I wonder. Maybe they won't even 'get old'. But they have certainly helped quite a few people to a nice hobby. And you never know how it will turn out. Because passion can be a flash in the pan, but it can also continue to smoulder and glow for years.

The Russian brood that I enjoy so much has also grown in 25 plus a few years from “worth nothing at all” to machines that people even restore to original mint condition. There are even people who own a classic CCCP boxer and a brand new one (approx. € 30.000).

And on Richard's annual Ural and Dnepr day, about forty combinations (and about 70 M/F crew) drove a spacious tour where everyone had no problem getting to lunch at Teuge airport and the BBQ in Beltsloot. The broom wagon remained empty.

The side valve that I have been riding for years would currently be above my budget, so I will just stay there.

But that Mash? If that works out, I'll sell it in twenty years or so for a lot of money. Because then I'll be ninety and it seems safer to me to ride on a sidecar, on a three-wheeler.