Motorcycle Fever

When it comes to freedom, nothing beats a motorcycle. Carving through corners, savoring near-instantaneous throttle response, you’re totally committed, balancing and defying gravity at once, inhaling the outdoors. Why a vintage bike rather than something new-fangled? There’s a reason we call these classics. Mechanical simplicity often means they’re easy to maintain, and there’s just something intangibly stylish about an old motorcycle.

Contemporary motorcycle design isn’t quite what it used to be. The sense of nostalgia that fuels the custom scene is often associated with the belief that motorcycling’s golden age preceded 1980. Bikes looked better, had more class and were built simpler, devoid of modern amenities such as fuel injection and ABS braking. But owning a vintage motorcycle isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. By modern standards, older bikes have poor brakes, soft suspension and require more maintenance—and not everyone has the skill or patience to address these issues. Thankfully, there are some manufacturers who still produce beautiful motorcycles—whether they are neo-classics, or modern designs that evoke emotion. Even better, major brands have begun to recognize the custom scene as a legitimate market, and have started supporting it.

A custom motorcycle is a motorcycle with stylistic and/or structural changes to the 'standard' mass-produced machine offered by major manufacturers. Custom motorcycles might be unique, or built in limited quantities. While individual motorcyclists have altered the appearance of their machines since the very first days of motorcycling, the first individualized motorcycles specifically labeled 'Custom' appeared in the late 1950s, around the same time as the term was applied to custom cars.