Motorcycle Madness

For whatever reason, I started taking pictures of odd or different motorcycles and scooters over the last year or so.  I think it started with a bike sporting a sidecar, and I spontaneously took a picture thinking that the design and look of the bike was visually interesting.  And then I noticed other motorized bikes that were different in some way, and took pictures of them, too.  I’ve been a bad boy not sharing these with you earlier, but hey, most girls like bad boys, right?  So without further ado, here are the pics with a short caption about each.  Enjoy!

 I saw this cane bike in a museum in Vancouver, BC.  It’s from, I believe, Sumatra, and it’s pretty fun.  Clearly, this is decorative only.  It reminds me of one of those gifts that the presidents get.  You know, some dude in Nebraska who decided to build the US Capitol in matchsticks and present it to the Commander in Chief.  I have no reason to explain why this particular bike was created, but it’s interesting to look at and clearly a product of passion:

Stupid comes in many flavors.  Motorcycling is dangerous as hell even when practiced by people exercising caution and care.  But if that’s your M.O., why are you on a bike in the first place?  Here’s a shot of a dude on a bike near the Oregon-Washington border demonstrating some serious dumb-ass tendencies while tooling on I-5:

Style?  How about this beautiful Vespa parked in the former East Berlin.  I think the Vespa is just a masterpiece of elegance and style, and the color schemes usually highlight the graceful and seductive curves.  This is the sweet spot for Italians, don’t you think?  I don’t usually think about getting a motorbike of any sort, but if I were to get one, it would be a Vespa.  Fabulous stuff:

Want old school?  How about this East German baby?  Communist-era, yeah, you know it was the Trabant of motorcycles.  I think this one is a Simson, but I can't find my notes, so correct me if I'm wrong.  It actually looks like it just came off the assembly line.  Nice color, too.

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Here’s the one that began this whole photo essay:  the motorcycle with the sidecar.  Sidecars are hardly ever seen, probably because they make the entire combination unstable, not a particularly good trait for a motorized, high speed vehicle that offers little in the way of personal protection.  But there is something romantic about the sidecars, and as a kid, I always thought they were cool.  They always seemed to be in those old WWII movies that I watched when I was young.  Here ya go:

Old time bikes are just stripped down badass vehicles.  Those new Harleys with all that crap bolted on to them?  Hey, no wonder that no one under the age of 50 wants to be caught dead on one.  What, is Harley going to put those colorful plastic things on the spokes that you had as a kid on your bicycle back in the day?  They already have banana seats and sissy bars, for Pete’s sake.  Now, you wouldn’t do that to these old time bad boys, including a Harley, would you?

What do you think of trikes for adults?  You might rethink their coolness when you check this puppy out.  And unlike most motorcycles, you don’t have to worry about not being spotted on this thing – it’s bigger than a lot of cars out there. 

That's it for now.  The Man has been rockin' me lately, so I've fallen behind, but I have a lot of good stuff in the hopper and will be posting it with more regularity soon.  And September is gonna be big - I've got three live shows set up already, including Jethro Tull this upcoming weekend.  Oh, baby!  Hope all is well on the receiving end of this post, and that you have enjoying a great Labor Day weekend.  I had a barnburner.