Wanted to comment on this "new biker style" that is showing up in different places... I climbed on a 250 Ducati in 1961 and been on the road ever since. Never been a member of any club, never been tied to any one type of bike... owned and ridden Triumph, BSA, Norton, Honda (only rice burner I ever owned were Honda's) Harley and a few customs like the Ultra Ground Pounder in the picture, that I tricked out a bit... I ride with several groups but just never joined as an official member... been to lots of bike meets, Daytona, Myrtle and a bunch of the under the radar meets but have never been to Sturgis... sure would like to go maybe next year... of course, I am getting a bit long in the tooth now but still riding... got a '99 Glide Classic and a '04 Low Rider... I say, do whatever flips your trigger... some of the new stuff I don't particularly like but then I am an old guy and some of this new stuff is just a bit far out for me... but if it floats your boat, put it in the water. As for all this new age biker deal... well, back in the 60's we were looked at as ........ rather strange too, so just do it....

 

Actually the bikes n' the lifestyle look a lot like what Roland Sands Jr. has been making scooter wise. I like it, big time.

Mimo.

 

This thread is awesome. Let me speak my mind too! I'm 29 now and I read Top Bike, American Iron and even Old Skool Rodz for inspiration. For me there's always this internal conflict of looking at the stock Nightsters and saying damn thats a good looking bike, and seeing all this chops and customs and wishing my bike was like that. But at some point you realize, you have a modern bike with modern technology and in the end (at least for me) its just not worth it. So I try to still take inspiration from the custom culture...even more so from the Rod culture and I think about ways I can TWEAK my bike to make it be what I want it to be...I choose the part that looks the best and doesn't make my bike less than what it is, whether its HD or not...one thing's for sure, no one's bike is like mine and It'll stay that way. Oh I'm a lawyer and I have a massive back tattoo and my septum is pierced (It doesn't show off course).

Custom culture should be about being who you are...

 

Do all the 'working class' in your country wear suits? Desk job?
Dare it be said........RUB ?

Last sentence of your quote......quite an assumption - what makes you think they are unemployed, or need you to hire them?

 

Well, I would be more than willing to say that the "New Breed" is probably much more educated than any other facet of bikers have ever been. The large majority have college degrees. And a suit will cover up tats, I'm pretty sure we own more than just jeans and t-shirts. The ears, that's not exactly a widely popular body modification. I wear a shirt and tie to work but as soon as I get home my normal clothes go back on. However my fingers are perpetually grease stained no matter how much I scrub.

Not to mention that in todays market most software, I.T., and engineering firms have embraced individuality and are much less conventional.

 

Traveler, I understand your statement. You, being a service member, have a different mindset in regards to appearance, dedication, and attitude toward accomplishments. But to simply judge a book by the cover is like being a mule. Quite a few of these "new bikers" are former skatepark riders that grew up reading skate mags and emulating what they saw. Some of these "new bikers" are sponsored riders (skateboarding/snowboarding) to compete in something "we" may never watch.

So with these skate/snowboard riders standing around iron/shovel/pan/evo, and twin cam engine-two wheeled death machines...is cool to the next generation. The one WE can not reach due to the generation gap. This "culture" is going to evolve wether you like the look or not. Judging the person walking through the door on, and solely on looks. Is going to create a culture, workforce of followers. You have to also look inside that person and find out their "worth", so to say. Yeah, I do not want to put "plugs" or what ever they are called in my ear lobes, but that is me. My opinion. If my career also focused on appearance; that would be an issue. Most of these "new bikers" are in the computer or blue collar fields of work where appearance is secondary.

These "new bikers" are showing there worth. They took the early to mid 90's I'm gonna build the superfat tire $60,000 chopper attitude; to a realists, back to the ground, budget attitude of I will make it, not build it out of a catalog (OCC-type chit). These "new biker" are doing smaller "meets" to the outskirts of small towns to "get away" party in the woods live on the ground and enjoy the converation, the ride, and respect of each other. I say good on them.

These types also are attending the larger Rally. Sturgis and Daytona to be direct. They hang out with their own and do their own thing. I say go get it. To you I say go get it....what ever it is you want in this culture...go get it.

 

I guess each generation will have its hang-ups about the younger generation. LOL, like when the Beatles came out their hair was unacceptable ^_^

Who here doesn't love seeing a bike on the road and realizing its an AMERICAN V-TWIN?