Being one of those born Post World War Two, in the early 1950s, looking back… and then… from there, to looking forward to what remains in the present and future for this sentient being, there was and is a lot that was and is quite good about life in Australia and a lot that was and is quite bad. Most likely every generation has such a reasoned retrospective capacity.
I hope so.
When one takes into account the massive ‘prizes won’ by my generation: free health care, free education, single parent funding, pensions, welfare, women’s rights, welcoming of refugees, good pay rates, permanent jobs, the trade unions themselves etc…those were outstanding times for the development of an enthusiastic and world-connected society based upon social justice and equity for all.
At the same time, it is interesting to note that this same generation has become one of the most entrenched, fearful, reactionary and indeed ‘myopic’ in regards to having any future vision for anyone, apart from themselves, at all.
Perhaps failing vision, socially and philosophically, comes along naturally enough with mortal biological decay.
What this preamble has to do with an article on latter 20th Century motorcycles has got me quite confused…which is a good enough way to start.
BMW, Moto Guzzi, Honda, Suzuki, Bimota, Laverda, Benelli, MV Agusta, and my favourite Ducati were and remain significant names in Motorcycle-dom, and yet the Desire of the Masses has changed. The Honda Postie bike remains the best-selling most useful and versatile 2 wheeled machine the motor world has ever known. It is still very good.
What is good about the world now, and Australia, is that a person of my age and interests, can pick up the rarest of delightful items obsessively maintained and often better than new, at very low prices; simply because my fellow baby boomers either can’t afford them anymore or can’t get on them anymore.
All bike design paradigms changed with the 2008 global financial crash, and as the crash still now continues, no one is building interesting bikes any more.
I’ll list some bikes that are available now, nation-wide, and cheap, and in brilliant better than new condition:
1999 Harley Davidson Road King
2002 MV Agusta F1
2002 Honda Super Blackbird
2000-2006 Ducati 996, 998 & 999
2000-2006 BMW R11-1200GS Adventure
& there’s lots more…hardly ever ridden, perfectly maintained and then improved upon, and basically unassailable in terms of function, design and speed.
My favourite bike of all time, the Laverda Diamante 668 doesn’t rate much of a mention in anyone else’s book but mine…it was just so perfectly made in the early 2000s…meticulous and beautiful design and perfectly fitting any human form not taller than 5’7”…and I would have bought one that day…even me being 5’10’ at the bike shop way back then, brand new, if only the
Laverda
technicians could have made it start.
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