2010 Harley-davidson Dyna Fat Bob on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Vespa goes back to the future

IT'S been a while coming, but the gorgeous Vespa 946 - EICMA 2012's Best of Show - has finally introduced something to the two-wheeled world that our four-wheeled counterparts have had for a while.  I call this 'reverse retro-futurism' - the art of borrowing lines from models past and imbuing them with a sleek sense of future direction (as opposed to retro-futurism, the pre-1960s design trend of depicting the technology of the future. The term 'decopunk' may come close, but feel free to tell me if there's a more exact term.) It's what the New Mini and the New Beetle (both 1997 and 2012 versions) have done so well, and so successfully: building an all-new model as a tribute to a classic, something that's modern yet already timeless, with a widely-appreciated, inclusive aesthetic (and here we eliminate the Plymouth PT Cruiser from the conversation). The biking world is great at retro, indeed thrives on it, but not so good at adding in a taste of the 21st century.

Harley-Davidson Helps Beat Winter Blues

Feeling trapped within the crippling grasp of winter? The Harley-Davidson Museum is helping to warm things up with Winter Chillabration, running now until the end of February. One of the many highlights is the giant XR1200 Harley-Davidson Sportster that has been hand-carved from ice and snow by the USA Snow Sculpting Team, on the corner of 5th and Canal Streets.

Owner of Tsunami-Tossed Harley-Davidson Found in Japan

Harley-Davidson representatives in Japan have identified the owner of the motorcycle lost in last year’s tsunami but later found on a remote beach in Canada. The 29-year-old owner, Ikuo Yokoyama, lives in Yamamoto, Japan, in Miyagi Prefecture, the region hardest hit by the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Yokoyama survived the disaster but lost three family members and is still living in temporary accommodations.