2009 Harley-davidson Fxstc Softail Custom 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.

Top-Selling Motorcycles in US in 2013: Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special and Breakout

It’s almost automatic every time we write about Harley-Davidson that the company’s critics jump out to say how its bikes are heavy or assembled from parts bin leftovers or technologically decades behind its competitors. What these naysayers either forget or completely ignore is that Harley-Davidson motorcycles continue to sell. In its first quarter 2014 financial report, Harley-Davidson reported a 5.8% increase in motorcycle sales including 3.0% in the U.S.

Harley-Davidson and an American Hero

As motorcyclists, we’re drawn to the freedom two wheels represent; just man, machine and the open road. The feeling rings true today as it did 72 years ago, when Wallace Van Sandt, of Birmingham, Alabama, took delivery of his 1941 Harley-Davidson WLD Special Sport Solo, purchased new in 1940 for $365 (roughly $5800 in today’s money) by his father as a high school graduation gift. The WLD Special Sport Solo was a ringer in its day.