2015 Harley-davidson Touring 2015 Fltrxs - Road Glide Special *we Ship* 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.

What am I gonna do with a gun rack?

Living in Shoreditch I come across a unique variety of motorcycles on the road; from XS650s, to classic Lambrettas and one completely brown jelly-mould CBR600. My favourite of the regular bikes I see is this Harley-Davidson badged Armstrong MT500. In my head I like to think that the owner operates as an urban vigilante, realistically whoever rides this ex-Army bike is probably an artist and instead of a weapon in the gun holder it's probably art equipment.

Back to the Future

Crocker Motorcycles. Who? Exactly.