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Edited Date/Time
2/25/2016 4:11pm
Its hard to miss, motorcycle culture is hot shit in popular culture right now and has been for a few years. With aspirational brands like Dues gaining near mainstream popularity, an influx of moto coffee shops opening around the world... You guys know the scene. The scene that devours Steve McQueen imagery, the scene that puts David Beckham on a "scrambler".
I often pondered if this kind of lifestyle scene could bleed into MOTO.
Like all these fancy coffee shops and cafes, in my mind, and in an ideal world, they should be the equivalent of a pub where dudes watch football. Those cafes should be filled on race night with a bunch of geeks watching the racing.
I've pondered it for a while and the Fast House thread reminded me as that kind of Dues aesthetic appears to be creeping into moto.
What you think?
You dudes met any 'cafe racers' turned moto geeks?
I often pondered if this kind of lifestyle scene could bleed into MOTO.
Like all these fancy coffee shops and cafes, in my mind, and in an ideal world, they should be the equivalent of a pub where dudes watch football. Those cafes should be filled on race night with a bunch of geeks watching the racing.
I've pondered it for a while and the Fast House thread reminded me as that kind of Dues aesthetic appears to be creeping into moto.
What you think?
You dudes met any 'cafe racers' turned moto geeks?
The Shop
God I hope they keep all that fancy hipster shit out of our sport!
They are everywhere but it's a good thing. Some of them will get into MX or enduro.
Pit Row
Could branding/clothing/etc grow moto . . . .
Sure it could. For example in surfing, there is NO money (relatively) in making boards. It's all in the soft goods side.
Same with skateboarding. Then that money gets plowed back into the sport and helps pay for things. How exactly the moto aesthetic gets defined is the scary part. hahaha The "hipster" look is sooooooooo played out, though.
I have a friend that saw a pair of motocross pants and she flipped. Now she scours C/L looking for used pair to
wear around as part of an outfit for a night out. When I finally got her to go into a shop, Del Amo, she freaked. She thought she had gone to heaven. hahahah
All the moto brands have a soft goods program which tends to just be basics with logos. The actual
styling leaves a lot to be desired. The thing is, and where the disconnect is for us purists, is that we
are gearheads first and that crap matters very little to us. We are jeans and t-shirt guys wrenching in the
garage. I mean, you see lifestyle shots of the other hip sports with the participants hanging out between sessions
and there is a visual aesthetic there. Shots of moto guys between sessions and it's sitting
on the back of the truck in gear getting a drink of water, or at the gym or wrenching on bikes in jeans and t-shirts.
It *could maybe* be romanticized but it would take some effort and time to build.
Does anyone remember the skateboard culture of the 80's? There were signs everywhere forbidding skateboarding in parking lots, parks, schools etc... The skateboarding counterculture did it anyways. And look what it got them... Skateboarding's Not A Crime!!! Now we have skateparks everywhere and the "sport" of skateboarding grew rapidly. We are not going to combat the environazis by playing by their rules.
I am not advocating for theft or anything of that nature so don't try to turn this into something it's not... But with tracks and trails being shut down in record numbers at a certain point we will be left with no option but to just do it anyways if we want to ride. I just don't see how playing by the rules of those that would prefer if we just went away all together is going to get us anywhere.
Again, since I'm sure it will come up, I am not advocating for theft or blocking off freeways with a group of wheelieboyz... but doing a little dirty riding occasionally is as part of the "core" of this sport as gaudy neon gear...
How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?..... Pffffffffttttt you didn't know.
How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?...... Probably some obscure number you've never even heard of.
To clarify- I am NOT a fan of the hipster look or the wheelieboys idiots.
And while those "no skateboarding" signs are still up at the malls, there are places for kids to go nowadays, which is all anyone really wanted in the first place.
According to news articles, there have already been talks on the east coast about opening something similar to skate parks for these wheelie guys. Will it happen? Maybe in 20 years... But the conversation wouldn't be happening if feathers weren't being ruffled.
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