Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkabout
Perhaps your acquaintance has a distorted view; maybe s/he is too young to remember "the good old days" when Jap production of bikes killed off the UK produced "old iron"; the latter were all travel bikes in those days, but then the word you use - image - came into the equation via degree courses in marketing perhaps?
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The idea that japanese manufacturing killed off the old Brit bike manufacturing is complete rubbish. An urban myth.
Brit bikes were into decline from about the late 1930's. You only have to look at those manufacturers that were long gone before Honda started making lawnmowers. Brough, Vincent, Sunbeam, Douglas, Rudge and lots more. They all died long before the advent of Japan as a motorcycle manufacturer. Japan partly filled the void left by the demise of the old Brit bikes in the same way mammals filled the void left by the demise of the dinasaurs.
Although Triumph has been resurrected, it is in name only. The bikes are not for the market for which the old vintage bikes were made, cheap transport. They do not have the appeal to me of the old bikes. It is very rarely that I can look at a modern bike that I would want to own.
Last edited by oldbmw; 30 Jan 2015 at 00:14.
Reason: spell check insists on working in French
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