It was possibly Italian motorcycle outfit Benelli who first heralded the demise of the large volume cruiser with their 502c design, (sorry about the pics). Made in China but assembled in Pesaro, the engineering proved that a long distance, naked machine could be comfortable and laid back while still displacing less than 600cc. It was a radical, cutting edge design yet, somehow, when you looked at the 502, you detected the scent of retro. Benelli released a 750 but it was the 500 that caught the public's imagination and a whole new perspective on size and genre was quietly created.
There will always be those who hunger for the roar of a large capacity Harley Davidson or Indian but, let's face it, many of our younger riders will see the end of the internal combustion motor as a manufacturer's alternative, producers realise this and are conditioning us to anticipate and accept that change. The current retros like the XSR and MT are a way of blending modern technology with nostalgia. The range of "vintage" remakes from RE, BSA and Kawasaki are designed to placate those who would have liked to have been "ton up boys" but were born 40 years too late and prefer clean fingernails. Then there's us blokes who stagger our way around cramped or freezing garages, skinning our knuckles and grazing our knees as we try to rebuild and maintain a real slice of the past with mediocre handling and subdued performance!
Should've bought the Benelli, but the next bike might be an electric Harley.
, you may offend mine. Afterall it is the "ultimate cool machine" that has stood the test of time.
