I have owned north of 350 bikes over my 55 years of riding. The truth is I have enjoyed every single one of them, albeit often for very different reasons. It got me thinking about our motivation for buying certain bikes. For some, motorcycles are simple efficient transport tools, negating traffic and saving on fuel. For others, it is weekend recreation, whether touring, track days, or riding offroad with your mates. And then there are the ‘lifers’ like me.
For some inexplicable reason, motorcycles just got under our skin and became an intrinsic part of us. We engage with motorcycles with the fervour of Muslim fundamentalists. We are all in. I have huge admiration for folks who buy their bikes and keep them for years. I have the intention of making each new bike a ‘keeper’ but then another facet of biking looms and I am convinced (or convince myself) that motorcycling Nirvana looms. And so it goes on and on. Irene is no doubt right. For me, bikes are an obsession.
Thinking back on some of the bikes that I have owned and about bikes in general, there are some bikes that are really characterful and just have ‘soul’. Exactly what constitutes soul in a motorcycle is open to debate. Looking at definitions of soul or soulful, there is a reference to having appeal, evoking emotion, and deep and sincere feeling. OK, but lifers will know it’s more than that. It is that indefinable something that just does it for you.
Let me give you an illustration from my own personal experience. Back in 1999, Yamaha brought their first R6 to market. It was designed with World Supersport racing in mind, a class dominated at that time by Honda CBR 600s. Yamaha planned to change all that with a little 600cc weapon. It had all the attributes. Needless to say, I bought one and really enjoyed it. The time came for the 8k service. I took the bike to Linex Yamaha where I had bought it, and booked it in for service, then took a stroll through the showroom, which is typical of us lifers, “just to see what’s new” you know…
And there it was, in all its beautiful red glory—an ‘as new’ Honda VFR800, with a mere 800 K’s on the clock. I had previously owned a VFR750 F and loved the V-Four motor. With the VFR800, Honda had outdone themselves. The attention to detail and level of finish was typically Honda. The engine had gear-driven overhead cams, just like the legendary RC30 and RC45. I was smitten! To cut a long story short, a deal was done, and the VFR moved into my home and into my heart. ‘Big Red’, as it became known, stayed in my garage for years. The look, the motor sound and feel, and the small block Chevy exhaust note were totally intoxicating. Soulful! This was the start of a love for V-4 Honda 800s that endures to this day. They are, for me, bikes with soul.
Bikes with soul take on many forms. You may think that it would be reserved for big and bold bikes only, but that is definitely not so. Ask any ‘Vespisti’, they will get misty-eyed when they extoll the virtues of their Vespas. They go on runs, gather for meals, and even do Vespa Culinary Tours to Italy. Their enthusiasm knows no bounds. It is not even that Vespas are the best scooters out there. Some would argue that there are better options at more affordable and better value for money. But that matters not at all to the Vespisti. Their Vespas have soul!
Similar story to the Harley Sportster boys. I owned a 1200 Sporty Custom for a while. I did a trip to Cape Town via Route 62, and then down the Garden Route, up to Port Alfred, before heading back home. The Harley loped along with a V-Twin rumble that was both endearing and intoxicating. I was Easy Rider and Harley-Davidson and the Marlborough Man rolled into one. Exploiting the Harley’s torquey and smooth rumble under a big blue sky through a vast land on a bike that was basic and uncomplicated was indeed soulful. I totally get the allure of this classic American Iron.
Then we have bikes like the Triumph Bobber. For me, the whole Bonneville range reeks with soul, but none more so than the Bobber. What it lacks in practicality it makes up in soul. I recall having the Bobber Black on review and taking it out on a chilly winter’s day for some late-afternoon photos. The sun was low in the sky as I snapped the Bobber. Shots done, I rode home at a leisurely 110km/h, revelling in the sublime torquey smoothness of the magnificent motor. The crisp air, dry winter landscape, perfect light and throb of the Bobber combined to create a timeless moment that remains forever etched in my memory. Soulful.
Modern Classics tend to lean toward the soulful side of things. Think of bikes like the Bonnies, BMW’s RnineT and Ducati’s Scrambler range. Definitely some soul in all of those. Talking Ducati and soul, maybe the most soulful sport bike of all time has to be the original 750 and 900 SS with its bevel-driven overhead cam desmodromic motor.
The sculpted tank and half fairing, Conti exhausts and big Dellorto pumper carbs. Paul Smart won at Imola on one of the race-prepped 750s. To my eye, these bikes are so iconic you could park one in your lounge just to ogle it. Other bikes vying for soulful status from the Ducati stable would doubtless be the 998 and perhaps the Panigale for its sheer beauty and supreme ability. The perfect blend of form and function. So too the DesertX, with its Dakar heritage looks and modern-day functionality brings soul to the adventure bike space probably last seen with the original Honda Africa Twin.
The Japanese struggle in the soulful stakes, tending to build bikes that are functionally superb but a bit lacking in soul. Notable exceptions would be the original Honda CB750, CB1100RB and RC, and the legendary RC30 and RC45. Perhaps the CBX Six should be in there too. Of late, the little Honda Grom has achieved cult status. Yamaha’s XT500 definitely has soul despite being functionally inferior to the Honda XR of the day.
Having said that, the multiple Baja-winning XR600 would probably pull on the heartstrings of many a desert racer. Yamaha’s XSR900, with its modern retro styling and soulful CP3 triple, especially in the heritage yellow ‘Roberts colours’, is a soul contender too.
Kawasaki’s Z900 RS also harks back to the days when Z1 ruled. Yamaha’s giant-killing RD350 2- stroke definitely has soul, especially in the hearts of those that owned them. Suzuki has built many functionally excellent bikes over the years, but not many with that indefinable soul ingredient. Perhaps the K5 GSXR 1000 would be a contender?
BMW fans would no doubt nominate the original GSs like the R80 and R100 as soulful in the sense that they opened the way for countless world travellers who crossed continents on their GSs as trusty mechanical companions. As previously mentioned, the RnineTs are full of Teutonic soul. Funkiness sometimes translates into soul, as is the example of the Honda Grom. So too the C50 and C90 Honda ‘postie’ bikes. Bikes like Moto Guzzi, with their transversely mounted V-Twins, also score high on the soul scale.
What I’m trying to do with this is to get you guys and gals thinking about bikes that have touched your lives in a special way. I would love to hear you make your case for that special bike in your life. I’m all ears…
