Resistance is Futile
"They appear everyday. Sparse paragraphs laced with teasing images. Appealing in a get-right-to-the-point kind of way it was hook, line and sinker for this vintage motorcycle fan as one quickly multiplied into many. Each with its own flavor, some define trendy; the latest app on the touchscreen of life. Others, thankfully, are a bit more home spun...comfortable, like the smooth feel of a worn 22mm box end.
They’re everywhere, and I couldn’t be happier.
Criticized by some for attracting those with the attention span of a soup ladle, the blog serves a true and rightful purpose within the mass of electrons that make up the internet. Information heavy, even the best search engine can turn hope into frustration before the foam settles on your double-dip banana latte’. Think of the blog as a virtual session of window shopping; allowing the viewer to have a look without actually stepping inside. It seems the blog (short for web log) is here to stay too, with 112.000.000 hosted on one site in a 2007 report. That’s a lot Gaga, lady.
For me, the motorcycle related blogs I visit serve to both inspire and educate. Try as I might, basic functions involving food, sleep and actual money making endeavors preclude the extended web surfing session. Enter the blog, my own personal ticket into all that’s new and exciting in the areas of motorcycling that interest me...and you. And while many VMOL features are still hatched the old fashioned way, I would have missed Dave Dregens’ new Featherbed-framed ‘Dresda Davidson’ if I had waited for it to show up at my local watering hole. Happy to share, listed here are four of my favorites, along with the tireless bloggers that make them go.
Updated at least twice a week if not more, Pipeburn (great name!) comes from Scott; an enthusiast from Australia. Using a very clean, simple layout free of pop-ups and minimal adverts, Pipeburn focuses mainly on modified vintage Japanese, European and US-made street bikes. In classic blog format, the right header holds links and an archive of articles that are sorted by brand and type. Pipeburn’s speciality is showcasing rare and interesting products that relate to motorcycling, like vintage bike postage stamps and artwork, but never strays far from the traditional, straightforward bike feature. Always displayed with great photography and plenty of information, Pipeburn is a fun pit stop that’ll provide hours of interesting reading and viewing.
A respected figure in the vintage bike world, Paul d'Orléans created ‘The Vintagent’ before the blog was a household term. Strictly focused on antique and vintage motorbikes, The Vintagent differs from most blogs by featuring purpose written material and information, much of which is generated by d'Orléans himself. With industry connections that range from the Velocette owners club, consultant to Bonhams auction house (paired with former Cycle World editor David Edwards) and staffed on Mark Upham’s Brough Superior start up, d'Orléans is hard-wired into the vintage scene like few others. The usual links and lists appear here as well, but inside the archives is a virtual treasure trove of period photographs, rare and unusual advert material, ride reports and production information researched and published by d'Orléans over the years. Updated often, if vintage motorcycles are your thing, then you need to read The Vintagent.
Arguably the web’s most popular classic bike stop, Chris Hunter has taken the moto-blog concept and made it is own. Updated daily come heck or high water, Chris has his finger on the pulse of the speciality bike scene, more often than not getting the jump on everyone due to his connections and tireless work ethic. Although the occasional new build creeps into the picture, Bike EXIF (which is the file information produced by a digital camera) keeps the focus on the vintage scene with plenty of mods and rockers, restorations, and racing hardware with detailed info on custom builders and speciality shops. Well written with lots of good photography, EXIF rocks.
Aptly named, Visual Gratification is emerging as the new breed of bike blogs. Lavishly produced with a wide range of topics, the creative mind behind it is Paul 'The Diesel', who works from his home base in India. Heavily contrasted and produced with dark hues that offset some brilliantly produced photography, ‘VG’ brings a lot of everything to the table. New bikes, classic builds, café racers and lots of video feeds. For those looking for even more visual gratuity, a healthy dose of tastefully presented babes on bikes is offered, and a smashing wallpaper section as well. Friendly and enthusiastic, ‘The Diesel’ brings a smorgasbord to your pc few can match.
You might wonder why I’d take the time to list ‘competitors’ that vie for your browsing time. The truth is, the internet biking scene is far more about cooperation than competition. You might have noticed that all of the sites above list each other in their links section. That’s because hits translate into numbers that impress prospective advertisers, and the fact that these sites and many others ‘swing’ viewers is the beauty of their function. As a true online magazine, VMOL works with all the sites listed above and -we hope- many others in the future. Expanding and growing, in the coming weeks and months you’ll be seeing some changes to your favorite vintage motorcycle website, including a dedicated VMOL blog. Like this site it’ll be interesting, unique and well worth your time. Stay tuned."
Nolan Woodbury
