Customizer Motifs "Done to Death"? An elaboration... and deeper meanings

Hi everyone

I had a comment on my posting for the Toronto Motorcycle SuperShow (part 1) that was critical of my "done to death" comment. He said "Not sure I agree with the "done to death" perspective... from your pics and the "too much Chrome" remarks I suspect you are referring to the abundance of Harley/Big Twin based bikes. But what you fail to see, in my opinion, is the creativity and skill required to put something together". (click on link to see original posting)

While I don't agree with "fail[ing] to see,... the creativity and skill required to put something together" comment, there was justification for me to expand and explore what I meant by themes and motifs on customized bikes being "done to death".

So, boldly admitting I wanted a wider audience than the comments section of one post - and maybe some more comments (hint hint) - and that it is pretty good (imho) - here is my reply:

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Thanks for commenting on the post! Maybe I should have elaborated on "part of me feels certain styles, themes and motifs have been "done to death" ".

The sentence before that I mentioned that I appreciated the craftsmanship and artistry that goes into the bikes. I can appreciate lines and form.

But enough of the skulls, vampires, devils, gargoyles, snakes, barbed wire, naked or semi-naked women, spikes etc already. How many more times can it be done?

I find a good what to test the veracity of an argument is to turn it around. So, let's go silly and argue it the other way: "Well what do you want? hearts, flowers, rainbows, unicorns and 'Hello Kitty' ?" Of course not... that's not the point.

So this begs the deeper question: why ARE these 'dark' themes (for the lack of a better phrase, for the sake of this discussion) used again and again? The only answer I come up with is it is prolonging the "bad boy" biker image. That image has been around since "The Wild Ones" in the 1950's and boosted by the Hells Angels in the 1960 - 70's and is carried into today. But why do we cling to it? What image are we trying to project by dressing ourselves and bikes up with these motifs? "Toughness" "Manliness" "Virility" "Look Ma! I'm I rebel! King of the World, Ma!"

And if you went with a pink "Hello Kitty" theme etc I can hear the comments now: "Gay."

Then you realize these are just images. They are worn the same way people wear t-shirts with brands or slogans or sports teams logos... to make it seem like we are associated with them. So they are misleading and only have value in our imagination, if we let them.

People assume the images to be outward expressions of who the person sporting them really is. But images are ultimately camouflage; more an expression of what we wish we really were. We are afraid to be judged based on an image - can you imagine a Hells Angel riding the aforementioned "Hello Kitty" bike? Not likely. Why wouldn't they? Because they are afraid of being labelled by the associations of the colours and themes. The last thing a "biker" wants to be thought of is "cute and cuddly". Or Gay.

There were some very fine machines at the show. But how many choppers, bobbers, lowriders and baggers can there be? It feels like it has come to extreme paint, chrome, wheels, accessories etc to differentiate them all - it's like the builders themselves are reaching the end of their imaginations. (Not to say they aren't imaginative within the confines of the "genre" so to speak).

That's what I mean by it's been done to death - with an appreciation of what has come before. I don't know what will be, but I am looking forward to, the next iteration of custom builds. Where is the next generation coming from? What will be their inspiration? That's exciting and challenging.

For the record, I, like you, have never built anything as awesome as those guys. I lack a garage, an abundance of metal working tools and welders and years of machine-worker skills. To be honest, I lack money, artistic vision, determination and patience too.

What concerns me is the lack of opportunities for a youngster (or oldster for that matter) to develop the manual skills that make that vision, determination and patience become art on two wheels. They need someone to hand them a wrench, tell them "have at 'er" and then stand back.

Cheers!