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The worlds of motorcycling and art have a lot of overlap. Most machines start as a drawing, and motorcycles are often the subject of sketches, paintings, and films.
Maybe I’m a cynic, but it’s pretty rare that art based around a motorcycle is evocative of the two-wheeled experience as I know it. And to be honest, when a family member sent me this short film with the title "Gear up for a stylish celebration of vintage motorcycle design," I was pessimistic. Shame on me.
The title of the video is accurate, in the end, though not in the wince-worthy, stereotypical way some of us as lifelong motorcyclists would assume. I was expecting a gaggle of navel-gazing yuppies to have painted a silhouette of an RC166 on a brick wall then stand around patting themselves on the back.
Instead, the film illustrates a journey through a portion of history, of two-wheeled transportation in humanity, and then takes the viewer on a more literal journey in the shape of a simple motorcycle ride. Filmmaker Paul Bush is known for stop-motion animations, often using many examples of largely similar objects. The way he applies the technique to this massive collection of motorcycles gathered by one Portuguese collector has a whiff of magic about it. According to Bush, it took a team of 25 to 30 people about three weeks to put together the film which, considering the tedium of it, is impressive.
That said, maybe you’re not as smitten as I am. I forwarded the video to my dad and he pointed out that he didn’t get one good long look at any of the many bikes shown. That’s a fair point, especially when you consider the collection itself. This isn’t a batch of vintage bikes that even an enthusiast would expect to see — it’s absolutely full of brands and models of bikes that are beyond rare. I grew up around quirky, vintage motorcycles owned by quirky, vintage people and I can’t say I remember seeing a Pachancho, an Alpino, or a Rixe.
So, those of you like my pops who are endlessly intrigued by the intricacies and nuances of motorcycle design might find this frustrating and shortsighted, not being able to study and digest each little air-cooled cylinder, flared fender, and exhaust pipe. There are two pieces of good news on that front. One is this "making of" film, which shows the collection in a little more detail, and introduces you to some of the people responsible for keeping up the collection.
The Making of RIDE from paul bush on Vimeo.
If that’s not a close enough look at the bikes, which we can probably agree it’s not, I guess that’s a good excuse to go to Portugal and find the Museu da Mota José Pereira. A true treasure hunt.
