Battle of the neo-retro twins! Triumph and BMW drew upon their deep reserves of heritage when designing these two café racers. Even though it has liquid cooling, riding modes and standard traction control, the Thruxton (left) has more classic styling. While appearing more mechanically modern, the R nineT Racer (right) nails the vintage racing look. Photos by Kevin Wing.
Motorcycles allow us to indulge our appetite for nostalgia like few other vehicles. Riding a motorcycle can transport us back to younger, more carefree times. And if motorcycles from the past stir your emotions, you can satisfy those impulses without having to deal with the fussy carburetors, mushy suspension and Fred Flintstone-caliber brakes of true vintage bikes. Within the broad range of motorcycles on the market today, you can buy classic cruisers, throwback bobbers, knockabout scramblers and oh-so-cool café racers, and thanks to modern engineering, you can have the style without the headaches. Cruisers have been around the longest, with the traditional styling carried forth most faithfully and continuously by Harley-Davidson. But most of today?s bobbers, scramblers and café racers are part of a retro revival that blossomed after the housing bubble burst and the chopper craze went belly-up. With its stretched-out riding position, the Racer is best suited to short rides.
Two companies that have been particularly active in this revival are BMW and Triumph. The Brits have been at it a while, starting w...