Not too sure if this has been posted or not, but goes along the same lines of some of the videos that Ryan has posted recently. ryan has found and posted a few "lost art" videos and this one falls right into line with those. This one is about a motorcycle mechanic, but his thoughts Im sure reflect what alot of hambers are thinking. I have to agree with him about the younger generation, although I dont believe it is a total lost cause as there are young guys out there with the drive and desire to do what he is doing. I found this on pipeburn yesterday: http://vimeo.com/etsy/liberty-vintage
Awesome video. Really captures the art and the "disease". I have to say I agree with him on the younger generations. Hell, even MY generation. Its not so much that the art will be lost, as there are people out there learning these skills. But the attitude is changing on a wider level, and the number of people willing to do this kind of work is dwindling. I don't think it will disappear, but there's a level of understanding from the general population that's just going away, the number of people out there that you can't even explain "why" to is growing. I have an OT daily driver, a '72 Challenger. Compared to a lot of the cars here its pretty plush, roll up windows, heater, power steering etc. But most of the guys I work with (and these are firefighters, mind you) don't really get why I bother with having to spend a few extra minutes trying to start and warm up my car when its cold, or spend my time off fixing things that come up with it so I can get back to work after the weekend. Hell some of them don't even understand why I drive something that doesn't have a cupholder. And that's what's really growing, the attitude of "why bother". Wouldn't it be easier to buy a Honda and never worry about having to spend the weekend in a puddle of oil? Or drive to work in a heavy jacket because the heater won't catch up for 20 minutes? Sure, it would be easier. But those experiences are important, they're not just inconveniences. They show the soul of the machine. There are getting to be a lot less folks out there that would drive thousands of miles in a true roadster, getting sunburned and wind chapped, busting knuckles on the side of the road just to get where they want to go. There's a lot more people now that will just hop a plane to get to the destination. Which is why I'm glad this forum is here, because it reminds me that there are still people out there that would rather take the journey, than just end up at the destination.
verry well said. im part of this younger generation. and i saw it every day, with the kids that i went to school with. i was driving my grandfathers 65 chevy pick to high school. and got the same reactions as you do (whys there no power stearing, why dont you put a auto in it, and ac) and it is declining, alot of the kids of my generation (im 20) i will not say all of them because there is some out there that still have the drive. have the hand out attitude. i was in high school working at a transmission shop. finshed high school and started working at a desiel shop. and i run in to kids i went to school with that dont want a job or dont want to look for one and want it to come to them. the people like us the ones to that build what we want, work with our hands and have pride in what we do are a dying breed, the old saying "your word is the only thing you have in life and stay true to it" just is not there any more
The younger, current generation is doing what's important to them. . . and guess what? It may not be the same stuff that's important to us. But you can't hate them for that, we did what we thought was important, while older people thought that we were fools, and they did the same, and so on. I honestly think that in the last five or so years there has been a huge resurgence in many things that folks consider "lost arts". I've seen tons of guys in their 20's and 30's shaping metal on an english wheel, doing lead body work, machining parts, etc. . . The hot rod, custom car, and bike scene has blown up pretty big in the last decade. Sure, we see the shows and all say "man, those guys don't get it, they're just bastardizing the stuff we love", but on the flip side of that, all of those silly shows got younger kids wanting cars and bikes, and got them out there learning how to repair and build stuff. Until the current recession hit, I think our hobby was in a pretty good place.
My girlfriends oldest son is 20 and still have not learned to drive and would not what to do with any tool,when I was his age I had a few cars and did a few motor swaps and was starting to work on a 50 chrysler limo that sat for many years. I need to see if I can get him to help me in the garage but all he wants to do is play games and be on the computer but may be too late so I will work on the youngest when I start building another daily driver..
i`m with him all the way, trying to regress all i can to save these certain things that are important to me, the families newest rig is a 94, american made, free as a matter of fact, my daily is a 72, and only gets older from there, working on my oldest son too, hes 15 and very interested in this old stuff.....he still does his video games and iphone stuf, but we keep it to a minimum.......i do think that alot of these things are dying arts, being sent overseas for convience, while we make laws to keep it that way.......lawing and lazying ourselves out of existense....seems if not careful we will be totally relient on someone else to do things for us.......
I agree with him, even though i'm part of the generation he's talking about. I can only imagine what kids say about my truck at school. My friends think i'm crazy driving a truck with no a/c and having to constantly work on it, but you know what? I woulden't change it for the world. I love working with my hands, and knowing that if i don't put this part on my truck, i may be riding the bus the next day. I know when i have a kid they will know the difference between a phillips and flathead, and they won't be sitting infront of the TV all day.
Very cool video.I will forward it to my pal who`s just started his own vintage motorcycle shop.He will love this,thanks for posting.
The message is so right but did you notice how many of the bikes in the vid were made in the USA? Deindustrialization of North America unfortunately started more that 40 years ago...discouraging. Go work in your shop today. Think about how to pass along your skills and passion to the next generation.
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