![]() |
The British motorcycle
industry may for
all practical purposes
be dead. Yet, there are whole lot of people out there, who alternately
swear by and at them, but will only ride a dated piece of the British
motorcycling heritage, manufactured in factories whose death kneel had
sounded so long ago that
even the echoes
are now a distant memory. However, unlike the Harley riders who have
created a specific cult image around them,
the Brit-bike lovers
hardly ever fall into the "biker" or "weekend warrior" category,
preferring either to mothball their immaculately restore machines
or treat them as everyday steeds, riding them to
work and around
the block.
|
| A motorcycle tour is usually
one of life's most unforgettable
experiences. The wind, the spatial 3D perception of the scenery and the greater interaction with the surroundings. To feel speed, but not insulated by glass and steel, to feel nature's contours without wearing out walking shoes. |
![]() |
![]() |
The idea behind project:
British Steel is
to make a television series about riding in different countries on these vintage pieces of two-wheeled history. To capture the exhilaration of not only riding, but also pushing thirty to forty year old gears to the edge. Focus upon the excitement of constantly anticipating about how long would both the rider and the machine last. Chronicle how the rider/riders deal with the breakdowns and whatever other pitfalls come their way. Catch the astonished faces of the people seeing riders on the same hardware their parents and grandparents once used. To do on a global scale what hundreds of Madras Enfield riding tourists do in India every year. |
| "British Steel" is conceptualized as
program about motorcycle travel, but not necessarily for motorcyclists
alone. Classic bikes are beautiful machines and people in general tend
to relate to them with nostalgia and not as to the transportation of the
young, reckless and the ill-mannered. While the specifications of
an AJS 350 or a Norton Dominator might not be of much interest to many
viewers initially, what is going to more captivating to be them is the
age of these machines, and that knowledge that there are people who still
love, maintain and ride them.
For more information email:[email protected] |
Back to Ravi J. Deka's Home page