The Time Traveller's Bikes
evo India|July 2018

Want a slice of the fifties? Or perhaps you feel like a wild child off to Woodstock? Here are two Harleys that will take you travelling through time. Backwards, and yet not quite

Aninda Sardar
The Time Traveller's Bikes

I’VE GOT ELVIS HUMMING IN my head and I’m feeling all shook up on this wide open cruise. It’s so easy to imagine myself in a leather jacket, strong boots, long gauntlet gloves, jauntily tilted cap and goggles as the white walled tyres of the Harley-Davidson Deluxe hums on the highway. A tonne of chrome. Huge teardrop petrol tank. Valanced mudguards. Lovely leather solo seat. And 300 kilos of metal between the tyres! This motorcycle is all about heading back to the fifties. A decade when the world was coming out of the shadows of a devastating war, and America was celebrating its new status as a superpower with opulence.

The sixties may well have been all about swinging but it was truly the fifties when things started to take off. Especially in the world of motorcycling. Sure, there were some fantastic motorcycles that were built before World War II but it really was in the post-war era that motorcycles started becoming a lifestyle proposition. You chose to ride a motorcycle because you wanted to be cool and badass. Not because it was cheaper than a car. Across the Atlantic, in the UK, the other winning country that was madly into motorcycles, the youth had woken up to the café racer. Which was appropriate given UK’s twisty B-roads. Here, in America however, things were different. The wide open country meant that your motorcycle needed stability more than agility. The result was this. The cruiser.

This story is from the July 2018 edition of evo India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July 2018 edition of evo India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM EVO INDIAView All
evo India

FAST STEAD

This Skoda Octavia RS 230 is fast enough to blow your mind but not its engine

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Ford Fusion
evo India

Ford Fusion

Practical, great engine and dynamics, but weird styling ensured buyers stayed well away

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

Mahindra Bolero Neo

Armed with an iconic badge, a fresh face and a mechanically locking differential, the Bolero Neo could just be the compact SUV you’ve been looking for

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

RISING FROM THE ASHES

The third generation Suzuki Hayabusa is one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world, and a bike that truly deserves to be ridden flat out at the High Speed Track at NATRAX

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021
BIJOY KUMAR Y
evo India

BIJOY KUMAR Y

Bijoy is quite looking forward to what the recent space launches could mean

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

DOA: HSV HRT 427

This racing-inspired 7-litre Holden Monaro garnered more than enough interest for its limited production run to sell out. But sadly the sums didn’t add up

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

Mini Cooper S Convertible

Mini gives the Convertible a more modern front end, more technology on the inside and a very bright paint scheme

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

VW Taigun GT

Good news! With two GT variants, Volkswagen are set to make the 1.5 TSI motor even more accessible to us enthusiasts

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2021
THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT
evo India

THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT

As Rossi decides to hang up his boots after 26 seasons, we take a look back at his journey through MotoGP

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”
evo India

“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”

Speaking to Dr N Karuppaiah, additional director and centre head, NATRAX

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2021