1960s vintage motorcycles remain popular favorites

Vintage Norton Commando commands attention whatever the era.

I've written before that the Royal Enfield motorcycle interests me because it is the motorcycle I wanted when I was a boy, in 1955. But, then, didn't everyone?

Here's what I mean:

Until recently, if you grew up in the Baby Boom, as I did, you've been accustomed your whole life to setting the pace for popular culture.

That's over now.

1963 Triumph Bonneville.

But every once in awhile, at the supermarket, the recorded music playing in the background as I choose between broccoli and and cauliflower will turn out to be something I imagined dancing to with the girl of my dreams.

(That sentence implies I could dance and that I had a girlfriend. I could not and did not. Nor could I afford a motorcycle at the time. But I did dream.)

And so it is with the great motorcycles of my youth. Our youth. There were just so many of us. The tunes and the motorcycles so many liked then remain memorable to many now.

1967 Matchless G15 CS with period advertisement.

I was reminded of this, recently, at the International Motorcycle Show in Miami. The show, of course, highlighted the modern motorcycles you can buy new today.

But there were two other sorts of motorcycles there as well: new, yet vintage looking Royal Enfields, for one.

And, secondly, there were actual vintage motorcycles presented by the Everglades Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

1968 Norton Ranger 750 was "the world's finest all-purpose motorcycle."

These were not the flat-tank antiques of the First World War you might expect. No sir. They all were the motorcycles of the British Invasion of America: Nortons, a Triumph and a mighty BSA.

Motorcycles of my generation. Motorcycles of Royal Enfield's Glory Days.

Even the vintage Japanese motorcycles on display across the aisle were from the 1960s.

1964 Honda CB77 changed the world for the better.

I guess that's how nostalgia works. We remember the motorcycles of our day.

We like being reminded of them. Fortunately for us, some folks still enjoy collecting, restoring and showing them off.

Strangely, it was the 1971 Velocette LE 200cc that attracted the most attention!
Kids, in particular, thought it was really something.

Locally, the next best opportunity to see great old motorcycles is the 10th Annual Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 in Frost Park, Dania Beach, Fla. Triumph Bonnevilles are the "featured class."

Banner advertising upcoming Dania Beach, Fla. Vintage Motorcycle Show.