No, not the future in hand-beaten aluminium, but the future of classic motorcycling. Young people, interested in bikes. Young men and young women. Imagine that. And they're not just interested in motorbikes as commodities; they want to tinker, to fix, to improve, to fettle and to ride. They're the classic motorcyclists of the future, if you ask me. Let me explain why.

I like Blues music. I like it because I discovered it for myself; if someone had told me to like it because they said it was good, I'd have hated it. And I discovered The Blues for myself through listening to the pop music of the time. I followed the trail back from the commercial contemporary music of my teens to the bands and musicians that had been their influences. It took time, and I had to do it at my own pace, but it was an enlightening journey that wouldn't have started if I hadn't listened to what was fashionable when I was a teenager.

In the same way, the twenty year old guys with the piercings and tattoos and bobbed Honda Super Dreams are on the path to discovering the bikes that we call classics today. They're into bikes now because they're fashionable, but talking to them it's obvious that the love for motorcycles is as strong in them as it is any of us. They'll still be riding bikes in 30 years time, but by then I suspect they'll have well restored classics sat next to their chopped projects.

In some ways, the classic element of this year's Ally Pally show sat slightly uncomfortably next to the custom element, like folk musicians at a country music fair; same instruments, different tunes. Overall, though, the effect was like a breath - no, a gust - of fresh air. There were even cars there; fancy that.

The halls weren't crowded - some would say they were half empty - but that added to the laid back atmosphere of the event. There was certainly no shortage of paying customers - at one o'clock on Sunday the line of people waiting to buy tickets stretched round the entrance hall and out of the doors. For a bike show in winter, in the middle of a harsh recession, that was encouraging.

Most encouraging, though, was the feeling that I was mixing with people who were making motorcycling hip again. And that can only be a good thing for all of us. Just go easy on the fake patina, guys...

Click for more photos from the London International Classic and Custom Show.

Words and photos: Martin Gelder

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