Sometimes the abstract can be as enjoyable as the clear whole. Especially in bikes. At the weekend I spent time just gazing at pattern, detail, colour and reflection. Here the banded stripes of a late 60’s Bonneville tank impart the feeling of fiery speed and streamline.

A moto’s tattoo; the Tiger motif of an earlier time leapt from the hind quarters of a green beastly Speed Triple.

John Bloor, the man who brought the Triumph marque back from oblivion twenty odd years ago pops his John Hancock onto the bulbous tank of another Speed Triple. Red embered outlines of the swoosh logo on a carbon meteor.

The BSA Spitfire; a gem from an age gone, the equivalent of the Bonneville with twin carburetted 650 engine. Here it’s crimson US spec tank with pearly cusp reinforce the somewhat Art Deco teardrop engine that these unit motors display.

Finally a cluster of instruments on the headlight nacelle of a late fifties Tiger 100. Smiths clock/chronometer  with numerous speed and revolution markings (RPM measured in widening inner circumferences depending which gear is selected). Knob and dial festooned housing giving the rider control and readout of the bikes steering performance and lighting/electrical concerns.