PERSPECTIVES

PERSPECTIVES LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

BY MITCH BOEHM

Alot of smart and successful folks over the years — people like C. S. Lewis, Steve Jobs, Henry David Thoreau, Tom Scholz, Walt Disney, George Washington, Abe Lincoln and others — have advised through their writings and commentary to not look back in life, and to focus on the future.

I understand the thinking…I think. All the “dwelling on miscues” and “not moving forward” stuff.

Still, I find a lot of joy and satisfaction looking back, and from what I hear from a lot of AMA members verbally and in email and text messages (and in Back In The Day submissions, which we get a ton of), many of you agree.

So…Are we motorcyclists different than non-riding folks? Have we had so much damn fun on our bikes over the years that looking back and smiling those knowing smiles is actually a positive, forward-looking, motivating force in our lives? Have all our wonderful, two-wheeled experiences altered our Deoxyribonucleic Acid in some tiny way?

Given how strongly motorcycles resonate with all of us (and I’m smirking a little sarcastically as I type this), yeah, I believe it could be a thing.

I won’t bore you with stories of first-bike adventures or college-years craziness on my GPz550 and 500 Interceptor, but there’s plenty to review from 2022 — and to look forward to in 2023, as well.

A biggie for all of us is motorcycling’s brisk and shocking resurgence during — and in the wake of — the pandemic debacle. Being shut down was in many cases political and unnecessary (and, it turns out, seriously hurtful to kids in terms of education and mental health), but it did allow many of us to refocus on things that really matter…family well-being and keeping healthy, for sure, but also motorcycling.

We’ve been riding a ton, buying motorcycles, parts and gear, pulling old bikes out of mothballs, getting new folks involved, trekking all over the place, and enjoying (and re-appreciating) what motorcycling brings — freedom and excitement, precisely the things lockdowns and mandates restricted. The key, of course, is maintaining the trend, which won’t be easy, but which is important if we’re to pass on the love of motorcycling to younger generations who can (hopefully) continue what Boomers and Gen-Xers have fueled since the 1960s.

From there the list gets more specific. You had Bike Week in March; the Quail Gathering in May (after a three-year hiatus); the Laconia and Americade rallies in June; our re-invigorated AMA Flat Track Grand Championship in early July; the 30th AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days later in July (maybe the biggest ever); the Sturgis Rally in August; the ISDE and Motocross Of Nations — the Olympics of motorcycling — in August and September; the Barber Vintage Fest in October; our AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction in late October; and much more.

Lots going on in Government Relations, too, including a brisk upturn in new lane-sharing legislation (see UTS this month); plenty of concerns over semi-autonomous auto technology being beta-tested on the public; the continuing rise of EVs (like ’em or not); lively discussions about the continuing ethanol issue; and more talk to come

Lots of cool stuff on deck for 2023.

on your (or your local independent shop’s) right to repair your own bike and ability to access increasingly important tech information from OEs.

For 2023 it’ll be more of the same, with a handful of cool, new stuff to look forward to. A couple of examples include the addition of an American Flat Track professional dirt track Grand National Mile during our weeklong June 14-20 AMA Flat Track Grand Championship event in Du Quoin, Ill., on Saturday, June 17. Seeing all the AFT stars up close and personal on Du Quoin’s “Magic Mile” is sure to be a can’t-miss event. VMD will be spectacular this coming year as well, as it’s the 50-year anniversary of the debut of Honda’s lightweight Elsinore and Kawasaki’s market-changing 903cc Z1.

So there it is. More good stuff to help keep you enjoying the sport and pastime we all love…and to keep you looking back fondly, regardless of what some very smart people might think. Hey, if Thoreau, Disney and Lincoln had been motorcyclists, I think they’d agree! See ya in 2023.

Mitch Boehm is the editorial director of the AMA

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