No matter how you slice it, the internet is pretty amazing place. For most of us it’s hard to imagine life without it, along with cell phones, GPS devices and a host of other modern conveniences that we now take for granted. When Jonzo and I made the decision to start VMOL in 2008, going from part time internet journalists to dedicated online hacks, we both felt pretty comfortable making the switch. With experiences learned over the last twenty-five years, we knew the enthusiasm a well-designed vintage motorcycle website would generate. But, what we expected to happen and what actually occurred has far exceeded our expectations.

Back when Ronald Reagan was president, I wrote a letter to Frank Wedge; director of the Moto Guzzi national owners club. I asked Frank if he would be interested in running a regular column with words and pictures provided by yours truly. Previously, I had flipped an interest in photography to fill what I believed to be a gaping hole in the media that was available then. So much I’d learned had, and was happening in the European market, but the grocery store monthlies I read all but ignored these bikes and the history behind them. Favoring Moto Guzzi and after experiencing the taste of mainstream rejection, I redirected my energy towards Frank’s somewhat captive yet highly receptive audience. Roadworthy, my monthly column that featured classic and modified Guzzi racers and specials ran for ten uninterrupted years. Thanks to Frank and the MGNOC, I found my journalistic identity.

I soon discovered I wasn’t alone in my passions. During Roadworthy’s heyday, I’d get two or three letters a week from owners who wanted their bike featured. These would usually include a stack of prints made from 35mm film and detailed info regarding their machine. Thanks to VMOL’s global exposure, I often get two or three times that many messages a day- especially during the colder months. Not all are asking for feature story, the ones that do, along with their digitized attachments illustrate the more things change, the more they stay the same.

A mixture of business proposals, link exchange requests, membership info and mail from our readership, the VMOL inbox is a busy place. Some folks write occasionally and others, much more often. One reader, who I’ll refer to simply as Bob, is a long time enthusiast who hails from the midwestern USA. Early in our correspondence, it was clear our interests were similar. Working through the challenges of life, Bob would express his great delight on getting away on the bike, throttling through a few hundred miles a day and relating the joys that traveling on a motorcycle can bring. Biased towards the modern sport-touring segment, Bob’s list of machines included a Guzzi Titanium, a Aprilia Futura, and a few more I’ve forgotten. The Guzzi was traded, but Bob wants another. He wanted a early Bloor Triumph, then found a Daytona Super III that needed some work. That done, he’s back on the hunt and like me, seems drawn time and again to Bloor Triumphs and Guzzis. Keen on the 4V Daytona, thanks to Bob I see most every public internet listing available, and probably a few that aren’t. His preferences have been made clear, but lately...

A few weeks ago I shared with Bob a few pictures of a Guzzi 750 S3 that I had stored on my hard drive. His response wasn’t surprising. “That’s a bit too old fashioned’ he said, directing the conversation back towards the Trophy 1200 he found for sale down in Georgia. I’ve discovered that like a lot of you, Bob’s ‘vintage’ tastes start mid-80s at the earliest, and he’s far from the minority in that regard. It may not seem so to you and me, but there’s a lot of active motorcyclists who view bikes from the mid 70s as really old, and often assume the older the motorcycle, the more rigorous the maintenance schedule. Witnessing this attitude played out repeatedly, I can only smile remembering the critics who blasted JJ and I for starting a ‘vintage’ website that didn’t feature vintage bikes. Look again boys and girls; 1975 was 35 years ago!

Naturally, the old bits will always be welcome here. Jonzo and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Getting back to Bob, his last few emails have included some surprising content indeed. What’s with all the questions about Tonti 850 Ts, T3s, Meriden Bonnevilles and other previously discarded ‘old stuff’ that used to reside on the too-old-to-be-seriously-considered list? Fess-up amigo. You’ve caught old bike fever, and I’m proud to play a part of it. But if it's any consolation, you're far from alone as our mailboxes show on almost a daily basis that interest in vintage motorcycles is a trend that started way back when the first motorcycles finally became old ones. Since then, it has done nothing but gain momentum, which is good news for all.

Either way, it’s all a result of sharing the passion for motorcycles, riding, and experiencing the joys of a brotherhood that exists nowhere else. Like finding parts for your MotoBi 175 Sport, life’s questions were a lot more difficult when you had to write them out on paper and lick a stamp for answers. So pull up a chair, fire up on the old PC and get typing, because motorcycling camaraderie is only a keystroke away. The old days were great, but this is better. Isn’t technology grand? Nolan Woodbury