Hot Shot
Back in the ’60s, the “British Invasion” forever changed popular culture as the music from bands such as the Beatles, the Stones, the Who and the Kinks created a fever of excitement that spread around the globe.
A similar sensation was happening in motorcycling during those years. Crowds of young riders in London, dubbed Rockers or Ton-up Boys (British slang at the time for riding above 100 mph) wore Brando-inspired black jeans and leather jackets as they raced across the city. Most famously, these riders dashed between London’s most popular cafés at the time – the Busy Bee in Watford and the Ace Café in Stonebridge – on stripped-down, highly personalized Triumphs, BSAs, Nortons and new-to-the-scene Japanese bikes we’d recognize as café racers today.
This design phenomenon – light, fast singles and twins with dropped bars, swept exhaust, rear-set foot controls and minimal bodywork – as well as the rebellious lifestyle it represented, dug its hooks in motorcycle culture and never let go.
