I have previously written on the growing motorcycle culture in Taiwan. This is a follow-up with some additional observations from my recent business trip to the Taipei area.

Taiwan is an island of scooters, first and foremost, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of them everywhere. The average Taiwanese family has at least 4 scooters at their disposal. Brands such as KYMCO and SYM seem to dominate, but in 1993 Taiwan joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the markets have opened for other Japanese brands from the Big Four as others such as Ducati, BMW and Harley-Davidson.

When there, I am always looking out for motorcycles on the street, which are far less common than scooters. Outside of Taipei, there is a small village and train station called Neiwan. We had stopped there in between appointments for a coffee break. Inside a large theater like structure / restaurant / coffee shop was two vintage bikes – and one ironically, was my very FIRST motorcycle; a cute little 1965 Yamaha YG1-K 80cc Rotary Jet! that I had at the age of 14. The other bike was a white, Vespa PX150 from the late 60’s. Outside, near the train station, I spotted a modern, pearl-white R1200R BMW.  It was neat to see both vintage and modern bikes in this little small village!

Later that evening, I hooked up with my old Guzzitisti friend, Kuan Shing Tern and his lovely wife Yuan from the famous “469 Club” of Taipei.  This active club of Taipei riders has members with modern, vintage, retro and custom motorcycles and I have ridden with them twice in the past.  Kuan took me to a local biker hang-out called “Kick-Coffee” around a busy section of Taipei. The owner has this popular coffee shop, as well as a shop next door where they specialize in customizing motorcycles in the “Bobbers” (SOCAL) style. See more on their website at: www.kick-rider.com.tw

It was a typical Friday night, and it was fun to watch the different motorcycles arriving and parking out front. There was an interesting mix and a little bit of everything – old and new.  A late 60’s Suzuki 200cc Street Scrambler was one of my personal favorites.  With its upswept exhausts and colorful Taiwanese “Tiger” handgrips, it stood out among the crowd.  
Ducati’s and Harley’s seem to be quite popular as well, and I even spotted a modern Hinckley Bonneville in the mix. Some guys even take small 150cc-175cc singles made by SYM or Sanyang and make custom “Bobbers” out of them.  There was one nice, red and white example in the coffee-shop entrance.

But the most interesting observation was the motorcycle attire worn by the riders that night. Evidently, there is a huge retro movement in Taiwan for vintage motorcycle gear, including three-quarter, open-face helmets with “bubble” face-shields. Many of the riders were wearing BUCO, Lewis, Langlitz, Schott, Eastman police style-leather jackets and  Viberg or WESTCO motorcycle boots.  

Some of the riders were also wearing the VANS line of “Off The Wall” shoes.  Kuan told me that there are authorized dealers now in Taipei for all these products. I personally own a custom Langlitz Leather jacket from Portland, Oregon, but I guess I was surprised to learn how popular these products were in Taiwan as well!

There was also a motorcycle memorabilia section in the back of the café which displayed such items as Big Daddy (Ed) Roth’s “Rat Fink” figurine and the popular hot-rod icon “Moon Equipped” dual eyes!  I even saw a huge, metal floor medallion for “Levi-Strauss-&-Co *SF-CA*”.

Looking “cool”, displaying old motorcycle / hot rod decals from the 50’s and 60’s and wearing vintage motorcycle attire is obviously a big part of the current two-wheel scene in Taiwan. I found this aspect appealing and quite refreshing to see so many young riders embracing this part of motorcycle and automotive history.

So, in summary, the retro-vintage-custom Bobber scene is indeed alive and thriving in Taiwan. I look forward to my next trip where hopefully, I can catch another ride with Kuan and his friends of the 469 Club of Taipei.

Until next time RIDE SAFE and we will see you on the road! JJ Cerilli

John 'The Godfather' Cerilli (right) poses with a 1965 Yamaha YG1-K 80cc Rotary Jet.    ------->