Ha, ha! This is an interesting one. I do hope all the independent companies involved in this sell a lot of stuff out of this exposure. That's what I hope when I write about them for mainstream mags, too.
I didn't see this co-opting of 'the scene' coming. It would be hypocritical not to admit I would take corporate money if a big company wanted to sponsor a Sideburn event, though. Is anyone listening? Dirt Quake 3 in the O2 Arena anyone? G
Yeah, that's what I thought.. :)
ReplyDeleteGary,large (and even medium-sized) companies are short-sighted ... and ungrateful, I start to be disgusted by them...
ReplyDeleteIt kinda reminds me when Harley released a short video about their R&D department a year or so ago and suddenly it was peopled by cool dudes in plaid shirts and tattoos riding Ironhead Sportsters...
ReplyDeleteAwesome bike, perfect for me - especially with the pillion seat fitted and high-level Akra.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see all the guys in the film, actually. Now all I need is £12k...
my guess was that it's the only way BMW can offer a form of 'customisation' to it's German (and other EU?) market and still conform to all the legal stuff.
ReplyDeleteChris
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure we're on the same page. I was referring to the likes of El Sol and Blitz turning up in a multinational
marketing campaign, not the fact BMW are selling a bike that people can swap the seat or backlight of. Harley have been doing that, in the mainstream, for decades. G
ah I see, soz Gary...
ReplyDeleteI guess if you're in the business of bike customisation and someone offers you money/global exposure then unless you're independently wealthy or obsessed over some form of ethical purity then why the hell not?
Indeed. (No apology needed, BTW). G
ReplyDeleteThat's what's so terrible in the societies we live in, where do you draw the line between living your passion and living from your passion ? How high is the retail price of your soul ? While everybody will agree that passing on a good check nowadays is easier said than done, still if you spent so much time putting yourself as the original ones, the untamed ones, then maybe this move was not the best of all. Intentional, or not.
ReplyDeleteIs there a Dr. Faustus in the house ?
ReplyDelete"money/global exposure" is there another reason why these bearded cover boys are in the motorcycle shit ?
ReplyDeleteWere there any naked girls in it?
ReplyDeleteSpot on PB !!
ReplyDeletePierre - to earn money, to buy food and shelter for themselves and their families, so they don't have to do a 'proper' job, because they loved and bought these kind of bikes before Bike Exif or The Ride or Sideburn, that kind of thing. G
ReplyDeleteyeah right… anyway. Let's talk about this with a good old beer at Verona next january !
ReplyDeleteI thought i was watching one of my films at first ?https://vimeo.com/48829149
ReplyDeleteI liked the bikes and the whole Hi-Def rock band bro-out nature of the thing is just how expensive promo films look nowadays so whatever. Better to see guys like El Sol & Blitz doing these deals than some reality TV customizer,as the style and creativity trickles upwards to the big boys it's nice if some of the $ trickle down....
ReplyDeletea totally soulless marketing attempt. I makes me cry...
ReplyDeleteWe've seen these kind of movies to many...and most of them are crap. Male bonding , camp fire, riding to nowhere, goalless trips, etc. etc. boring...
The bike does not look great either. The Ohlins-ish gold USD fork are really topping it off...Not...
ReplyDelete# I'll ask for a substantial commission !!!!!!!
It's a nice enough film, and a nice enough bike. But it's an advert - and like all adverts, fundamentally dishonest.
ReplyDeleteDimitri's right, bike vids have been getting this way for some time - slow-mo, self-aggrandising, self-mythologising, self-promoting vehicles for phoney personas and over-priced lifestyle clobber - designer labels and price tags drip from them like rotten fruit.
'Turning rebellion into money', said The Clash. 'Recuperation' said Guy Debord. Sterilising the subversive and selling it back to the mainstream as a commodity. Some people have a DIY/punk rock/rave/squatter side that wants fuck all to do with the marketplace, and fight attempts to commodify its passions. Others are happy to be commodified, fetishised, marketed if they see an advantage for themselves.
Bikes, music, fashion, football, art, skating can swing either way - contribute to the dishonest spectacle, or kick against the pricks. As long as people are open about which side of the line they stand, we're fine - i guess it only gets awkward when the yuppies & profiteers crack on that they're something they're not.
@vincent PRAT : agree
ReplyDeleteI dont begrudge El Solitero or Blitz for saying yes when they where offered a day out and a bit of cash. Id do the same.
ReplyDeleteIt is a cheesy vid though and as long as a, new to riding, bod on a BMW with the subframe removed dosnt start yappin on to me about how fucking unique his bike is then im not too concerned.
I think a few folk are looking at it as a threat to their coolness, but we can all tell the differnce between a corperate makeover and somebody that has sweated in their shed for months to create something cool
Yep it's soulless , and no it's not a cool bike , but we're not falling for it cos we know better .... the middle aged suits that buy Beemers don't know any better and this is the new "Wild hogs" for them - they will swallow it hook line n sinker . Sad .
ReplyDeleteI agree, Gary. Interesting post. And the blog of SB has the authority to reason about these topics. I think to see a thing in this short. Probably this short is the confirmation that there is indeed a movement of thought in contemporary motorcycling culture whose identity can be represented by El Sol, Blitz... and so many others. Including the crew of SB, around which this movement is consolidated for some time. For the rest, I find that there is a tendency to judge people's behavior too easily.
ReplyDeletemmmm WELL then let's begin, I had to give up towards the end, too much of that hand slapping thing, I think all the wise comments above cover all points thoughtfully, it is what it is and we are all what we are, in saying so I have successfully said nothing, and so be it, we are all individuals except the one who isn't, is it a sell out, its a bit creepy, frankly the bike has been sketched up and about for years past and the HP2 Enduro is basically the same bike I think and it is a fine machine and pleasantly rare, as Dan says truly it is an advert and they are indeed lies, but who believes them anyway, the best thing about being a grumpy old git is just that, one doesn't have to be part, once past it why bother trying...some nice comments in the early part about stuff but you try telling that to me missus.....chuckle thats about it really...xxs
ReplyDeleteConsternation to the establishment!
ReplyDeleteNo mopeds or real dirtbikes jumping over campfires...and no pie....boring!
ReplyDelete...however, I think that now the "age of innocence" is lost ... I expect an invasion of greasy beards through the streets of Milan ...
ReplyDeleteHappy the video was made.
ReplyDeleteHappy to see my friends / people i know involved.
It wont change my behaviour's or enjoyment of what I love.
Not because I am better than anyone else. Just because I know what I like I have been doing it all my life and will stop when I have had enough. Not when fashion tells me too.
I hope that some people who stumble upon motorcycles because of this video get the same enjoyment that I have.
I will leave my judgement until I see the results of el soliritario' and blitz' work on this bike platform. As much as I like their work it's a brave manufacturer to let them customise a promotional bike!!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for me it takes a minimum of 10 years to like or afford a new model. I'll let you know my verdict in 2023.
Well said Mr. Brown.
ReplyDeleteI just remembered something, its all about fun and passion isn't it, its all a game, pretend, make believe, none of it is really really important, its not like its life or death or food or reproduction or resources,its just a pretty picture, we don't really need it and we can ignore it if we want, or we can say oh thats fun or nice or silly and we can take it or leave it, smile or choke.....
ReplyDelete