Have you ever hung out with 250 classic motorcycles?

I can seriously recommend it!

We’ve just been on another pilgrimage to our favorite motorcycle museum at the bottom of New Zealand.

There we were, standing in a room packed with classic motorcycles, grinning like idiots.

It’s a summer morning, and shafts of bright sunlight fall through the windows.
The yellow light glints on the rows of chrome tanks, and the big silver fishtail pipes on classic Nortons, BSAs and Velocettes.

Beautiful, vintage motorcycles sit silently, proudly dripping oil, as they have for decades.
Every single one of these beauties begs you to come closer…

Seen one vintage motorcycle, you’ve seen them all, right?

Oh, that’s hilarious.
It’s pure delusion.

Because a vintage motorcycle is a wonderful thing.

It’s unique.
It’s individual.

Old motorbikes have character.
They have a soul.

And old motorbikes are devastatingly beautiful…

OK, I’ll admit it: I may be just a tiny bit obsessed with motorcycle tanks.

Of course, there are already plenty of cool things to look at on a bike.
You want to check out the motor, the exhaust system, the shocks, the bars…

There’s a lot going on.

And because I’ve been riding on the back of bikes for 25 years, I always take a second look at a motorcycle’s passenger seat, too.

There’s wonderful distraction everywhere.
But I have to say for me, motorcycle tanks are the Main Event.

They’re always the focal point of a bike.
They really reflect a bike’s identity, and unique style.

Maybe I should go see a therapist about my obsession with motorcycle tanks.
Come to think about it, talking about them for hours in group therapy would be a lot of fun.

But in the meantime, here’s a peek at some of my favorite motorcycle tanks.

Vintage motorcycles turn heads wherever they go.

That’s partly because they’re often mouth-wateringly beautiful, of course. But it’s also because they’re so rare.

Sometimes you’ll overtake a classic bike on the road as it rattles along in its own time warp. Or you might get to drool over a few at a specialist bike show.

But last week, I damn near overdosed on rare classic motorcycles. I got up close and personal with more than 300 vintage motorcycles under one roof.