I always liked the looks of those Spanish-American twins.
This late* Triumph looks good to me, too: nothing spectacular but well used, which suggests well put together out of the right bits and pieces. I'm sure riding the thing would focus one's attention in a good way.
* Late Olde Triumph, not Hinckley Triumph. The attraction of "retro" anything (with two wheels or four or none) escapes me.
1] Yes I'm with you on that one
always liked the looks of those Spanish-American twins. and almost any Spanish bike you can name had a sense of style that was their own, to my way of thinking. Montesa, Bultaco, OSSA, they all were attractive, and were performance-oriented, simple, strong, and fun to ride.
My friends whose family owned a dealership by Lake Ontario in western NYS going back-to the 1950's, when the boys got to be running their own businesses, later, one of their deals was to buy-out the east coast OSSA distributor in Schenectady NY when OSSA stopped production. They also got Hi-Bore, I believe. One of the stock was a flattrack Dick Mann Replica OSSA w/zero track time on it, it was a static display in the lobby of the business.
2] My thought on 'retro' is that if people take a late-model Triumph and carve it up, that may spare the Meriden models from being 'bobber'ed.' Also, I suspect the supply of spares for the late-models is easier to come-by, and they are probably less trouble-prone. As-for the new production of 'retro style,' I'm perfectly content to see these come to market. Most retro bikes are easy to identify, their family style cues are easy to recognize, whether it's a 2020 Softail, or some Japanese Brand H, Y, or S. Let's face it, the Harley-Davidson business plan for probably 50 years has been 'retro.' It didn't hurt them, and they've survived. It's just now that they're trying to appeal to the Millennials as their core demographic Boomers age-out of riding. Sadly, the War Babies who preceded the Boomers, or those even-older, who would now be age 79, almost 80 years of-age, and older, well, they aren't likely to be buying new bikes, much-less riding them. Sure, there are a few grey-beards out there, but when you have prosthetic knees and hips, the last thing you want to-do is to be trying to kick-start a backfiring, recalcitrant V-twin, or other bike. I've seen some of my older friends (I'm almost 70) going to trikes, which while not as maneuverable as bikes, allows a safer time on the road for the older enthusiast.
I'm glad to see H-D trying new models to improve their image with younger riders, those below age 55 (the Boomer younger limit). Smaller displacements built in countries where the production costs are lower (please, no hate, I'm retired from two union jobs) and where their global presence can grow in those segments, that's the way for them to-survive. They may-not even choose to distribute those smaller-displacement products in the USA, allowing the global marketplace to absorb the production, and to wait to-see if there is a demand for those smaller engine bikes here. Straight-from the pig's snout:
https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/...asia--with-small-displacement-motorcycle.html Their conceptual drawing displayed is very-much in the style of current popular bikes of smaller displacement.
Some pics: late-model dirt-track style H-D Sportster; pre-WW II H-D, I believe it's a circa-1927 JD; Don Bradley drawing for the St. Augustine FL
Riding Into History bike show; OSSA 6 Days' Replica 250 cc enduro. Unfortunately, Don has died, he used-to donate a drawing to support the annual
Riding Into History show each year. I'm fortunate to have known Don, he was a true enthusiast, he'd been a Palm Beach FL-area dealer, he was a machinist, and he rode his bike across our country: how-many people do you know touring interstate on their Vincent? I have a bunch of his different posters, and their designs are great wall displays, unfortunately, I don't have the wall-space for all-of them, so I have-to rotate them. That's OK, it keeps 'em from fading.