A Hipster Motorcycle Video Worth Watching | MEGAPHONE

Q: How did the hipster burn his mouth?

A: He ate the pizza before it was cool.

I attached my first pair of clubman bars to a SOHC Honda in 1991, way before café racers were cool. Now, almost 25 years later, I've got the beard, the oily boots, Bon Iver on the iPod, and a garage full of "original patina" motorcycles older than me. If the shoe fits…

That's probably why I HATE hipster bike videos—these usually hit too close to home for someone like me, whiskey throttling into a midlife crisis. I especially wanted to hate The Greasy Hands Preachers, just released on Vimeo on March 29th, but it still sucked me in. The work of Paris-based writer/director/producer duo Clement Beauvis and Arthur de Kersauson, this isn't the usual superficial clusterpack of dirt burnouts, grinder sparks, and crushed PBR cans. And—mercifully—there's not a CX500 or Yamaha Virago bobber in sight. Instead, it's a deep dive into the work of builders like Shinya Kimura, Roland Sands, Deus ex Machina, El Solitario, Blitz, and select others—actual "authentic, artisanal craftsmen" (and women) who have been at it long enough to transcend trends and elevate the act of wrenching and riding motorcycles into a genuine form of art.

I watched it and didn’t want shave my beard or burn my Moto Guzzi when it was over. Maybe there’s hope yet.