Twilight of the Gods, Vintage Motorcycling’s Race Against Time

by Greg Adomaitis

“As an avid supporter of old bikes and everything in their orbit, it’s possible to both appreciate the lingering legacy while pitching a paradigm-shifting—and perhaps controversial—path into the future.”

Practically every book discussing the future of vehicles concerns itself to some degree with electric (battery) power citing hopeful signs but always adding caveats that “the technology isn’t quite there yet” due to such as the proclivity of lithium ion batteries to spontaneously combust, being too heavy, and not providing sufficient charge to “go the distance.” This book—while focusing nearly exclusively on two-wheelers (aka motorcycles) echoes those refrains with author Greg Adomaitis adding some of his own personal motorbike riding experiences and enjoyments.

The caption reads “Maico men and the author, circa 1990.” Though it doesn’t clearly say so, the author is that youngster astride the bike.

Adomaitis is also the publisher, utilizing Amazon, of this, his first book. He is a working journalist/writer with published articles to his credit. When he settles down to sharing some of those prior published articles, his writing is clear and straightforward. With other chapters he seems to want to demonstrate his creative side especially in the early chapters. Simply put, some of those paragraphs are too flowery and cliché-ridden for this commentator. Admittedly they are an indication of Adomaitis’ liberal arts education and creativity but in this book they tended to bog down the reading.

All photos are on a chapter’s opening page. This one is captioned “A classic grass track await this timeless vintage machine.”

Essentially Adomaitis notes that while “U.S. motorcycle registrations have trended up over the past 20 years, so has the average age of owners” adding that does not grow a future customer base. He thinks he has a solution, hence the reason he wrote and published this book. Adonaitis admitted that “Self-publishing has proven to be an uphill slog of a lifetime with the resulting book the story I wanted to tell.”

His presentation is divided into three segments. The first segment is about the past, the middle part “confronts current-day settings … documenting … ways vintage motorcycling is … celebrated today.” The last segment he titles “Valhalla” and describes it as “lived experiences plot a path far off into the future.”

“The same Maico men at the last regional vintage race of the 2024 season.”

While his book addresses the world of motorcycles, and in particular motocross, the advice Adomaitis offers on the closing pages is universally true. “Every generation ages out of their given hobby. … The memories of some seemingly mundane details fade.” Yet, “there will always be enough newcomers and inquiring minds to keep things on the move. They will want” and need to learn. “Through this feeder program of curiosity, the ever-evolving definition of ‘vintage’… will be remembered [and preserved] for time immemorial.”

Adomaitis obviously put time, work, thought, and research into his book as witnessed by the 33 pages of References which are grouped by the chapter to which they apply. But with no mark or indication in the text, not even a superscript asterisk, it presents a challenge for the reader to search out which reference applies to what in the body copy especially as references are in alphabetical order rather than relative to their order in the text. An Index is missed too as it could have provided a means of helping locate reference items in the text.

“A lineup of specialized vintage motocross bikes prepped for track day useage.”

The eighth chapter is one of the most interesting and informative ones with Adomaitis’ recounting historic and important moments and events in motocross and the tremendous fan support it and SuperMotocross enjoy. At the indoor stadium competitions it is not unusual for 20,000, sometimes more, paying to watch from their seats. He also shares the history of the organizing and sanctioning entities. As his quote with which this commentary began indicates, Greg Adomaitis finds reasons to be hopeful regarding the future of motorcycling while being mindful of its legacy.