Motorbike Gifts for Dad

The bike he had at twenty

If a photograph of it survives anywhere, in an album, in a box, on somebody else's wall, the Paint Shop can put it back up. It does not need a good photograph in the modern sense; it needs a clear one. That is the single most effective thing on this site for this particular recipient, and it works precisely because he cannot buy it himself: the bike is gone.

If no photo survives, buy the era instead. The Classic Single is a 1950s-style single-cylinder thumper with an exploded engine inset, which covers the machines a lot of dads learned on. The cafe racer ink series covers the version of the story he tells at Sunday lunch.

For the dad still riding

Then buy the road he keeps going back to. Snake Pass in autumn, one headlamp threading a copper corridor of larches, is the pick for a Peak District dad. Hardknott for the Lakes. Applecross if the North Coast 500 is still on his list rather than behind him. For the dad who is forever in the garage, the blueprint studies on the style pages match whatever is on the stand.

And the practical bit

Framed pieces arrive ready to hang, in black or natural wood, which matters more for a parent than for anyone else on this site: it removes the trip to a framer that a rolled print quietly obliges. If the budget is tight, smaller budgets covers what is worth having at the lower end, and the motorbike gift ideas guide compares the lot.