Back when I was a yoof, my bedroom walls were plastered with images from my favorite motorcycle magazines. Anytime I encountered a particularly sharp image of a new bike or one of those cheesy Dave Mann centerfolds popular in the pages of “Easyriders” magazine, out came the box of thumb tacks and onto the walls they went. I’m still a huge fan of poster art, appreciating their ability to evoke passions, memories and even lust for machinery or events in a one-dimensional format. Even today, rooms throughout our family home are decorated with antique posters, some from Isle of Man TT races long gone by, others culled from 20th century travel, beverage (hic) and wildlife promotions. Over the past 14 years, we’ve accrued a broad depth of motorcycle imagery here at CRM, with the hard drives bulging with photos, posters and biking ads stretching back to the earliest years of the ton-up movement. I often found myself wondering if you, our readers, would be interested in sharing some of these images as many are rare photographic examples of an era that wasn’t terribly well chronicled on film. Still, thousands of others are beautifully-rendered photos of custom cafe racers, shot by some of the motorsports industry’s leading shooters. In an age where most folks don’t take their eyes away from their smartphones unless asleep, we wondered if there was still much allure to the wall poster. Do people still decorate the interiors of the homes, workspaces and garages with poster art, we collectively wondered.
With that in mind, the staff gathered to select a half dozen of our favorite images published over the past 80-odd issues, and offer them up as a series of limited edition posters. Check out the store tab on this very website for the first batch, which are on sale now. Measuring a sizeable 2’x3′, they’re big and bold enough to visually transform your living (or playing, or bike-building) space, we’re proud to offer these heavy-stock prints your way. Hit us up on email and let us know if you’d like to see more designs made available and enjoy putting some artistic expression into your favorite indoor space.