10/12-10/14/24 A trip to the Barber Vintage Muesum in Birmingham, and a side trip to the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. This was a very interesting experience, full of both history and surprises. A bit of background is in order.

Those who have followed and/or read the blogs far enough back, know that I had a few Ducatis. And at some point had three of them as art in my livingroom. A 748, a Supersport SP, and a PaulSmart. The latter two were designed by Pierre Treblanche, who has a number of other notable bike designs to his name.

The SP in particular resonated with me (the '96 was the second one I owned, after the '93). I often looked at it and said to myself that if someday I can create something that looks and works like that, I would be fulfilled. Years later the D1 and D2 became those creations.

As a side note, the PaulSmart license plate bracket/fender was clearly forced by regulations and did not fit the bike. So I designed a replacement, originally making four, with the idea that I'd sell three and mine would be 'free'. Fast forward 18 years, and with nearly 3,000 brackets sold (more than 10% of Sport Classics worldwide have my bracket), I still sell a couple every month. So it is by far my most successful product to date in terms of volume and endurance.

There is another angle to the puzzle. A while back I connected with Brian Case, the founder of Motus motorcycles. We had discussed using his V4 engine in my D1, and he even came out to visit the shop. He was successful in putting his bike into production and delivered a few hundred bikes to customers (an amazing achievement, knowing full well what went into it). Unfortunately the funds weren't there to sustain and make it profitable, so Motus shut down. A while later Brian was hired by George Barber to run the museum, and, of all things, Brian then hired Pierre to head up the Advanced Design Center part of the operation.

So, when two months ago I got an out-of-the-blue email from Pierre asking if I'd be interested in discussing projects, it would seem completely random. And maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Randomness is subjective, as I am fond of saying. He mentioned that the Vintage Festival mid-October would be a good time to visit if I were so inclined. Flights were booked then and there.

I will update the entry with details later, but for now the pictures are worth thousands of words. Still, there are words to be said, so check back for those.