EICMA 2014

Well, it’s that time of year again. In the motorcycling world, early November is EICMA time – two days of stampeding from one stand to another as the manufacturers present their new offerings with varying levels of pomp and circumstance, punctuated by brief stops to gulp down an overpriced, soggy pseudo-panino and a Nastro Azzuro. And once again, I’ll be making the trip out to Milan to see – and drool over, in some cases – all the new and shiny bikes that the manufacturers will be unleashing on the high street in 2015. Naturally I’ll also be checking out some of the brand-new riding gear that we’ll all be wanting to find under the Christmas tree this year.

However, to spice things up a bit, this year I’ll be going by bike (hey, I didn’t go on a holiday road trip this summer, so this ought to make up for it). Let’s see: one man, his bike and three countries – what could possibly go wrong? As I wend my merry way across southern Europe, I’ll be posting to Instagram (@Thruxtonian) and live-tweeting (when I’m not riding, that is: I’m one head and a couple of arms short of being able to faff around with a smartphone and keep a 150 bhp – at the crank – bike on the straight and narrow), as well as posting a daily summary of my trials and tribulations on our Facebook page.

Anyway, enough hot air; I’d better get back to packing my bags and brushing up on my Pidgin Italian. Ci vediamo in Milano!

CT Scuderia

Precision timepieces and motor vehicles - be they cars, motorcycles, ‘planes or boats - have always gone hand-in-hand, since it’s vitally important to be able to record speed, distance and time. Indeed, the first gauges to find their way onto dashboards were mechanical and, more often than not, made by watch manufacturers, which meant that for many years speedometers and tachometers closely resembled the chronometers from which they evolved.

 

Not surprisingly, this one's called the "Dashboard"

As the years went by, many watch manufacturers underlined the close ties between both worlds, with such masterpieces as the Rolex Daytona, and the TAG Heuer Monaco (which was even made in Gulf Racing colours).

 

The Corsa wouldn't look out of place at the Goodwood Revival

Fast forward to the present day and we have watch company Contatempo Scuderia: with a name like that their intentions and inspiration are clear. And their products not only breathe technological precision, with their superb mechanisms, but also suggest a heady scent made up of hot rubber, petrol and warm clutch plates, underlined by a sharp tang of Bonneville salt. [...]