Video: The Father-Son duo dedicated to the love between man and machine
- Text by Michael Fordham
- Photography by Courtesy of Alistair Devall
Somewhere out in the wild Western Isles of Britain, there’s an anonymous shed where totems of the analogue age sit waiting to be discovered.
Presided over by Father and Son team Anthony and Alistair Devall, Pembrokeshire Classics is a workshop dedicated to keeping alive the visceral relationship between man and machine.
“Modern machinery has basically got no soul,” says 23-year-old Alistair. Alistair grew up noodling around with motorbikes with his dad and is the chief greasy rag of the team. In addition he is the test pilot and tweaker of the vintage and classic bikes that pass through the workshop. “I’m lucky to be able to spend time here with my dad, to test the bikes, ride them and tweak them. It’s a privilege, really.”
Alistair is a dedicated denizen of the point breaks and beaches of this cold surfing coast. He sees many parallels between riding a wave and riding a very old motorbike. “It’s about being out on the edge of control,” he says. “These bikes are alive as much as any wave…”
The growth of the custom bike scene these last few years has ushered in a whole new generation of people to the simple joys of the motorcycle. And it is the vintage machines that Alistair and his dad restore that are the ultimate in straightforward, unmediated fun.
“I learnt to explore the world from the back of a motorbike, “ he says, “it’s just great to think that so many other people are discovering the same things these days…”
Check out more at Make it Mechanistic on Influx.
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