STOP praising motorcycles, OK?

"The Rider" is a new film with an old mission: Explain motorcycles. 

If motorcycle riding is so great, why do we need to keep saying so?

If motorcycles are so great, it ought to be self evident, right?

I'm as guilty as anybody. I love riding my old Royal Enfield, and everyone I know is tired of hearing me say it.

Maybe it's time to just let it go. It's getting a little old.

And yet, excruciatingly, there's now a NEW way of praising motorcycles:

Step One: Admit they're a terrible thing, and people are crazy to ride them.

Step Two: Argue that the fact people still adore them proves they are, despite all evidence, fantastic.

Gimmie a break.

What finally broke me down is encountering the short film "The Rider" on The Vintagent website.

You can watch it there.

The film opens with director Roberto Serrini musing that "motorcycles are the worst."

They're murderous.

"I can't think of another vehicle in which YOU are the fuselage," Serrini says.

"They're horrible, horrible machines. So...why?" he asks.

Why ride them? Why praise them?

The film's full title is "The Rider; Not WHO, but WHY?"

The film goes on to present testimony from adoring BMW riders about how superb riding is.

It's "presented by BMW," on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. The film tries to soft-pedal the brand message in favor of letting selected riders explain why they ride.

Other motorcycles are mentioned, but there is no doubt left that BMWs are special.

The specific reasons the featured riders give for riding motorcycles break little new ground. But "The Rider" is a fun, funny, gorgeously shot short film. You'll enjoy it.

One of the reasons you will enjoy it is that, having read this far, you obviously think motorcycles are marvelous.

OF COURSE they are.

"The Rider" doesn't cheat us. It answers the question "why" with one phrase: "Persuit of absolute perfection."

Yeah. It's spelled, on screen, as "persuit" instead of "pursuit." I don't know why.

Give it a watch.