Miki is 26 years old five years old, compact size, but riding with a confident, effortless power. Her crew blowing up around Beijing is almost identical Digital no motorbike class 6; S&S 92.63 cubic inches shovel head with the six-speed Baker.
The shape of the Type 6 is suitable for smaller riders like Miki. The stiff gooseneck frame with a 33.2-degree tilt lowers the frame 4 inches from the street and just 26 inches from the seat to the street. The classic Zero front-end and larger 5.00-16 tires recall the nostalgic past, while the long wheelbase, long wheelbase and narrow width are modernized of the active bike. magic moves to make your way through the old narrow alleys of Beijing.
Life in Beijing today changes in unpredictable ways for creative young people like Miki. They must find their place and skillfully navigate between past and present cultural and historical narratives. For Miki and her friends, riding their Zero motorcycles in the city and beyond is a way to connect the old and the new.
“Motorcycles can help young people in China find a creative life,” Miki tells me through the modern marvel of Google Translate. “I live and work in Beijing. I am a makeup artist for fashion, video and film. There is a group of young people like me who also lead creative lives and we go together.”
“My tattooist friend, Zhou Xiaodong (AKA: Dong Dong) is an example. I live downtown on the second ring road, Dong Cheng district, where everything is in the traditional chuantong open courtyard style. Everything looks like a thousand years old. It was affordable here ten years ago, but it’s tough now.”
Miki continued: “We work and then we meet, bike and relax. “I have been riding motorcycles for ten years, and I have ridden other brands and models. I have never found what I like in my heart. I felt something was wrong, until I found my Zero.”
Just 15 years ago, Miki, Dong Dong, and their group of Zero rode on the streets with millions of other people. Now the city is divided into old and new, where flashy European and American cars and fashionable motorcycles prevail. Traffic in Miki’s more traditional Dong Cheng area remains calm and predictable, and it’s interesting to see them go through that history.
Beijing is 6,300 square miles—20 times the size of New York City and 12 times the size of Los Angeles—with more than 21 million people. The centrally located Forbidden City is surrounded by concentric ring roads extending 178 km to the mountains and the Jinshanling area of the Great Wall has existed since AD 1570.
The wall meanders like a dragon’s tail for 1,300 miles through the semi-arid region and serves as a primary not-so-subtle reminder of historical continuity. But for young urbanites like Miki and her riding companions, The Wall is a mixed, ambiguous, controlling metaphor of the past.
China’s economy took off in the early 2000s with a dizzying 12% growth. Miki, Dong Dong and their friends had to work creatively to be a part of that opportunity. Chinese society is closed off from the rest of the world by government filters, yet young people like Miki have found a way to use proxy servers to navigate the Web and watch young people. What others are doing, opening them up to the world of fashion, consumerism, current trends, style and a new sense of self found through motorcycles.
If you ride in Beijing, almost every brand is on the streets, from fast-paced, flashy machines to high-end European and American brands. From the 1930s to 1949, the Chinese Nationalist Army rode Indian Motorcycles, but seeing one of them today is highly unlikely. Bicycles by the Changjiang had a military history in early Communist China.
Today there are stories of dusty, abandoned warehouses in the Changjiang from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Bicycles are not allowed in many areas due to air quality regulations but they are seen found on the outer streets of Beijing. Stylish kids sneak into the lower ring roads, and it’s common to hear their opposing 750 twin engines hum and smoke on warm summer weekend nights.
Miki describes her daily horseback riding with friends: “We cycled to Gui Jie (Ghost Street), restaurant street, at night,” continued Miki. “There are 100 restaurants in the dark. On warm nights, we sat for hours beside our bikes and ate. It’s called table culture, or ‘Ni chi le ma?’ roughly translated as ‘Have you eaten?’”
“It all boils down to the food, the table, and your eating style: politeness, the way you raise your glass non-stop, the angle you hold the glass, and the degree to which you raise it. Talk slowly, easily. No hurry. Enjoy the food and company of friends. Life in this part of Beijing is light and quiet. Everything works together.
Chinese culture can be a brutal, authoritarian arrangement for a young person like Miki. History and protocol are guides but also choking factors. Gender, social position, and family relationships go both ways. Xiao Shun or Taoism emphasizes the Confucian doctrine of respecting parents and ancestors.
This attitude is especially demanding of women. Miki runs the risk of being criticized by her marriage-obsessed parents, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers for riding a motorcycle—especially with male friends. She denies tradition and authority but it’s not an easy move. Her shoulders are clearly tattooed and this promotes her views on self-determination while also being culturally receptive.
“Tattoos mean something different to me,” Miki said. “And they all have stories! Live to the fullest, live for yourself. Accept who you really are and don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone is unique and must love themselves, find their own advantages and do what they are good at.”
“For me, motorbikes are family members,” explains Miki. “They are a part of my life—the pursuit of freedom. Yes, it’s fun to ride in Beijing but there’s also something serious about it.”
“My generation stands between the past and the present; very different worlds that we experience while riding. If I am strong and become an artist, it will be from my own efforts and pursuit of beautiful things. This is how I have to live and my motorcycle helps me understand and do this.”
Michael McCabe’s words | Photos of Xiaoshu, Zhang Yang, & Michael McCabe | This article first appeared on Iron & Airand has been edited for length.
