Give us a little fuel tank, an oval number plate, and a clean line from the seat to the rear fender, and there goes the afternoon. Apparently we can turn three shapes into a very long conversation.
That is the vintage dirt bike inspiration behind Buscadero. A bike can be sitting still in a garage and already have you thinking about where to take it Saturday. We want to keep that feeling.
It started with Dad taking a bike apart
Back in 1979, my dad Mike stripped down his Honda XR185 to go motocross racing. Off came the lights and extra weight. On went number plates, a Supertrapp exhaust, and white paint. He made the bike he had into the bike he wanted.
Years later, after the One Moto Show in Portland in February 2020, we kept circling back to the same idea: build new motorcycles with the shapes we loved on old ones. Our first run started with 50 bare GPX 110s, which we fitted with vintage-style body parts, one by one. The original 110 build video documents that process.
My route into all this came through leatherwork at Stock and Barrel. Dad had motorcycles; I had bags, belts, and a workbench. The Buscadero story has both in it. Making things teaches you to notice a line that is almost right. Unfortunately, it also makes you incapable of leaving it alone.
Three things we love about vintage motocross style
You do not need an encyclopedic knowledge of old race bikes to figure out what catches your eye. Next time you look at one, give these three things a second look.
- The tank and seat together. A small, rounded tank has a lot of personality. Look at how its shape meets the seat and how much room the whole arrangement leaves around the engine. That relationship does more work than a pile of graphics ever could.
- A number plate you can actually read. An oval, a strong number, a little breathing room. Simple graphics give your eye somewhere to land. If you have to squint to understand the design, it might be trying to tell you too much.
- A few colors that get along. Cream and black. Rust and off-white. A sun-faded brown next to something darker. Pick one main color, one supporting color, and let the shapes handle the rest. Every part does not need to yell.
Here is a useful garage test: take a side-on photo of the bike and look at it small on your phone. Which shape do you notice first? Does the tank look comfortable with the seat? Can you still make out the number plate? Shrinking the picture makes a busy design pretty honest.
New bikes, with the old-bike itch accounted for
The BSX 110 and BSX 140 are where that obsession lands today. Vintage-inspired shapes, with electric start and disc brakes. We can admire an old race bike for an unreasonable amount of time and still appreciate a starter button.
If you are choosing a bike, let fit, controls, and riding experience make the decision alongside the looks. A good-looking motorcycle still needs to suit the person riding it. The product pages spell out the dimensions and specifications for each model.
The same thinking fits on a hat
A number plate and a patch have something in common: neither gives you much room to explain yourself. Bold outlines, readable lettering, and a few colors go a long way. That is the design thinking behind our love of moto patches and the garage feel of our hats.
For your own hat-and-patch combination, start with contrast. A light patch needs enough separation from a light crown to hold its shape. Check the size before you commit, too. A patch that looks perfect on a jacket can swallow the front of a hat. Lay it out first. Staring at it for a minute is cheaper than picking out stitches.
The best part comes later: the hat on the passenger seat, the dust around the brim, the little reminder of a weekend you actually got out for. No need to manufacture that part. Just give it a few Saturdays.
Find your next garage-and-weekend hat in Buscadero headwear.
