Motorcycles Speak to the Rider | Touring Essay

The engine sound is always there.

The pulse of the exhaust. The hum of the drivetrain. The sound of tires rubbing against the road surface.

From the moment you start riding, they continue to ring out without interruption.

Nevertheless, we are not "listening" to those sounds.

To be precise, even though we hear them, they do not rise to our consciousness.

They work silently.

When it feels that way, the engine is actually ringing out most eloquently.

However, as long as that voice is "as usual," the voice is not recognized as a voice.

It is not a contradiction.

Because silence does not mean the absence of sound.

When you are being rained on in the forest, the sound of the rain is certainly ringing out.

Even so, people sometimes feel a sense of tranquility there.

Only when birds do not sing, there are no human voices, and there is no engine sound, is silence born.

Silence is the sensation of the "absence" of specific sounds, not the disappearance of all sounds.

The same thing happens with motorcycles.

When there is no knocking, no strange noises, and no resonance, the rider feels that it is "quiet."

That is not silence.

It is just that all the sounds are contained within the familiar range.

That range is not something taught by anyone.

Every time you ride, you are unconsciously learning and constantly updating.

The fingertips resting on the tank.

The vibrations transmitted through the footpegs.

The subtle tremors felt through the grips.

All of these accumulate within the rider as a familiar sensation.

This is not a technique.

It is closer to a relationship.

That is why, when something changes, the rider notices it first, even if they cannot explain it.

The feeling that something is "not quite right" is the first thing to arrive.

Before it can be put into words, you already know that something is different.

And after a while, it manifests in the form of a sound.

A dry, rattling sound.

A high-pitched, squealing sound.

Parts that are usually silent speak up for the first time.

This is a small incident.

Because those that have worked silently for so long rarely open their mouths on their own.

Imagine the moment a taciturn partner speaks for the first time.

That single word carries more weight than a mere report.

An unusual noise from a motorcycle carries the same weight.

It is not just data.

It is the first appeal from a machine that has worked in silence all this time.

That is why a rider cannot ignore that voice.

They intuitively know that they must not ignore it.

A bike in good condition says nothing.

It simply continues to exist as it always has.

That silence is also a testament to trust.

Only when its condition falters does the bike find its voice.

That voice is always honest.

There is no deception, nor is there exaggeration.

It conveys what is happening exactly as it is happening.

All a rider can do is make sure they do not miss that voice.

Even when riding the same road, the sounds you hear are slightly different.

If the temperature changes, the sound changes.

If the state of the fuel changes, the sound changes.

As the mileage increases, the machine's own "usual" also changes little by little.

Therefore, the dialogue with a bike does not end with just one conversation.

It is a relationship that is constantly being updated.

Every time they ride, the rider is listening again to that bike's "usual."

It is a language that can only be established between those who have been together for a long time.

If you switch to a new bike, you must learn the silence of that individual machine all over again from scratch.

Therefore, owning a motorcycle for a long time is equivalent to gradually thickening that dictionary of silence.

As the dictionary grows thicker, you become able to notice even the slightest deviations.

This is not knowledge.

It is a language carved into the body, known as experience.

A motorcycle speaks to its rider.

However, most of that voice takes the form of silence.

Only when there is something truly worth saying does the motorcycle choose the words of sound.

Until then, it simply continues to run, silently and steadily.

It is within that silence that the true outline of a trusted partner resides.