BAR2 - Lot 22

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Vents d'Ouest Raoul, going the distance with his 1974 BMW R90/6 Original illustration for a diary after the 1991 release of the first album. Signed. India ink and colored inks on paper 21 × 16 cm (8.27 × 6.3 in.) Not very sexy but comfortable, not very powerful but sturdy, this BMW R 90 6 was the favorite mount of the "roule-toujours": a category of motorcyclists with little concern for performance and show-offs, "heavy riders" whose sole ambition was to rack up the miles without backache or mechanical worries. The austerity of this peaceful flat-twin (motorcycle powered by a horizontally-positioned two-cylinder engine) perfectly matched the philosophy of these "milestone eaters". A philosophy that could be translated as: "Riding a motorcycle is not fun or acrobatics, but serious business." "And as for the man with the 1000 Laverda in lot 20, the rider I was going to draw had to be in tune with his machine: austere yet efficient and comfortable equipment, serene yet obstinate posture, all covered with a thin layer of dust, squashed insects and dirty water accumulated over kilometers swallowed in all weathers."