"Battle of the twins and a gas station"

Some people choose the Nurburgring, I have my own “ring”. It goes from Oslo and out the E6 to Klemetsrud, on to outer Enebakk, past the YX in Flateby, then in the direction of Lillestrøm and finally back to Oslo. The “ring” is quite long and just the right amount of hilly, and along the way there was time for some reflections on the function of the gas station before and now. Was everything better before?

A mix of straights and tight curves forms the backdrop for what can best be described as the battle of the twins. The battle is between an American cruiser and an Italian racer, between touring and sport, between two twins, but with completely different engine characteristics.

The duel

Harley duels against Ducati , both with twin engines, one with a long stroke challenging one with over-square "measures". 90 degrees vs 45 degrees v-twin with one thing in common, they are good on the bottom, or at least good in terms of bottom drag. We rode the "ring" one spring evening in May, and at a gas station in Flateby the status was settled, not only over which of the two won "the battle", but just as much about what the status is when it comes to today's gas station offerings compared to the stations in the 1970s, the decade when we two drivers took the plunge on motorcycles.

5-56

At that time, the gas station shelves were filled with spark plugs, oil, grease, fan belts and cans of 5-56, marketed as "tools in a box". Occasionally an employee, usually wearing a warehouse coat made of real beaver nylon, would come to fill up with gas. Down in the grease pit, his colleague, wearing overalls, also made of beaver nylon, stood, fiddling with oil changes, worn brake pads and rusty exhaust systems. Grease pit was a term, now it is an "abandoned" noun from those hard days when a gas station was essentially a mechanical workshop, equipped to service all makes and with employees who knew a lot about cars and motorcycles.

Freshly baked buns and sausage in bread

Nowadays, it's mostly raisin buns, coffee in paper cups, chocolate, potato chips and fast food. And those behind the counter are young people who go to high school during the day, and then take the afternoon shift behind a cash register that calculates how much the customer should have back in change when they have received a receipt for NOK 95 and have paid with a hundred ringgit for a little refill of 95-lead-free! Mental arithmetic, plus and minus, and oil changes are not something that today's employees can do. Or maybe the customer paid by card? Great, because then you don't have to strain your thinking unnecessarily.

A solid "toothbrush"

Anyway, we finish our coffee, swallow the last waffle heart, and stroll around the station. The grease pit is filled with concrete, and where old engine oil, brake pads, and rusty exhaust mufflers were piled up waiting for a place on the dumpster, there is now a fully automatic car wash with a “toothbrush” big enough to make the station wagon with roof box and dog cage shine after various chemicals have done their job.

The new era

We used to wash by hand, with a sponge and lukewarm water. Now the water hose, the wash bucket and the sponge are long gone. “It’s the new era,” my friend tells me as he presses the button and makes the Ducati shake slightly. I do the same with the old Harley, and we set course for Oslo via Lillestrøm. I take a little bite of my friend’s statement that “It’s the new era,” knowing full well that he’s right. A couple of months ago I visited the Harley Museum in Milwaukee, and in the lobby of the museum stood Harley-Davidson’s new electric motorcycle LiweWire. It’s a piece of the new era, and maybe the next time I stop at YX in Flateby there’ll be a power cable hanging there instead of an old Gilbarco gas pump, and an electric motorcycle will get the necessary refill in the form of electrons instead of the maligned fossil “waste.” "The new era, yes..." I think, who prefers leaded gasoline with 98 octane, and swing in the saddle of the Springer.

Everything was better before

It's dusk, it's warm and there's a smell of spring from the vegetation along the road. Something never changes, the feeling of being free and on the move. Once home we notice that the characteristics of the bikes are different, just like the owners. That's what's so nice. The buns and coffee at the "gas station" weren't so bad either! The Battle of the twins ended in a draw anyway. The Italian is number 1 in the corners, the American is number 1 in the long stretches. And as we all know, 1-1 is the same as a draw, even if it looks like "the new era is the winner. "Everything was better before" comes from my friend. "Agreed" I say!