The quick and the dead

I came across this photograph the other day. Clearly, it is a motorcyclist crouched in racing style atop a Honda Fireblade. Quite a nicely posed photo, isn’t it?

But then look to the right of the picture – hanging on the wall are what appear to be flowers or wreaths. There is a good reason for this as unfortunately, despite the pose, this biker is going nowhere. He is in fact dead and has been embalmed in this pose. Having shown this to a few people, reactions vary from “slightly macabre” to “how bizarre” to “very disconcerting” – one even called it “bloody ridiculous”. Is it? Or should it be seen as a fitting tribute to the riders’ (and presumably his family's) love of motorbikes?

The photo reminded me of a conversation I had with Mrs Chairman Chegwin on our holiday flight to Gran Canaria recently. I accept that this wouldn’t normally be considered regular holiday chatter amongst choosing drinks or selecting Duty Free but I was reading the excellent free newspaper Motor Cycle Monthly (available at the usual biker haunts like Box Hill), which had a small piece on motorcycle funerals.

Of course, I knew these existed but it still struck me as a great idea for ones’ final journey. After all, why shouldn’t people's lifestyles be reflected in their choice of funeral? As the Rev. Paul Sinclair (who has served families at funerals for 22 years via Motorcycle Funerals Ltd – now .com) puts it: “No one submits a Catholic to a Muslim service or places a Liverpool fan in an Arsenal strip when they die so why should those who love bikes be last seen in an automobile?". It’s a compelling point of view.

Once upon a time, a motorcycle hearse would be fairly basic - little more than a box bolted on to an ordinary bike. Nowadays, these are specially built or modified vehicles. A quick Google search reveals that Motorcyclefunerals.com use a specially modified Triumph Speed Triple, whereas a rival firm, Black Hawk Hearses, use a Harley Davidson Road King converted into a trike (with “Tombstone” style fender mounted taillights!). Meanwhile, lifecelebrationfunerals.co.uk use a customised Triumph Rocket III. Lovely!

So this is now becoming a real consideration for me (although hopefully a few years off yet). Being a biker is a big part of who I am and I really cannot think of anything better than being seen off in one of these (preferably followed by a huge cortège of bikes). What a scene it would be – just a shame I wouldn’t be there to see it for myself…