This Saturday I took a trip across the river and through the Blackwall tunnel into deepest Kent with Bonnie Barry & Scrambler Ben to visit the Spirit of the Seventies workshop and meet Tim Rogers - one half of the talented duo that are building some stunning, timeless custom bikes in the UK.

The boys compare pocket sizes while Barry’s Bonnie doubles as a handbag holder

They’ve had a lot of great press recently, and it’s well deserved, as their design and vision is matched by the their quality of parts and build, and their background in riding proper bikes on track means they don’t compromise when it comes to performance and handling. These bikes are not all show and no go. I suddenly and desperately want a bike like this in my life. I posted this bike on the Ducati forum and one smart arse (correctly) pointed out that I already have one of these bikes. The Sport Classic is the defining retro Ducati cafe racer. Practical, with decent handling and performance, and timeless looks... But the Union 900's combination of braced box-section swingarm, monoshock rear, solid wheels and 70s style half fairing results in a fantastic mix of old and new that I really love. Bonnie Barry also owns a mid nineties Ducati 900ss FE, so I've seen one in the flesh, and it's a great base bike for something like this. I'm in two minds. One part of me says; let my modern retro (the Sport Classic) continue to evolve, but also serve as my practical year round day-to-day bike. Apart from my fear of the UK's uber-corrosive road salt and it's effect on my engine finish, it's perfectly capable of playing that role, even if I make it very pretty and keep customising it. This would allow me to use the ca$h to help me pick up an old 900ss and then get Tim & Kev at Spirit to customise it for me, with our take on what the guys at Union have done. But am I crazy? Another route would be to take my lovely Duc SC and add a fairing... It's probably going to annoy me - after all that effort simplifying the clocks, indies and headlamp, ... I'd have to build some kind of frontal subframe and then retro-fit a fixed half fairing and headlamp... or I could consider getting the OEM parts from a Duc SportClassic 1000S or Paul Smart, which already have a very similar fairing... but I prefer the Union one - I think it's from Glass From The Past in the US. It's blunt nose is even prettier than the Paul Smart.

This bike needs Y-Spoke wheels, reverse-cone end-cans, and to lose that ugly hugger... But otherwise, she's a peach. I have no idea what I will do next. The cost comes into it. Logic doesn't play a part. I know that with plan A I could end up with two bikes that are almost identical, one with and one without a fairing. I know that instead I should add a fairing to my Duc and buy myself a 950 SMR for winter... But I really don't care what the smart thing to do is. Biking is now officially my pointless passion and I will do whatever makes me the most happy.

The faux retro Duc shows off his 18o rear rube while the real 70's retros talk block treads and carb jetting...