The last time I hung out in person with Ola Stenegärd, the Director of Design for Indian Motorcycle, was at the 2020 One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everyone down. Our weekly interactions since consist of idea and anecdotal exchanges on WhatsApp or Instagram, and recently the topic of Werner — the popular German cartoon character created by Brösel (born Rötger Feldmann) in the 1970s — caught my attention.

I was U.S. editor of BikeRadar.com, a British cycling website that launched in July 2007. Bicycles were my life, and I was neglecting a BMW R 90/6 in the garage in favor of the 15 or so bicycles hanging from the rafters. It was my job, after all, and my 43-year-old body needed to stay in shape. A few years later I became aware of a new book called “Shop Class As Soulcraft” written by a guy who owned a one-man motorcycle repair shop in Virginia.