As I rated most titles directed by Willy Vanduren a 9 or 10 out of 10 - because I really like Vanduren's style which excels in charm and simplicity making for the characters to have an 'ordinary man in the street' kind of 'vibe' - a lot had to be done to reach that level without him. For "De motorfiets", Eric Taelman took over from Vanduren and Frank Van Laecke, Vanduren's "wingman", didn't write the title's screenplay. Anton Klee, who had worked on the show before, wrote the title instead. They were clearly searching. The 'legend' Willy Vanduren was gone. They clearly suffered from that here. So much is obvious. It's a strange title, put mildly. The title character Oscar, the Kampioen, gets sidelined more than ever before. Odd, considering both Oscar and Dimitri carried that show in the beginning.
In general the story itself is rather lame. However, the punch lines make up for a good episode. All in all, this does look a bit out of place compared to its previous titles. I see why there's a consensus that it's not a great episode but I don't fully agree with it as I think some jokes are well delivered. The writing is still on point, albeit at times. The main problem I have with this title would be its lame story, as I put. The viewer is basically looking at a motorcycle (a "chopper", as they would call the bike all the time) that changes owner the whole time. It lacks in-depth storytelling, not necessarily build-up as the end shows. Boma can be seen as the central character, in trying to impress this publicity agency girl. One can still tell of the characters' personality traits who they are but it's all about "a motorcycle", not about "the characters" in the end. It's pretty dull. One approach could be boasting from Boma, as I said. It's weird for the characters to want a motorcycle all of a sudden and to act as obsessed about it as they did in this, apart from Pico maybe. However, the latter lets Doortje ride it, for some odd reason. Then Doortje crashes the "chopper" in a pile of straw near the cafe. So Pico doesn't drive it himself at any point, while he had informed at Dimitri's and that he wants the motorcycle for himself. Carmen lashing out at a police officer, it fits her character well. Xavier not being able to stop her from doing that fits him just as well. Those would be examples of the characters' personalities which are still well displayed.
"De motorfiets" goes nowhere as far as the story is concerned, although the jokes make up for me not rating it with a 7 out of 10. I still rate it with an 8. The truth must be told. Willy Vanduren and Frank Van Laecke were the greatest. Their contributions will forever be the best.