1 bike per 56 people in USA

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nofreeride

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Some interesting statistics reported by webbikeworld.com on the number of motorcycles per person in several countries. The USA was last on the list with only 1 bike per 56 people.

Click here for full story.

Comments on why? Do you like it this way? Would you like to see more bikes on the road?

 
Some interesting statistics reported by webbikeworld.com on the number of motorcycles per person in several countries. The USA was last on the list with only 1 bike per 56 people.
Click here for full story.

Comments on why? Do you like it this way? Would you like to see more bikes on the road?
If I am reading that graph correctly it's 1 in 112, one stick figure on the graph equals two people. Never underestimate the influence of the movie "The Wild One". Hollywood has done nothing to help the motorcycling cause.

 
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It's not you get any respect on the road out there. I'm surprised it's that high. It takes alot to ride a motorcycle on today roads.

 
Hey, it depends on the people. Around here we have 20-somethings who are invulnerable in their baseball caps & t-shirts, Harleys that want to go 10mph under the limit in the left lane, and now we have people that can't afford gas for their car that wobble worse than a Weeble.

 
Why is it that way? Well there's a couple primary reasons:

1. Our roads are wider than most other countries and we have less traffic

2. We love cars here in the US and most people can afford them

3. Gas is still relatively cheap

4. In the US a bike is considered a recreational or luxury vehicle, in other countries it's basic transportation

5. We have snow in a good part of the US, other countries have warmer weather

No I would not like to see more bikes on the road unless we start making training a little more intensive and mandatory.

 
If I am reading that graph correctly it's 1 in 112, one stick figure on the graph equals two people.
Yes, one stick figure = two people, 28 stick figures = 56 people. Plus on the left it actually shows the number (no need to count stick figures).

 
What? Don't you know that motorcycles is dangerous? Heck, just touching one could cost you an arm... or a leg... or both.

 
Many of my motorcycle friends have more than one bike, myself included. The charts seem to simply show X number of bikes in relation to Y number of people.

 
Compare this to another recent statistic: .765 motor vehicles per person in the U.S. This includes all motor vehicles. Not surprisingly, we are first on the list.

 
Having travelled a little bit in Europe, I have to say the biggest reason is PARKING. Over there you'll see 40 bikes parked on the sidewalk of a narrow street. Over here, you'll see a mall with a 5 acre parking lot (that runs shuttles to the backup lot during the christmas season). The cities of Europe weren't built with modern traffic in mind.

I'm guessing that Asia is more of an economic issue. Look at how many of the bikes there were mopeds.

 
Having travelled a little bit in Europe, I have to say the biggest reason is PARKING. Over there you'll see 40 bikes parked on the sidewalk of a narrow street. Over here, you'll see a mall with a 5 acre parking lot (that runs shuttles to the backup lot during the christmas season). The cities of Europe weren't built with modern traffic in mind.
I'm guessing that Asia is more of an economic issue. Look at how many of the bikes there were mopeds.
Hahahaha 5 acre parking lot? The mall near me has a 210 acre parking lot!

Density, congestion, distances: all have a lot to do with differences between the U.S. and Europe.

I drive thirty miles to work on a largely deserted 4-lane highway and can park in any of dozens of spaces at my work. Not many Euros have that luxury. Scooters and motorcycles certainly make sense for them.

About motorcycles per person in the U.S.: I think there are currently about one million registered motorcycles vs. about 300 million cars. Considering the population, that would make it about 300 people per motorcycles. This more or less reflects what I've seen on the road.

 
Some interesting statistics reported by webbikeworld.com on the number of motorcycles per person in several countries. The USA was last on the list with only 1 bike per 56 people.
Click here for full story.

Comments on why? Do you like it this way? Would you like to see more bikes on the road?
If I am reading that graph correctly it's 1 in 112, one stick figure on the graph equals two people. Never underestimate the influence of the movie "The Wild One". Hollywood has done nothing to help the motorcycling cause.
What-d-ua.....mean ?

That's what got me interested in the first place !

 
About motorcycles per person in the U.S.: I think there are currently about one million registered motorcycles vs. about 300 million cars. Considering the population, that would make it about 300 people per motorcycles. This more or less reflects what I've seen on the road.
The same report showed motorcycles at over 5 million in the US. If your numbers are right and there are about 300 million people, then that would make 1 bike in something under 60 people. Hmmm? Pretty close.

I would like to see motorcycles used more for basic transportation in this country, instead of primarily recreational use. There are lots of benefits, not the least of which are financial and environmental. We are just so used to the convenience of hopping in our cars cages. A motorcycle requires getting all that gear on, suffering the elements, and usually giving up tunes, talking, texting and drive-thru windows. And where do we put all our stuff? And then there's the perceived safety issues.

I confess that I don't ride every day. Sometimes I don't want to brave the weather, sometimes I'm too lazy to put on all the gear, or running late for work, etc.

There would have to be more compelling reasons to get more people on motorcycles more often ... ?

 
It's basically the difference in how we move from place to place.

A European may shop for each meal, rather than bulk-load the house full of groceries. Saddlebags or a top case or basket, he's all set.

Europeans have miniscule distances to travel, for example, London is closer to Baghdad than Miami is to Seattle.

Parking is an issue, fuel is an issue, and (side-stepping politics) different licensing rule is an issue.

Also, Americans don't think of bikes as transportation. They are recreation, for those that can afford it. In Europe, and especially some Asian areas, they may be basic transport for those that can't afford a car. Everybody knows how hard it is to put a kid on the correct starter bike. No image in that. Gotta get the liter Gixxer!

For us (in general), bikes are image, bikes are 2-wheeled RVs, bikes are toys.

 
How come India and Australia didn't make the list? I'd be interested in those numbers, especially if they didn't count quads as bikes that farmers use.

I'm not surprised at the stats though. Cars are cheaper, safer, require less skill, more forgiving in mistakes, and more comfortable (for the same clothing) to use than my Strom. Then there's the public perception of motorcycles.

"Crazy", "Organ donors" and "Dangerous" comes to mind for a lot of people when I tell them I ride a motorcycle without them knowing much about me. They're flooded with this perception by the media and shows like COPS that bikes are dangerous, run from the law, are the cause of all that is evil in the world, and that riders are little more than meat bags just shortening their lives unnecessarily. Not to mention, I still have the "bad boy" image when I rock up in full motorcycle gear (although I can't say the same would apply to others* on this board...). I'll bet if you changed the public perception of motorcycles to be positive - "You're saving the environment! You can use the HOV lane! They save on gas!! Carbon footprint! CARBON FOOTPRINT!" - and made it economically viable to own a motorcycle over a car, motorcycle ownership would go up.

[SIZE=8pt]* Sorry Niehart, it's just hard to imagine anyone thinking "Oh, that Dave, he's such a badass"[/SIZE] :D

EDIT: Also, I can just imagine what some of the women drivers I know would be like with their motorcycles. "What? You have to actually oil the chain? I thought it ran on hope and dreams!!!" or "Ewww... but oil is ICKY!!!"

And what wfooshee says - "Why didn't you get a GSX-R1000? They look way better than that... that... hideous thing." Common comment I get. At least I'm the better half of the bike and I...

 
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