Is it the end of the motorcycle as we know it?

[Niehart]

This is kind of long but an intresting read.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Is-it-the-end-of-the-motorcycle-as-we-know-it?utm_source=paid.outbrain.com&utm_campaign=High%20Competition%20US%2CCAN&utm_medium=referral

 

[Fred W]

One "problem" area for the Asian motorcycle market may be the increased fuel efficiency of autos and coincidentally the relatively slow growth of fuel costs. I'd imagine that many prior motorcycle riders would prefer driving a relatively safer car in the congested cities of the Far East if the economies are close enough to swing it. It may also be due to an aging population that can't see themselves riding on two wheels like they did when they were younger. Interesting that they called their 250cc tiddlers "mid-size" bikes over there.

I would expect that the US and Euro market dynamics are considerably different, but if the Asian manufacturers check out of the business it could be expensive times ahead for Western riders.

 

[ndivita]

It's an interesting demographic issue.

Allow me to bring to bear my penetrating analytical skills.

Lots of youngsters are and have been without fathers or other influential male figures to teach them about the joys and wonders of motorcycles. Lots of youngsters are and have been inveterate couch potatoes. Lots of youngsters are entirely comfortable being chauffeured around by one or the other parent. Lots of youngsters use Uber and don't even want a car, let alone a motorcycle. Lots of youngsters are not, like we old farts were, chomping at the bit to obtain driver's licenses the second after we were eligible to do so. Lots of youngsters are taught to avoid risks of any sort, and thus don't take them even in the "controlled" environment of responsible motorcycle operation. Lots of youngsters are in families or areas where motorcycles are simply not an option, culturally or financially. Youngsters grow up to not be interested in motorcycles.

Lots means lots, not all. But enough to cause or contribute to cause a downturn in motorcycle sales.

Ultimately, I blame William Jefferson Clinton, MTV and the OJ Simpson trial for this and other forms of social decay.

Ride on.

 

[John d]

Here is an updated story.

 

[rbentnail]

IMHO it doesn't have a damn thing to do with "an interesting demographic issue". It's about gov'ts/countries wanting less pollution and more safety features, the former now and the latter coming soon.

 

[airboss]

One "problem" area for the Asian motorcycle market may be the increased fuel efficiency of autos and coincidentally the relatively slow growth of fuel costs. I'd imagine that many prior motorcycle riders would prefer driving a relatively safer car in the congested cities of the Far East if the economies are close enough to swing it. It may also be due to an aging population that can't see themselves riding on two wheels like they did when they were younger. Interesting that they called their 250cc tiddlers "mid-size" bikes over there.
I would expect that the US and Euro market dynamics are considerably different, but if the Asian manufacturers check out of the business it could be expensive times ahead for Western riders.

Fred said.

Interesting that they called their 250cc tiddlers "mid-size" bikes over there.

Because They are.

400cc is the most common big bike. Any thing larger than 400cc gets to be a major financial burden when it gets to license and registration.

 

[hppants]

I've been paying very close attention to things in my neighborhood this year. We are about 50 houses over a 3 block area. About 1/2 of these houses have 1 or more kid under the age of 15 residing within them. About 1/4th are empty nesters (like my wife and I), and the rest are either newlyweds, or retirees.

On evenings and weekends, it can be like a ghost town. Kids just don't play outside anymore.

I'm not imagining this - it's absolutely true. I built my neighbor an elaborate 2-story play house for his (then) kids about 10 years ago. It took me 2 full weekends and I copied a pattern at Lowes and built it for him for about 1/4th the cost. They never played in it. Never. For years, I'd watch outside the kitchen window, staring at the playhouse, thinking about how cool that would have been for me and my brother when I was their age....

The point is this - kids now get their "adventure" from a screen. They are over stimulated to the point where anything short of Disney world is boring to them.

Motorcycling is an adventurous activity. For kids and young adults, it's a discovery of a new dimension of freedom and adventure. It physically (not digitally) stimulates all of your senses and opens your world up in all directions. But younger people don't care about that - they quite literally can't see the forest for the trees.

If the motorcycle industry is dying, demographics and marketing has everything to do with it, IMO. I hope that I'm wrong.

 

[BkerChuck]

I think Pants is onto something here. I watch parents hand their children their smartphone to keep the kiddies entertained starting at very young ages. Kids today grow up with a screen in their face often before they're finished potty training! My neighborhood sounds very similar to his even though we're quite a few states apart. I've started walking recently in an effort to stave off aging and counter the effects of a more sedentary job which has found me putting on unwanted pounds. One very big benefit of this is that I'm getting to know more of my neighbors and meet more of their children. I must say this, we have one cul-de-sac where a lot of the parents and their kids hang out outside and get some pretty rousing games of kickball or some other outside activity going several days a week. A lot of them know my wife and I because of our riding and we stop and talk about trips and rallies regularly. There are a few motorcycle owners in our development and I've even had the honor/privilege of taking our neighbor's daughter for her first ever motorcycle ride.While my development represents only a minute microcosm of America I can only hope there are enough areas still like mine where someone with a bike is an ambassador for the sport and can entice enough kids with tales of travel and adventure to continue bring fresh blood to the hobby.

I think we're also very fortunate to have members here in the teaching profession. Cav47 comes quickly to mind. We need to have folks like him in front of our youth spinning yarns of adventures and travel making it sound more enticing than the electronic pablum they're being fed. I'm the only one in my family to own a motorcycle but some of my best memories from my youth have to do with a great-uncle who rode back in the days following the Great Depression and listening on the edge of my seat as he told me of riding his Indian Scout from PA to the Pacific Ocean back in the days when roads weren't even paved yet and there were less than 50 states.I may never get to have the same adventures he did but he enticed me in many ways to want to go out and have some of my own. I've recently taken a friend out for a few rides and they've been absolutely awestruck at the difference between being on the bike and taking a drive in a car. The manufacturers need to find a way to convey that if they really wish to thrive.

 

[Uncle Hud]

BkerChuck posted: <trimmed significantly> ... they've been absolutely awestruck at the difference between being on the bike and taking a drive in a car.

This, my friends. Exactly this.

 

[russperry]

I've been paying very close attention to things in my neighborhood this year. We are about 50 houses over a 3 block area. About 1/2 of these houses have 1 or more kid under the age of 15 residing within them. About 1/4th are empty nesters (like my wife and I), and the rest are either newlyweds, or retirees.
On evenings and weekends, it can be like a ghost town. Kids just don't play outside anymore.

I'm not imagining this - it's absolutely true. I built my neighbor an elaborate 2-story play house for his (then) kids about 10 years ago. It took me 2 full weekends and I copied a pattern at Lowes and built it for him for about 1/4th the cost. They never played in it. Never. For years, I'd watch outside the kitchen window, staring at the playhouse, thinking about how cool that would have been for me and my brother when I was their age....

The point is this - kids now get their "adventure" from a screen. They are over stimulated to the point where anything short of Disney world is boring to them.

Motorcycling is an adventurous activity. For kids and young adults, it's a discovery of a new dimension of freedom and adventure. It physically (not digitally) stimulates all of your senses and opens your world up in all directions. But younger people don't care about that - they quite literally can't see the forest for the trees.

If the motorcycle industry is dying, demographics and marketing has everything to do with it, IMO. I hope that I'm wrong.

Unfortunately my observations are the same as yours. As my kids grew up I observed that they never played with friends without adult organization. Youth sports have turned into choreographed events with professional coaches, trainers, travel teams, year round all-star teams, etc... there seems to be no joy left in hanging with your friends, playing pickup basketball, over-the-line (baseball for 4 people for the uninitiated) or anything like that.

I introduced both my sons to motorcycling - one has taken a liking to it while the other wasn't interested (which I'm fine with), but both of them spend waaaaay too much time with heads buried into computer monitors making a majority of their emotional interactions through faceless names on the internet.

Makes me think of an article I read about Japanese culture which has TONS of strange issues based on economics, social norms, and (of course) internet dating (sort of). It seems to me that the US is headed the same way if my own kids and other comments I see on this thread are an indication...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/20/japan-stranded-singles-virtual-love