Where do you envision motorcycling in 25 years?

[bad Chad]

It’s 2047, a good many of us have left.  But that’s not relevant, as we all are leaving.  What do you imagine?   Utopia, distopia, or somewhere in between?   

All I will say, is that predictions of the future have mostly been way off.  But perhaps you fine folks have something insightful to o share?

The only thing I’m confident of, is Guzzi will still be going out of business since 1921.

[Dirk_S]

“Way off”, or delayed/ stretched out over time?

As a mode of transportation, it’s not going away. One can still have a sense of freedom and risk.

I’m hoping for hydrogen. I’m hoping for solid state batteries.

I’m expecting most of the petroleum companies to either shift focus to the other resources, be bought up by Chinese and Indian firms, or merge-merge-merge.

But motorcycling will still be around.

Hope this thread doesn’t go too political/cynical. Would love to read some original or really thoughtful responses.

[cliffrod]

I’ll be 80 in 25 yrs and I’m expecting my old machines will probably only be scrap value for my wife/daughter to sell after I finally get done staring at them.   

Just remember, I’m glad to carve nice headstones for all those people that leave before me….

[fotoguzzi]

Sorta like those little flying machines Luke Skywalker flies thru the woods with. Or something like a tube/rocket you ride like a bike but it will fly so no wheels needed.

[Ryan]

I suspect that electrics will rule, and diesels because there are some applications for which recharging is still too long a process. Gasoline will have been outlawed, but diesel will still be around and easily made. I will scrimp and save up $1000 every year so I can fill the Stelvio with outlaw premium and get my 350 miles in.

[tommy2cyl]

A few comments & observatons from a man of a certain age:

1. Being a motor head my whole life (I am now 70) my first reaction is how the various manufacturers will distinguish themselves.  The whole two wheel experience largely revolves around the motor and what it does for you on many levels.  When I list Harley Davidson, Ducati, BMW, Honda, Triumph, Honda our beloved Moto Guzzi's, etc. , everyone reading this connects with the motor design, performance, sound, heritage........... .feeling first and foremost.

  When all the manufactures new offerings are electric power based, no matter how many design characteristics are integrated into the bike, something very fundamental in determining the gut connection with that machine will be lost.  I truly don't know how the manufactures wil differentiate themselves from one another.  Quite a challenge.


2. People love to travel, compete, explore and and push their boundaries.  Some people choose to do that on two wheels,  I am confident people will still be doing that in the decades to come.  My guess is fewer and fewer will choose to load up a two wheel vehicle, throw on their camping gear and hit the road.  With the continued trajectory of using hand held devices, AI development, and gaming from your living room, I think the motivation to "do it live" will wane.  Some will, but I fear not as many as currently.  I hope I am wrong.

3. Humanity is relentless in coming up with new ideas & solutions and implementation for the problems it is confronting. The solution of how to charge all these e vehicles will happen.  Will it be seamless and pain free and quick with no inconvenience?  Nope.  Seismic change never is.  But it will happen because the continued march forward of people is ingrained in our DNA.

4.  I have many discussions with my peers about the time in which our lives took place.  I feel extremely lucky to have experienced what I have in life being born in 1952.  My time on this planet is waining and of course massive changes in transportation and motorsports is all around us.  It is the way of the rhythm of the world  It will be different, but it will continue.  Just not so sure the youth of tomorrow will know the joy of of seeing a white frame/white wheel 1991 Ducati 900 SS sitting in the garage.  Or planning a 14 day camping trip from Ohio to Nova Scotia on a Moto Guzzi V 85 and listening and feeling the thrum of a V twin air cooled engine    Or hearing an inline Triumph Speed Trple wail on a track day at Mid Ohio with nothing but sunshine and sticky tarmac.  The future will have it's offerings, but I am hard pressed to think it will be as good as what we got to experience. 




 

[adaven]

A friend wrote a book  "Wasn't the Future Wonderful" using images from Modern Mechanix and Popular Science magazines to illustrate predictions of our present as envisioned in the 30's. I suspect our predictions will seem as overly optimistic as those predictions are. Flying cars are just around the corner.

But I hope that motorcycling will be protected, at least as a niche activity, by our kids - who will inherit our Loops, Panheads, and Bonnevilles

[JayDee24ca]

Do they have motorbikes in heaven? 'Cause that's where I'll be.
JD

[n3303j]

I suppose my T3 will probably need rings.

[MMRanch]

I'm thinking that "keeping the battery charged will be the big thing 25 years from now.   
In the short run I can see a small Diesel motor running a alternator (like the trains do now) . 
In the long run it almost hast to go like "Back to the Future" ?   

[Shorty]

I think way down the road only the wealthy and very poor will have IC engines. The wealthy will have the motorbikes, muscle cars and iconic sports cars as a hobby,(and have the means of obtaining the fuel) and the poor 3rd world folks will still be chugging along on monkey bikes and dug dugs, safely beyond the reach of Greta .  The middle class will be forced into EVs for local transport and need a pass from the  transport czar to travel further in their own cars. That or be forced into public transit. Utopia.

[AH Fan]

A few comments & observatons from a man of a certain age:

1. Being a motor head my whole life (I am now 70) my first reaction is how the various manufacturers will distinguish themselves.  The whole two wheel experience largely revolves around the motor and what it does for you on many levels.  When I list Harley Davidson, Ducati, BMW, Honda, Triumph, Honda our beloved Moto Guzzi's, etc. , everyone reading this connects with the motor design, performance, sound, heritage........... .feeling first and foremost.

  When all the manufactures new offerings are electric power based, no matter how many design characteristics are integrated into the bike, something very fundamental in determining the gut connection with that machine will be lost.  I truly don't know how the manufactures wil differentiate themselves from one another.  Quite a challenge.


2. People love to travel, compete, explore and and push their boundaries.  Some people choose to do that on two wheels,  I am confident people will still be doing that in the decades to come.  My guess is fewer and fewer will choose to load up a two wheel vehicle, throw on their camping gear and hit the road.  With the continued trajectory of using hand held devices, AI development, and gaming from your living room, I think the motivation to "do it live" will wane.  Some will, but I fear not as many as currently.  I hope I am wrong.

3. Humanity is relentless in coming up with new ideas & solutions and implementation for the problems it is confronting. The solution of how to charge all these e vehicles will happen.  Will it be seamless and pain free and quick with no inconvenience?  Nope.  Seismic change never is.  But it will happen because the continued march forward of people is ingrained in our DNA.

4.  I have many discussions with my peers about the time in which our lives took place.  I feel extremely lucky to have experienced what I have in life being born in 1952.  My time on this planet is waining and of course massive changes in transportation and motorsports is all around us.  It is the way of the rhythm of the world  It will be different, but it will continue.  Just not so sure the youth of tomorrow will know the joy of of seeing a white frame/white wheel 1991 Ducati 900 SS sitting in the garage.  Or planning a 14 day camping trip from Ohio to Nova Scotia on a Moto Guzzi V 85 and listening and feeling the thrum of a V twin air cooled engine    Or hearing an inline Triumph Speed Trple wail on a track day at Mid Ohio with nothing but sunshine and sticky tarmac.  The future will have it's offerings, but I am hard pressed to think it will be as good as what we got to experience.

Very well said............... ... agree on many points.

Ciao

[chuck peterson]

Mad Max..

[twowheeladdict]

https://youtu.be/_LXKZq0fYDw

Having watched Noraly travel the world, I have observed the places where motorcycles are a common sight, and where they are rare. 

The attached Rush song says it well what the future will hold.

[Speciality]

Similar age and sentiments to AH Fan. It is said that future predictions tend to over-exaggerate what the world will look like in the medium term future but under-estimate the pace of current progress. Where this leaves us I don’t know but I doubt that diesels will still be here in their current form for personal transport. They are certainly seen as highly pollutant here in the UK. Maybe direct injection two-stroke diesels will address this?
I feel that it is most likely that personal transport other than bicycles and electric vehicles will end. A lot of youngsters here now have no interest in owning things, preferring rental, and do not wish to learn to drive. The complexity and expense of gaining a full licence to be able to ride a powerful motorcycle has already reduced the intake of new riders. Most ride around on 125 scooters on L plates, taking a new CBT test every two years, or use low powered two wheelers on their car licence. Uber etc transport on demand is flourishing.
A lot depends on world events really - climate change, potential for global wars, population migration. Glad it won’t concern me really; I hope to be able to finish my riding days on ICE machines..

[Huzo]

I think that whatever the chinless/faceless power brokers decide “for us..”
It won’t have much to do with what we “want”.

[s1120]

In the whole grand scheme of things, I bet they will be pretty much the same. Electrics will be FAR more common, but I think the big gas demise will still be a far way off. I do fear it will be harder to find nice, open back roads, and the highways and citys will be lands that no one want to ride in anyways. If the younger gen really starts getting into bikes I will assume far more integration of interconnection of bike and rider. Helmet displays, more rider modes, and switchable adjustability. Im not sure I will be still riding [ill be 82] but im sure my guzzi will be carrying someone on the road to a new adventure.

[travelingbyguzzi]

We already know that you won't be able to buy a new ICE powered motorbike in California or Washington state. I think a few other states have also joined that program.
Electric buy cycles are all over the Seattle area and I see very little difference between them and an electric motorcycle.
When the state decides to start tax and registration (and it definitely will), some will step up to bigger, more powerful emotorcycles and some will step away.
I am torn.
This morning,I am in Burley ID, headed for Arkansas.I can't see doing this on an ebike.
A large part of the experience is twisting the loud switch as you go up or down the freeway ramp.

[Tkelly]

A movie I think was called Waterworld with Kevin Kostner some years back summed it up.

[Huzo]

A movie I think was called Waterworld with Kevin Kostner some years back summed it up.

You beauty…!
An electric boat..

[TN Mark]

If you have Amazon Prime, look up The Last Motorcycle On Earth

To look 25 years into the future it's often best to look 25 to 50 years in the past to see how much has changed and at what pace.

Sadly, for me anyhow, Moto Guzzi likely still won't have an 1800cc or a 2000cc updated Eldorado. The name will most certainly come back, as will the Ambassador name. Just not the accessories and the support of the models.

Anyway, in 25 years, I'll likely be long gone.

[Alfetta]

IMHO,
as the world population continues to increase as an exponent, energy of any type will become more expensive and difficult to get. Thus more effort will be placed in public transit, and individual transit will become smaller and much more energy efficient.

Electric will become the performance solution for short range applications (already happening in MX), while long distance bikes will most likely not be any larger than 125cc.
Alternate fuels for ICE engine will be developed to offset fossil, both to aid in supply, but mostly for emission purposes.

[LowRyter]

[cowtownchemist]

How has motorcycling changed between 1997 to today?  We've basically added ABS.  I don't predict much difference.  Sure, there will be more electric bikes to choose from, but I wouldn't expect that we are going to stray away from two wheels and an engine in the next 25 years.

[JJ]

I predict in 25 years, there will be a LOT more electric cars / bikes / motorcycles than today...

...and I'll be either be 93, or most likely "DEAD", so it won't matter much!!

[twowheeladdict]

IMHO,
as the world population continues to increase as an exponent, energy of any type will become more expensive and difficult to get. Thus more effort will be placed in public transit, and individual transit will become smaller and much more energy efficient.

Electric will become the performance solution for short range applications (already happening in MX), while long distance bikes will most likely not be any larger than 125cc.
Alternate fuels for ICE engine will be developed to offset fossil, both to aid in supply, but mostly for emission purposes.

Why am I seeing so many stories talking about population declining?

[dirtiegirtie]

My guess is that riding a motorcycle in 25 years time will be much safer.
I bought a used 2018 pathfinder with adaptive cruise control last year... Wow, what a game changer! If 'self-driving' cars and trucks continue to evolve, then I will be much less worried about the 75% of the current driving population that currently seems incapable of driving without texting at the same time.

But yeah, the motorcycles will all be electric. Which will make for different wrenching opportunities, but not better or worse.

Who knows, maybe you won't need a big bowling ball helmet, more of a ski mask attached to your bikes computer via a proximity sensor and the bikes gyro sensors... as you are hitting something or flying off the bike the helmet inflates. Like the riding jackets that self-inflate for protection, but faster and for your head.

[twowheeladdict]

I predict in 25 years, there will be a LOT more electric cars / bikes / motorcycles than today...

...and I'll be either be 93, or most likely "DEAD", so it won't matter much!!

Of course the marketers will never give us true numbers.  They will use terms in a relative sense in other to make the easily fooled public think everyone is getting one, why not you. 

[JJ]

Of course the marketers will never give us true numbers.  They will use terms in a relative sense in other to make the easily fooled public think everyone is getting one, why not you.

Just another data point....In the past few years, rented Electric bicycles are EVERYWHERE now, up here in the Verde Valley.  Very common with the tourists...especial ly the FAT TIRE models... - - and some of them really go along quite briskly....

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Why am I seeing so many stories talking about population declining?

The population continues to explode globally. There have been stories in the news lately around decline in birthrate, but in specific countries. Overall, the world population is still growing, but the rate has fallen to about 1% per year..

Considering it took all of human history thru 1800 to reach 1 billion of us, the world population has increased by 7 billion in the last ~200 years

At our current rate of growth, there will be 16 billion of us on this rock by 2120... Of course with the strain for land, water, and resources necessary to support 16 billion human lives, the Earth will likely be just that (a barren rock with some very polluted oceans) in a hundred years. More or less the main reason I dont have kids