What do you think is the next big trend in motorcycling?

[Vagrant]

I see myself buying a Burgman type scooter in the future.

a friend has two now. came from a Gold wing and loves them. It's hard to keep up with him. only faults IMHO are it need 1 more gallon of gas, easier serviceability, real suspension and one size bigger tires.

[sturgeon]

I'm not fond of the bodywork. It's a little too appliance-looking for my taste. And the highway pegs are too far forward.

[Shorty]

I would be happy to find  Suzuki TU350X and TU500X in the lineup. Even better, take a SV650 drivetrain and put it in a frame similiar to the V7 Sport, adjustable handlebars and all. Small bike, traditional look, modern brakes, reliability,  and old man ergos. Too much to ask?

[lucian]

I have not figured out why a manufacturer builds a 180 h.p. bike and then dumb's it down with electronic intervention.  Why not just by the 6o h.p bike and some new gear?

Surely you must try before you decide. The electronics do not dumb down anything unless you want them to.
I won't bother trying to explain, but one ride on on a modern super bike and you will get it.

[oldbike54]

I have not figured out why a manufacturer builds a 180 h.p. bike and then dumb's it down with electronic intervention.  Why not just by the 6o h.p bike and some new gear?

Surely you must try before you decide. The electronics do not dumb down anything unless you want them to.
I won't bother trying to explain, but one ride on on a modern super bike and you will get it.

  :1: I don't need to own one , but having ridden an S1000RR , all I can say is WHOLEY SCHMIDT 

 Dusty

[Cool Runnings]

  :1: I don't need to own one , but having ridden an S1000RR , all I can say is WHOLEY SCHMIDT 

 Dusty

I'm railing with the Norge way over the posted limit right now, 180 hp for the street is stupid! 

[oldbike54]

I'm railing with the Norge way over the posted limit right now, 180 hp for the street is stupid! 

 Yeah , still fun . Hell , I rode my 40 Shetland /5 way over the posted limit most of the time , and the 70 Shetland Jackal , well , ask some of the boys here about that 

 Dusty

[Triple Jim]

I'm railing with the Norge way over the posted limit right now, 180 hp for the street is stupid! 

It kinds ruins things for all but top level racing, too.  I'd find racing fun, but with something like Ninja 250s or Honda 175s.  You can have fun competing on them without going 180 mph.  In fact I do have a ton of fun on my Yamaha 100 on the supermoto track, and reach top speeds like 45 mph, and dragging my knees in the turns!

[ratguzzi]

I could see someone making some bucks making hybrid electric powered sidecars. Bolt up to a regular motorcycle and the sidecar powers the bike with batteries already in it with solar panels built in the body. Electric motor in the sidecar wheel hub like electric bicycles. Run out of juice, simply start the motorcycle's actual motor and drive it to your favorite electrical outlet.
JB

[guzzisteve]

For Piaggio an 850 MP3 for all you old guys who want to fly.

[lucian]

I'm railing with the Norge way over the posted limit right now, 180 hp for the street is stupid! 

I find I was much more likely to speed on the griso than I am on the Tuono. Pushing the griso performance wise will always put you above the speed limits because of it's tall gearing and the way the power comes on high in its rev range. The Tuono on the other hand will literally straighten your arms out from 0 to 60 mph and get your heart racing without breaking any laws. Sure it is capable of ridiculous speeds, but you really don't have to go there to get your jollies. Don't get me wrong, I realize the t can't hold a candle to a norge when it comes to comfort, touring capabilities or ease of maintenance ect. But for the sure thrill of performance alone ,without breaking speed limits ,it's hard to beat the acceleration of a super naked. I think everyone deserves to ride one before they are quick to dismiss them as too much for the street.

[Tom]

Biggest trend that I see is that the manufacturers will make it harder for an owner to do any maintenance to their machines. 

[sturgeon]

  :1: I don't need to own one , but having ridden an S1000RR , all I can say is WHOLEY SCHMIDT 

 Dusty

After my test ride on an RR the year they came out, all I could say afterwards was "I'm grateful in the extreme that I'm no longer 18 years old". Even now, I'd probably not last a week on that thing before finding myself behind bars. And not the kind that serve beer. A few weeks ago, I rode the 'adventure' version, the XR, which has 'reduced' power. It's still WHOLEY SCHMIDT 

[rocker59]

Oh and I found where Guzzi are getting thier recent styling cues from:

bobber,scrambler,cafe scrambobulated racer...its all available

http://www.mfcparis.com/preparations_9_mfc-paris_1-SUZUKI-VANVAN

And all this time, I thought it was Oberdan Bezzi.

LOL!

[Penderic]

New Weird Multi-Purpose Parts made by 3d printers and manufactured to reduce production costs.

Minimize amount of materials = lighter bike

Interesting new 3d forms are possible for the manufacturers.

Personalizing and customizing becomes more difficult. (Regulations)

Brand recognition /loyalty becomes stronger among the niche designers (with access to smaller 3d production lines)

Maintenance is reduced but replacing damaged parts becomes more expensive.

More..... later.   

[jas67]

....I rode the 'adventure' version, the XR, which has 'reduced' power. It's still WHOLEY SCHMIDT 

:+1

I've also ridden the XR (but, not the S1000RR), and yes, WHOLEY SCHMIDT!

It definitely be way too easy to get in trouble with law or otherwise (as in dead) with one.

[jbell]

The trend I see already happening and I hope becomes big is an abandonment of Transformers styling and going back to less angles, beaks and little randomly placed triangular slabs of "bodywork".  On the technical side, making full use of the possibilities of ride by wire which I think is a good thing even if I can't adjust it with a box end wrench.

[rocker59]

The trend I see already happening and I hope becomes big is an abandonment of Transformers styling and going back to less angles, beaks and little randomly placed triangular slabs of "bodywork".  On the technical side, making full use of the possibilities of ride by wire which I think is a good thing even if I can't adjust it with a box end wrench.

Where do you find the trend of abandoning edgy modern "transformer" styling?

Other than a few retros and the usual cruisers, the market is flooded with horrible origami styling.

[Cool Runnings]

Empulse TT Electric Motorcycles...

[tazio]

"Clean Slate" bikes. Rolling frames with power plants on dealer floors can accept wide choice of bars, seats and peg positions. Choose from several tank shapes and colors because all these components are on display and plug into position. Hell, hold a "mix and match" rally with your riding pals.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Next big trend? Bankruptcys, mergers, takeovers, etc. as older riders quit riding and there's not enough "new blood" to keep sales up.

[charlie b]

"Clean Slate" bikes. Rolling frames with power plants on dealer floors can accept wide choice of bars, seats and peg positions. Choose from several tank shapes and colors because all these components are on display and plug into position. Hell, hold a "mix and match" rally with your riding pals.

I really don't know why this is not a 'norm'.

Fairing or no fairing, windscreen, bikini.  Dual seat, solo, racer, etc all adjustable fore/aft and up/down.  Ape hangers, clip ons, pull back bars with or w/o risers.  adv cases or suitcases.  Upswept mufflers or low, dual or single.  Rearsets, 'normal', mid or forward, floorboards or pegs.  Real adjustable rear shocks for various weight riders and passengers/cargo.

Of course it wouldn't sell.  A dedicated adv type would not be caught dead on a bike that could be a cruiser and a sport bike guy NEEDS the latest, lightest, most hp of any bike ever made.  I'd still like to see a factory do it.

Well.....Guzzi did at one time.  The Tonti frame.  Cruiser, sport bike, sport touring, etc, etc.  Why not do it again.

[Dharma Bum]

What's this "clean slate bike" of which you speak?  We used to call them motorcycles.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Next big trend? Bankruptcys, mergers, takeovers, etc. as older riders quit riding and there's not enough "new blood" to keep sales up.

Charlie, I'm afraid you are right. It's the same with sport aviation.. there isn't much "new" blood. Lannis used to rail about the younger generation constantly looking at their phones. He was right. Their world is different than our world, and most..not all, thankfully.. aren't interested in machines.

[oldbike54]

 Yes , the world is changing , us old guys are probably the last generation that will lust after motorbikes . The thing to remember , this period of time was merely a blip in time , in fact , not even truly a blip , as 1000 years from now it won't mean squat to a tree . We had our time , now time is leaving us behind .

 Dusty

[charlie b]

The baby boomers were all about retro stuff.  Muscle cars to motorcycles to airplanes.  And they mostly had money to pull it off along with being a disproportionately large segment of the population.

As they age the next generation is smaller in number and what did they grow up on?  Computers.  Double whammy.

[bad Chad]

I like JBs idea for an electric side car, seems like a natural aplication of even current tech. john maybe you should take it to the Shark Tank guys?   Thats a show were rich guys may or may not envest in your company/idea in exchange for a part of the action.   

I can see it now, sharks, we think there are up to 1800 possible custoemers in the usa, we are confident we can sell 400 units!

But really, i do think its a cool idea.

[bad Chad]

There always be gearheads and your gearhead wannabes.  There may not be proportionally as many of them in the next generation or two but they'll be there, and his gearheads of done for decades they'll carry-on.

[brenwin]

Smaller, lighter, more fuel efficient motorcycles.
Future environmental standards will require it.

For example, Guzzi will replace the big heavy CARC bikes with a new line of V9 based models.

Mike

I agree but would like to add "faster" to the description as well . In our neck of the woods the guys who aren't riding Harley's are going for the smaller displacement lighter bikes that are usually naked , fast and easy to ride .
Yamaha , Triumph , Ducati and now Guzzi have many to choose from .
Lots of fun , dependable , and moderately priced .
I like it !

Cheers ,
Steve

[oldbike54]

There always be gearheads and your gearhead wannabes.  There may not be proportionally as many of them in the next generation or two but they'll be there, and his gearheads of done for decades they'll carry-on.

 There will come a time when the numbers drop so dramatically the sport will die . HD is already hoping their customer base all live to be 80 , things are changing , we don't have any input on this. Other activities of our age are also going the way of the Dodo , Nascar has witnessed a huge decline in attendance , f1 is becoming less and less Eurocentric , relying on emerging nations to keep it afloat, and mostly supported by the gov'ts of these emerging nations as a way to proclaim their existence . American football will drop in popularity because of recent events , as will boxing and other sports that risk head injury . Change is inevitable , embrace it .

 Dusty