Author Topic: The reason for the decline in motorcycle sales (Read 10540 times)

Guzzistajohn · « **on:** February 25, 2018, 07:21:33 AM »

We've had several discussions on this subject here. Well here's the reason why:

BREAKING NEWS:

Major motorcycle manufacturers are closing plants due to declining sales.

Apparently the Baby-Boomers all have motorcycles, Generation X is only buying a few, and the next generation isn't buying any. A recent study found the reasons why Millennials don't ride motorcycles:
1. Pants won't pull up far enough for them to straddle the seat.
2. Can't get their phone to their ear with a helmet on.
3. Can't use 2 hands to eat while driving.
4. They don't get a trophy and a recognition plaque just for buying one.
5. Don't have enough muscle to hold the bike up when stopped.
6. Might have a bug hit them in the face and then they would need emergency care.
7. Motorcycles don't have air conditioning.
8. They can't afford one because they spent 12 years in college trying to get educated in gender studies .
9. They are allergic to fresh air.
10. Their pajamas get caught on the exhaust pipes.
11. They might get their hands dirty checking the oil.
12. The handle bars have buttons and levers and cannot be controlled by touch-screen.
13. You have to shift manually and use something called a clutch.
14. It's too hard to take selfies while riding.
15. They don't come with training wheels like their bicycles did.
16. Motorcycles don't have power steering or power brakes.
17. Their nose ring interferes with the face shield.
18. They would have to use leg muscle to back up.
19. When they stop, a light breeze might blow exhaust in their face.
20. They would need to upgrade before the in-transit expired.
21. It could rain on them and expose them to non-soft water.
22. It might scare their therapy dog, and then the dog would need therapy.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😎

Guzzi Gal · « **Reply #1 on:** February 25, 2018, 07:29:05 AM »

My husband and I were joking yesterday about how getting dressed is too much of a bother for some. I love my PJ's but wouldn't be caught dead wearing them in public.

Bonaventure · « **Reply #2 on:** February 25, 2018, 08:03:18 AM »

Excellent and mostly true !!!

Cut, paste, save to archive ... with permission of course ...

kingoffleece · « **Reply #3 on:** February 25, 2018, 08:34:42 AM »

I know so many kids who resemble that remark!
Geez. My daughter wants nothing to do with anything powered except the car, but she's in collage working on being a Dr. She has no time.
My youngest plays soccer 12 1/2 months a year all over the northeast and has never even expressed any interest in power toys. My wife, on the other hand, lives for the smell of two stroke. A KEEPER!

Darren Williams · « **Reply #4 on:** February 25, 2018, 08:52:09 AM »

My oldest is an avid enthusiast but the youngest is more preoccupied with working full time and going to school. Rally has put all his hobbies aside and looks to graduate in May. He still likes to ride my bikes occasionally but most of mine don't interest him since none are supersports.

There sure seems to be a bunch of 20 somethings riding around OKC. They regularly show up in the dozens at Cyclegear bike nights, mostly on sport bikes and street fighters. Also Lake Draper has an off road trail area that is pretty crowded most weekends with a lot of younger guys on dirt bikes. It's too crowded for my slow ass riding holding them all up. Some of those kids have some serious money tied up in their bikes. The older guys are mostly riding the cruises and side by sides and on a warm sunny weekend there are a bunch of bikes out on the road.

Could it be the bike market is just pretty saturated from the last couple of bubbles and those older bikes need to go away before a new bike push comes along?

Gliderjohn · « **Reply #5 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:02:21 AM »

The last somewhat larger high school I worked (about 800 students) at would have a couple of 600cc class sport bikes, KLR or two, some 250 class dirt bikes and one student riding what I would guess to be a 90s vintage Sporty along with about a half a dozen scooters. . Whenever I could ride the Norge to work I almost always got one or more positive comments on the Norge from students. Money is tighter and days of cheap bikes and parts are pretty much past. Don't have to drag main anymore to socialize.
GliderJohn

Darren Williams · « **Reply #6 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:14:17 AM »

John, now that you mention it, I can see where the CG bike nights might be those kids version of dragging main street. Which incidentally has become a highly discouraged activity in my town in the last couple of decades.

Wonder if that has much to do with the lack of gearhead kids?

Guzzistajohn · « **Reply #7 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:18:01 AM »

Quote from: Bonaventure on February 25, 2018, 08:03:18 AM

Excellent and mostly true !!!

Cut, paste, save to archive ... with permission of course ...

That's how I got it <shrug> go for it!

thepittsburghguzzi · « **Reply #8 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:19:54 AM »

From the perspective of what you folks lovingly refer to as a millennial, I can tell you the biggest reason is a lot simpler than that: we can’t afford new motorcycles. We ESPECIALLY can’t afford the big-displacement, overpriced (cough - Harley - cough) motorcycles that the generation before us popularized so well. Things are different now. We can’t afford to “work and pay our way through college” anymore. More and more of us are being forced to move back in with parents. As costs of living outpace wage increases and job prospects, luxuries like new motorcycles feel just as out of reach as home ownership (you know, another market that millenials are killing, in addition to jewelry stores and Applebee’s).
If you’d take the time to actually observe and chat with a few of us confoundin, dagnabbin millenials, you’ll see that we’re pretty huge fans of the vintage market, barn finds, and finding cheap bikes on Craigslist that we can afford to pick up. Scrape together a bit from our paychecks and make them our own. We love it. Here in Pittsburgh, I can name three cooperative shops in a 3 square mile area where a bunch of us rent a space, stock it with whatever tools we can afford, and wrench on our bikes. We buy old shop manuals off eBay, make tons of mistakes, create some really cool things, and absolutely love it. At 26, I’m fortunate enough to own three bikes so far. One of them I bought from my brother and pulled it out of a storage shed. The other two were bought used, one is a 2011 and the other a 2012. A truly new bike, the statistic with the storm cloud over it, is just out of reach for me (and almost every single one of my millenial riding buddies) for right now. We can’t afford new ones.

But trust me, we love motorcycles.

Lannis · « **Reply #9 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:22:34 AM »

Quote from: gliderjohn on February 25, 2018, 09:02:21 AM

Money is tighter and days of cheap bikes and parts are pretty much past. Don't have to drag main anymore to socialize.
GliderJohn

I don't think that money is relatively tighter in the area of buying bikes in high school than it was when I came along ... In 1971, I was making $1.60 an hour, working evenings as a part-time janitor at the high school, summers in town maintenance (garbage collection, sweeping streets, etc).

I saved and saved, and found a year-old CS-3 Yamaha 200cc electric start twin for $500. That represented 280 hours of work for me, but it put me on the road.

You had to be dedicated back then to get a bike to ride in high school, and you'd have to be just as dedicated now. A kid bagging groceries or boxing up chicken wings for $7.50 an hour for 280 hours would have $2000+ to spend on a bike, which would put them on SOMETHING they could ride ... but they'd have to give up a lot of other stuff.

There were only two motorcycles in my high school parking lot .... Not many more now at the same high school ...

Lannis

Lannis · « **Reply #10 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:29:37 AM »

Quote from: thepittsburghguzzi on February 25, 2018, 09:19:54 AM

From the perspective of what you folks lovingly refer to as a millennial, I can tell you the biggest reason is a lot simpler than that: we can�t afford new motorcycles. We ESPECIALLY can�t afford the big-displacement, overpriced (cough - Harley - cough) motorcycles that the generation before us popularized so well. Things are different now. We can�t afford to �work and pay our way through college� anymore. More and more of us are being forced to move back in with parents. As costs of living outpace wage increases and job prospects, luxuries like new motorcycles feel just as out of reach as home ownership (you know, another market that millenials are killing, in addition to jewelry stores and Applebee�s).
If you�d take the time to actually observe and chat with a few of us confoundin, dagnabbin millenials, you�ll see that we�re pretty huge fans of the vintage market, barn finds, and finding cheap bikes on Craigslist that we can afford to pick up. Scrape together a bit from our paychecks and make them our own. We love it. Here in Pittsburgh, I can name three cooperative shops in a 3 square mile area where a bunch of us rent a space, stock it with whatever tools we can afford, and wrench on our bikes. We buy old shop manuals off eBay, make tons of mistakes, create some really cool things, and absolutely love it. At 26, I�m fortunate enough to own three bikes so far. One of them I bought from my brother and pulled it out of a storage shed. The other two were bought used, one is a 2011 and the other a 2012. A truly new bike, the statistic with the storm cloud over it, is just out of reach for me (and almost every single one of my millenial riding buddies) for right now. We can�t afford new ones.

But trust me, we love motorcycles.

You gotta compare apples to apples. Twenty-somethings of the last generation, or the one before that, were NOT buying big bright Harleys with their huge paychecks; that was the older guys, already established, or guys who had NOT wasted $150,000 on a college degree that they had never used, but had apprenticed into a trade and had a reliable job and paycheck.

The rest of us got by on whatever sort of project bikes and whatever was going cheap that we could get our hands on. AND we were satisfied that 350cc bikes were normal, fast, touring, sporting motorcycles - a CB350 Honda or RD350 Yamaha would do anything we wanted to do. The marketeers had not yet convinced us that only someone (excuse us a moment, ladies) whose testicles had not yet dropped would buy anything under 1000cc to putt around on.

From the age of 18 to 28, I rode any clattering thing I could get my hands on, and had a great time.

For the true enthusiast like yourself (and my limited observation says that you are NOT typical!), it's going to happen. For people who just don't care .. well, they never cared ... !

Lannis

Motormike · « **Reply #11 on:** February 25, 2018, 09:56:03 AM »

A few days ago I was riding home when I spotted a rider and passenger broke down in the median on a very busy road. I doubled back to find a young kid (maybe 19) and his girlfriend next to a very ratty and very broken Kawasaki Ninja 300. The poor bike had seen better days. The left side was rough, turn signal dangling from the wire, clutch lever bend almost back on itself. The bike would (seemingly) click into gear, but revved freely with no movement when you let the clutch out. Something let go in the tranny or clutch. Anyway, I told him it wasn't a roadside fix and helped him push it to a safer location around the corner. I offered to get my truck, but his girlfriend said they would just call her mom for a ride. I feel safe in saying he was riding it because it was all he could afford. A lot more things competing for one's dollar these days...cell phones, computers, cable TV, Netflix, etc. Yesterdays luxury is todays necessity. I feel bad that I didn't do more to help this kid out. His bike may cost more to repair than it's worth. I'd hate for someone to give up riding because of some bad luck. I've been fortunate to be able to ride for over 45 years. We need to put some effort into sharing that passion with younger people. Give back, as it were.

Darren Williams · « **Reply #12 on:** February 25, 2018, 10:03:45 AM »

Pittsburg, I know exactly where you are coming from. The old guys, manufacturers and bike shop owners now think riders have to be buying new bikes, but back when I was in my 20's, I was also riding cheap used bikes and having to work on them regularly. The bike night kids on sport bikes usually have plenty of zip ties holding the fairing together and we all know where the street fighters came from.

And the kids out at the stunting areas (late at night behind big closed warehouses) are riding anything that runs. Just like my friends and I did back in the day. Except the old trashed bike they are riding now are night and day better performance wise than what we had back then.

And I also think these young guys are better, more skilled riders than we were (except in our clouded memories and dreams). I do have a bit different perspective since I have two 20 something sons who rode and had riding friends.

As a side note, I have a real tire changing machine in the garage. When I change tires that are slightly past the wear bars I save them. My son and his friends come over and put those "worn out" tires on their stunt bike rims, replacing tires with cords showing. They are happy to get them. I enjoy the kids coming over and hanging out doing MC stuff.

Tusayan · « **Reply #13 on:** February 25, 2018, 10:21:22 AM »

There are a lot of really nice used bikes out there, so many that I'm not interested in anything new, regardless of wherewithal. Used is better in today's market, especially if you like to fiddle with them for a little while after you buy them, and get them all dialed in.

How about a pristine Ducati ST2 that rides like new for $2900? That one actually doesn't need anything, I did it all a long time ago. Let me know if something like that is of interest

The similarly clean Suzuki SV650 that I bought and made my own for $1300 total investment is not for sale... because right now I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Meanwhile, my ST4 is in the workshop but will pop out in a little while, looking and running like new. All them combined are not worth the price of one new bike. It's a great time be a motorcyclist, young or older.

So as a much older than millennial motorcyclist with a taste for bikes with character, I'd agree that used is the way to go for anybody, including those on a budget, but argue against the necessity to ride anything that looks rough. For not too much money you can ride a nice bike that goes fast, looks great, and runs as new.

Darren Williams · « **Reply #14 on:** February 25, 2018, 10:31:17 AM »

Oh, and do any of you guys know what full coverage insurance costs a 22 year old (if the bike is financed it is required)? Major hurdle for a young guy to buy a new bike.

Tusayan · « **Reply #15 on:** February 25, 2018, 10:33:14 AM »

Try National General, liability only, on a bike that you bought with saved cash. If it is 10 times what I'm paying as an older guy, it will be about $350/year per bike.

Lannis · « **Reply #16 on:** February 25, 2018, 10:42:42 AM »

Quote from: Darren Williams on February 25, 2018, 10:31:17 AM

Oh, and do any of you guys know what full coverage insurance costs a 22 year old (if the bike is financed it is required)? Major hurdle for a young guy to buy a new bike.

I still remember what happened when I was 30 years old, with a fresh new paycheck including overtime, and committed to an $8400 ElectraGlide, on a "3 months same as cash", with the plan of paying in full in 90 days.

I went to my usual insurance company that had insured the old Triumph I was riding (for $125 a year) and found that they would NOT insure me on that bike!

I went to my old fallback, the company that had insured my very first bike (Dairyland), and they wanted over $1200 a year (in 1984) to insure it.

By now it's Oh No This Isn't Going To Happen, and I stepped with no hope into an Allstate office. $250 a year full coverage, sign here; I could do that! Big sigh of relieve, never expected them to be the cheap option.

So, as always, with insurance you NEVER know, it's like "Face the Wheel", it could be Death, Loss of Goods, Gulag, or Auntie's Choice ... and for the same reasons, I suspect.

Lannis

Kev m · « **Reply #17 on:** February 25, 2018, 11:05:31 AM »

Quote from: Lannis on February 25, 2018, 09:29:37 AM

You gotta compare apples to apples. Twenty-somethings of the last generation, or the one before that, were NOT buying big bright Harleys with their huge paychecks; that was the older guys, already established, or guys who had NOT wasted $150,000 on a college degree that they had never used, but had apprenticed into a trade and had a reliable job and paycheck.

I was 26, and still very early in my career when I bought my first new any motor vehicle. It was a Harley (XL1200 Sportster). I took out a loan and couldn't afford to keep my used car too. I hadn't bought a house yet either.

I was 28, and still struggling when I bought a new Road King.

The thing about generalizations is that they are always wrong, even if they're right.

Lannis · « **Reply #18 on:** February 25, 2018, 11:16:37 AM »

Quote from: Kev m on February 25, 2018, 11:05:31 AM

I was 26, and still very early in my career when I bought my first new any motor vehicle. It was a Harley (XL1200 Sportster). I took out a loan and couldn't afford to keep my used car too. I hadn't bought a house yet either.

I was 28, and still struggling when I bought a new Road King.

The thing about generalizations is that they are always wrong, even if they're right.

Generalizations are useful, though; we use them all the time to live our lives and make our decisions. We don't say "Well USUALLY if you try to start a fire with gasoline it'll burn you, but I don't know for a fact that that's ALWAYS true so I'll try it again."

If you were 26 years old today, you wouldn't be moving in with your parents, enslaved to your cell phone and social media, unable to support yourself, unable to get a job, etc, like pittsburghguzzi indicates is the norm for modern millenials. Neither would I. My sons are 31 and 32 and they haven't had any of those problems.

Come to think of it, we just now got done talking about this on two different threads ... it always seems to go the same way. People that are going to "make it" will make it; people that aren't will have whatever this generations' excuses are for why it's SO hard ....

Lannis

Guzzistajohn · « **Reply #19 on:** February 25, 2018, 11:18:36 AM »

Geeze guys, this was meant to be

hu·mor

/ˈ(h)yo͞omər/

noun

noun: humour; noun: humor; noun: cardinal humor; plural noun: cardinal humors

1.

the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech.
"his tales are full of humor"

synonyms: comedy, comical aspect, funny side, fun, amusement, funniness, hilarity, jocularity; More
absurdity, ludicrousness, drollness;

satire, irony, farce

"the humor of the film"

•the ability to express humor or make other people laugh.
"their inimitable brand of humor"

2.

a mood or state of mind.
"her good humor vanished"

synonyms: mood, temper, disposition, temperament, nature, state of mind, frame of mind; spirits
"his good humor was infectious"

I'm goin' riding!

Lannis · « **Reply #20 on:** February 25, 2018, 11:31:13 AM »

Quote from: Guzzistajohn on February 25, 2018, 11:18:36 AM

Geeze guys, this was meant to be

hu�mor

/

And it's still "humorous". Why would you think it's not?

Pajamas, selfies, Starbucks, nose rings ...

Saying "millenials" is like saying "Dolly Parton". You KNOW what the first thing that everyone's going to say is ....

Lannis

Arizona Wayne · « **Reply #21 on:** February 25, 2018, 12:35:11 PM »

I first started riding MCs back in 1962. Then you could get a new 250 2 smoke twin Yamaha for $500. I was making $2+/hr. working part time @ US post office as sub-clerk working swing shift 30/hrs./week going to Jr. college, sharing a 1 bedroom apt. with another young guy doing the same. He had an Austin Healey 100-6 and I had my 250 bike. We both made just enough to get by. We had no TV in furnished apt. but did have a record player.

After that I spent 2 years in the US Navy during Vietnam and then was able to use the GI bill to help pay for my other 2 years of College @ Cal State Fullerton. Back then `68 to `70 it only cost me like $200 a semester + books to finish school.

I know cost of education varies a lot depending what state you reside in and if it's a private or public college, but what the students have to pay nowadays is outrageous compared to what it used to be back in the 60s-70's.

bobrebos · « **Reply #22 on:** February 25, 2018, 12:37:51 PM »

Quote from: Motormike on February 25, 2018, 09:56:03 AM

A few days ago I was riding home when I spotted a rider and passenger broke down in the median on a very busy road. I doubled back to find a young kid (maybe 19) and his girlfriend next to a very ratty and very broken Kawasaki Ninja 300. The poor bike had seen better days. The left side was rough, turn signal dangling from the wire, clutch lever bend almost back on itself. The bike would (seemingly) click into gear, but revved freely with no movement when you let the clutch out. Something let go in the tranny or clutch. Anyway, I told him it wasn't a roadside fix and helped him push it to a safer location around the corner. I offered to get my truck, but his girlfriend said they would just call her mom for a ride. I feel safe in saying he was riding it because it was all he could afford. A lot more things competing for one's dollar these days...cell phones, computers, cable TV, Netflix, etc. Yesterdays luxury is todays necessity. I feel bad that I didn't do more to help this kid out. His bike may cost more to repair than it's worth. I'd hate for someone to give up riding because of some bad luck. I've been fortunate to be able to ride for over 45 years. We need to put some effort into sharing that passion with younger people. Give back, as it were.

I agree! I was thinking of giving my 1971 Honda CB 750 Chopper to some hard working 17 year old kid someday, but then the other part of my brain told me if they dont work for it and pay for it, they wont appreciate it. I guess, but you are right, giving back as it were is a great idea if one can do it.

oldbike54 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 25, 2018, 12:39:19 PM »

Reasons why old people don't ride motorcycles :

A. There bellies are so big that they don't fit anymore .
B. They are too busy sitting in the barcolaounger watching reality TV.
C Riding interferes with Tee Time
D They can't bend over far enough to put on riding boots .(see A.)
E. Gotta mow the yard
F. Can't get the bike out of the garage because of all the "valuable" stuff piled around it .
G. Lost the keys .
H. Can't find their fringed chaps .

Dusty