The motorcycle industry is dying

[LongRanger_imp]

I noticed this story on Bloomberg yesterday

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...e-industry

[TCinNC_imp]

I noticed this story on Bloomberg yesterday

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...e-industry

Doesn't sound like it's dying, just changing, like most everything does.

[Henrik_imp]

Not sure the motorcycle industry is dying. It is more like it is changing, which is natural. Also, the article is obviously focusing purely on the US market, which is certainly not an indication as to the industry in the rest of the world.

I personally think it is a very good thing that the market is changing more to basic, smaller and cheaper bikes. It just doesn't make sense to ride around with a bike putting out 200 hp.

Most riders will no doubt have much more fun on a smaller and simpler bike as they can actually use it properly instead of riding around on the edge being scared.

[Nortoon_imp]

It's not just new riders that are being lured into the Dark Side with the new smaller motorcycles being offered. When I decided to return to motorcycling after a 25 year hiatus, I bought a CB500XA for my 68th birthday. The reasons for the choice were price and the comfortable upright riding position. As I had no idea how much I would ride, I did not want to invest in a large and expensive motorcycle.

I was pleased with the light weight of the machine and its nimble handling. I was surprized with the power of the twin 500cc engine. Certainly much quicker than the 500cc twins available during my first 23 years of riding.

As a member of the CB500X Forum, I was surprized at the number of mature motorcyclists that chose this machine to return to motorcycling after a many years away from the sport. So it not just the newbies buying these machines.

[Aka Tsubasa_imp]

Not sure the motorcycle industry is dying. It is more like it is changing, which is natural. Also, the article is obviously focusing purely on the US market, which is certainly not an indication as to the industry in the rest of the world.

I personally think it is a very good thing that the market is changing more to basic, smaller and cheaper bikes. It just doesn't make sense to ride around with a bike putting out 200 hp.

Most riders will no doubt have much more fun on a smaller and simpler bike as they can actually use it properly instead of riding around on the edge being scared.

This!

[Cormanus]

Henrik said it well. Many people will buy motorcycles as commuters. Smaller, lighter, more nimble machines are far more use than big, heavy, over-powered brutes when all that will happen to them is to be ridden in an urban environment.

[flynrider]

I agree that the industry is changing, rather than dying. For years (decades?) I thought the lack of smaller displacement bikes for beginners was shortisighted. While some people are willing to tackle a big, powerful bike when starting out, most are not.

When I started riding you could get a street bike in virtually any size you wanted. We beginners usually went for something in the 350-500cc range. Light enough to handle, but with enough power to take to the highway. A few decades later, there wasn't much for the small bike rider other than a few (mostly underpowered) 250s. I'm glad to see manufacturers are starting to pay attention to the small bike segment of the market. Not only for new riders, but also for those who just want a smaller, lighter bike for local riding.

[paulw_imp]

I agree that the industry is changing, rather than dying. For years (decades?) I thought the lack of smaller displacement bikes for beginners was shortisighted. While some people are willing to tackle a big, powerful bike when starting out, most are not.

When I started riding you could get a street bike in virtually any size you wanted. We beginners usually went for something in the 350-500cc range. Light enough to handle, but with enough power to take to the highway. A few decades later, there wasn't much for the small bike rider other than a few (mostly underpowered) 250s. I'm glad to see manufacturers are starting to pay attention to the small bike segment of the market. Not only for new riders, but also for those who just want a smaller, lighter bike for local riding.

I agree completely. When I started riding in the mid-seventies there was any number of small bikes in the 175-350cc range. At some point, as we became more experienced we graduated to 500s and 750s. Until recently the small bike offerings disappeared and the industry got into a displacement and horse power escalation. A 750 which was once the epitomy of a big bike is now deemed to be a mid displacement offering. I see people decry the hp that the CB1100 has but seriously when would you ever need any more? Remember in the seventies 50-60hp was considered huge. What I see now is an industry that has realized it abandoned the entry level rider that they need to, in the long run, maintain and bolster sales of larger bikes.

[Guth_imp]

I'm also in agreement that the motorcycle industry is changing here in this country. That's just the tip of the iceberg — I'd say the priorities of the younger generations is (and has been) changing in dramatic ways that is finally being realized by the motorcycle industry (amongst many others).

In my mind there are a couple of key factors involved. Namely, the impact made by the internet and personal communication devices. But also the steady migration of the population from rural to urban environments over the decades

I've long marveled over the declining significance of obtaining a drivers license amongst young people today. They aren't nearly as concerned about driving cars, let alone riding motorcycles, as I was 50 years ago. Kids in the city can get around via public transportation options, or they can arrange for a ride from Uber, Lyft and who knows how many other options right from their smartphone. When I was a kid growing up in a small town, none of that was an option. Heck, I don't even think that we had a stoplight in town, let a lone a bus.

I spent much of my youth dreaming about motorcycles and cars. I did so in large part because they represented fun, freedom and an escape of sorts from that small town. Here I am now, living in a city, sick of traffic (be careful what you wish for, lol) and watching todays kids marching through their teens attached to their smartphones. Many of these kids are past the age of 16 and aren't really all that concerned about obtaining a car or a motorcycle. Many of them just don't feel the need. Their escape can be found "online", interacting with someone across the country can happen instantaneously. If they want to get across town there seems to be little need to hop on a bike or jump in a car of their own. If something is going to draw them in, be it with two wheels or four, it's probably going to have to represent an economical choice when it comes to fuel consumption.

Sure, a lot of this seems a bit strange to me, but life is different now and it continues to change at an increasingly rapid pace and is bound to change in ways that I can't even imagine in another 50 years. Who knows, maybe by then there will have been a "mobil renaissance" fueled by a new generation who has once again discovered the joy of open road — no doubt on vehicles powered by some alternative energy source.

The fact that we all are communicating with one another on an internet forum, let alone because we want to talk about motorcycles, sort of makes us relics by todays standards, lol.

[LongRanger_imp]

I don't have the facts to back it up, but in the '60's and '70's, I imagine a good chunk of kids learning to ride minibikes was located in Southern California (after all, it holds 6-7% of the U.S. population and was then the de-facto center of the motorcycling universe). There were lots of off-road places to ride and race (Indian Dunes, Saddleback, Carlsbad, Lake Elsinore, Trabuco Canyon, Chula Vista, etc.). Sadly, most of these places were paved over and developed in neighborhoods several decades ago. So while I agree the electronic conveniences of today's world probably redirect a youth's energy into passive activities, I'd also suggest the relative lack of convenient, legal places to ride off-road, at least in this part of the country, probably contributed to the waning of the sport we see today. Extinction due to the loss of habitat.