Is Interest in Motorcycles Waning?

MikeL

MikeL

Well-known member
TheRobSJ said:
I have a feeling the upcoming Streetfighter (now named Bronx) is gonna go down that same road.
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This is my concern as well, same with the panamerica. It always feels like Harley gets really close to pulling off what many would consider the "right" move but then they don't give it enough time.
 
DataDan

DataDan

Mama says he's bona fide
With time on my hands :)mad), I thought I'd take a different look at motorcycle ownership--a breakdown by generation. There are some difficulties turning the age-group distribution into generations (explained below), but some basic facts do emerge.

The Baby Boom generation owned 64% of motorcycles in 1985 and has been the largest owner group almost every year since then. It was inevitable. We saw the arrival of the Honda Super Cub, we heard the Beach Boys sing "Litttle Honda" on our AM radios, we could rent dirt bikes at the neighborhood gas station and ride them just about anywhere, and our heads exploded when On Any Sunday premiered in 1971.

Generation X has been and continues to be a strong element of motorcycling. Comparing them to the Boomers when the two groups' midpoints were age 30 (Boomers 1985, Gen X 2003), the earlier group was way ahead. But by age 35 and through age 43 (latest data for Gen X), Gen X had more motorcycles than the Boomers did at the same age.

The much maligned Millennials promise to be a bigger part of the motorcycling community than Gen X. From age 18 to 27 (latest data for Millennials), more of them owned motorcycles than Gen Xers did at the same age.

As I said in an earlier post: Motorcycling is still strong. It may not be growing, and it may be spreading out in ways that don't agree with everyone's taste, but it is much more popular than it was 20 years ago.

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Generation definitions seem to be widely agreed upon. I got them from Wikipedia.

To map an age group to the generations it represents, I assumed even distribution across the age range--i.e., in the 30-39, 10% of owners are age 30. But the bottom (0-29) and top (50+) ranges become a problem. I assumed the youngest owners are age 18 and the oldest age 69, and again assumed even distributions. Birth year = calendar year - age, so some individuals are misplaced to an older or younger generation, but I expect it evens out.

Comparing one generation at age 30 to another generation at age 30 opens up another source of error, different social and economic conditions.

In addition, the age comparisons match the midpoints of the generations--birth year 1955 for Boomers, 1973 for Gen X, 1989 for Gen Y--so it's average age and ranges plus or minus 8 or 9 years.

Oh well. Take it or leave it.
 

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Sportbiker

Sportbiker

Slow
Dan, thanks for the post.

however, if we normalize the data by US population, is the trend of motorcycle ownership / 1000 people decreasing, staying flat or increasing? I really hope it is increasing or very least staying flat.

yes, we would have to somehow remove the <18 population (doubtful that significant population buy motorcycles in that age group)
 
DataDan

DataDan

Mama says he's bona fide
Sportbiker said:
however, if we normalize the data by US population, is the trend of motorcycle ownership / 1000 people decreasing, staying flat or increasing? I really hope it is increasing or very least staying flat.
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Stronger than ever:

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DataDan

DataDan

Mama says he's bona fide
Bumpits said:
Data Dan, where are you pulling these numbers from? Any chance I can take a look?
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Sources are Federal Highway Administration registration counts, and owner age distribution from several places: a Motorcycle Industry Council Statistical Annual, a Revzilla article, and another (now dead) website.

It's all collected in an Excel file that is somewhat of a kludge, but probably understandable if you know Excel. If you'd like a copy I'd be glad to send it to you along with some notes. PM me with email address.
 
GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Whammy

Whammy

Veteran of Road Racing
budman said:
The average age of a motorcyclist has been going up for years. FACT

Younger people are not getting into it like my generation did. FACT

Suppositions:
1. Younger people are more risk averse than my generation.

2. Parents are more tuned in to being a responsible parent and thinking things through and if they did not ride more likely to not support their child in riding.

3. Parents from other countries where scooters and small moto's are a way of life are less so. (Dealer told me most teens he had buying moto's with parental support were Indian, Vietnamese etc.

4. Marketing from the Moto manufacturers are not really geared towards young adults. Some, but not like the old days. Since the moto industry hit the skids in '08 it has not been able to regain its glory.

5. Most bikes just are not affordable to younger folks who consider them a luxury item.

:2cents
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Number 3 the first part is highly debatable.
Responsible? I see it the opposite.
Kids arent taught respect, values and understanding.
Too many kids these days and im talking about the younger ones throw temper tantrums anywhere they want and parents try and reason with them.
When i stepped outta line. It was right there on the spot i was dealt with.
When you allow that child to step outta line it starts the avalanche of all what is wrong with kids today.
Then they complain how their kids never leave home and play video games all day. just Whammy's :2cents on that part alone.
The rest I think your :2cents are on point.
 
D

davidji

bike curious
Map8 said:
The CEO of Royal Enfield speculated that motorcycle sales would rise due to people wanting to avoid public transportation or tax/rideshare during the pandemic
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Outside the US I think that's true. The way riding is done in most of the US, little advantage to riding. HOV lane use, but not much more. Parking if you're lucky.
 
Lucytriple

Lucytriple

Wrrrench
And then there's the women. I think we'll be saving things. The second year (2016) I had MotoJava I sold 21% of all sales to women. I'd like to find some more recent statistics to show the growth, but in 2018, the estimated number of female-owned motorcycles was 19% percent. You know how we love to do things in groups. Well, and alone. We really need that alone time.

From Women Riders Now in 2018. . .
"Nearly 1 in 5 motorcycle owners is female.
The numbers of younger women getting into motorcycling is growing with 22 percent of Gen X motorcycle owners being women, and 26 percent of Gen Y motorcycle owners women.
Women motorcycle owners spend, on average, more money on motorcycle accessories, modifications and repairs than men."
 
budman

budman

General Menace
Staff member
Lucytriple said:
And then there's the women. I think we'll be saving things. The second year (2016) I had MotoJava I sold 21% of all sales to women. I'd like to find some more recent statistics to show the growth, but in 2018, the estimated number of female-owned motorcycles was 19% percent. You know how we love to do things in groups. Well, and alone. We really need that alone time.

From Women Riders Now in 2018. . .
"Nearly 1 in 5 motorcycle owners is female.
The numbers of younger women getting into motorcycling is growing with 22 percent of Gen X motorcycle owners being women, and 26 percent of Gen Y motorcycle owners women.
Women motorcycle owners spend, on average, more money on motorcycle accessories, modifications and repairs than men."
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Hell yes there is :thumbup
 
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