Motorcycling is slowly dying
Discussion
I disagree with this
They are very much active and about but a lot go to social, doing a lot more urban city type riding and the rides etc are planned different to how I did it 20 years ago and certainly how you would've done it in your times
I could post a picture every week and weekend showing big groups of riders in their late teens and 20s
R7s, MT7s, CBR650s, RS660s and even these T-max 560s becoming quite a thing
You are just detached from that generation, where they go and what they do and it's not to be harsh its just what happens
Below was Tuesday. Grid locked bike meet that went onto seafront and another pub. Thursday just seafront with 20+ bikes
These riders - some in joggers and all wanting to valve bounce and make a lot of noise are about
They are very much active and about but a lot go to social, doing a lot more urban city type riding and the rides etc are planned different to how I did it 20 years ago and certainly how you would've done it in your times
I could post a picture every week and weekend showing big groups of riders in their late teens and 20s
R7s, MT7s, CBR650s, RS660s and even these T-max 560s becoming quite a thing
You are just detached from that generation, where they go and what they do and it's not to be harsh its just what happens
Below was Tuesday. Grid locked bike meet that went onto seafront and another pub. Thursday just seafront with 20+ bikes
These riders - some in joggers and all wanting to valve bounce and make a lot of noise are about
croyde said:
As to running a bike, most cars these days have better mpg than a lot of bikes, and petrol ain't cheap.
Hmm I dunno on that. So this one here https://www.tiktok.com/@r7_lily?_t=8naGamvaPLt&... is probably my youngest biker mate. She's 21, her fella is 28 and I'm old at 42 in JulyShe has a fiesta ST and an R7. The ST mapped with all that rice crispy map does mid 20s mpg. It claims combined about 40 but never do you see that. I had to drive it once when a group of us went out and 5 up I was seeing mid 30s at motorway speeds
Her R7 will do 50-55mpg all day long. I'm sure there's examples of 18 year olds with black boxes in their 900cc 3 cylinder cars getting 60+mpg but then compare that to a 125 4 stroke? I know those things do 80-100mpg all day long
Timbo_S2 said:
MX tracks are full of the youth. As are Kart tracks on bike nights. I think recreational road riding is less popular with those under 30, but I don;t think motorcycles for sport are in massive decline...
I reckon this is bang on. I Mx myself and I'm by a country mile the oldest rider that books expert at the tracks. When I sign in I see the names and ages with them being 99-05 DOB yearI think as said it's more the way rides are planned, group chats and meet points
Forums like this are dead for anyone born later than 1989. It's a rarity and I bet if a poll was done asking age bracket the average on here would be 45-55 maybe even a bit older
I see a few posts come up with a biker saying 'I'm 30 something' and looking at getting a... Etc etc
Birky_41 said:
croyde said:
As to running a bike, most cars these days have better mpg than a lot of bikes, and petrol ain't cheap.
Hmm I dunno on that. So this one here https://www.tiktok.com/@r7_lily?_t=8naGamvaPLt&... is probably my youngest biker mate. She's 21, her fella is 28 and I'm old at 42 in JulyShe has a fiesta ST and an R7. The ST mapped with all that rice crispy map does mid 20s mpg. It claims combined about 40 but never do you see that. I had to drive it once when a group of us went out and 5 up I was seeing mid 30s at motorway speeds
Her R7 will do 50-55mpg all day long. I'm sure there's examples of 18 year olds with black boxes in their 900cc 3 cylinder cars getting 60+mpg but then compare that to a 125 4 stroke? I know those things do 80-100mpg all day long
Personally I've never had a bike get much better than 45-50mpg, but my diesel golf could be that easily.
PT1984 said:
I think younger people are passing their tests but they just don’t want to go to the meets. I’m 40 and passed last year, and I couldn’t think of anything worse. I live close to Matlock. It’s avoided like the plague. I’m a Chatsworth farm shop kind of guy. I ride to have time to myself. And maybe it’s just around here, but there are a disproportionate number of bikers who ride like dicks on the Sunday Matlock run.
You're not young though are you.AceRockatansky said:
Got a DT50 to start work as an apprentice when I was 16. Was like whacky races coming out of there on an evening. Rode all through winter and bought an RD125 when I was 17.
College, army, student, job overseas, back to UK, married, family. Passed my test at 41, life just got in the way up to then.
You really need to have a house and garage, so takes a while to build that up. Leaving home at 20 and buying a motorcycle just isn't feasible for most.
One of the reasons it's difficult for younger people now is that thee are not so many affordable used middleweght bikes.College, army, student, job overseas, back to UK, married, family. Passed my test at 41, life just got in the way up to then.
You really need to have a house and garage, so takes a while to build that up. Leaving home at 20 and buying a motorcycle just isn't feasible for most.
That's at least partly because the new bike market has been dominated by old blokes who can afford to run big bikes for quite a long time now.
I think as a society, we simply have less dosh than we used to?
Your working blokeused to be able to do a bit of overtime and justify owning a bike or doing some other hobby?
There's also the loss of DIY spannering culture.
I've owned 800+ cc bikes for the last 35 years and done all my own maintenance. Before that I did pay to have Triumphs and BSAs rebored and the like.
But the big thing is perhaps that properly quick cars are relatively common and cheap now?
Back in my yoof, a moderate bike would be way quicker than 99% of cars.
Now you can get a car that's pretty quick cheaper than a lot of bikes, bikes don't have the performance advantage they did unless you're putting your licence on the line.
Then there's the 'culture'. Back in the 70s, bikers were associated with decent music, a good time, young attractive people.
Now it's fat old men with loud exhausts meeting on Sunday to eat bacon rolls. I still socialise with lots of people who own and ride bikes, but mostly I know them through sailing or work.
OutInTheShed said:
Back in the 70s, bikers were associated with decent music, a good time, young attractive people.
Now it's fat old men with loud exhausts meeting on Sunday to eat bacon rolls.
Those young attractive 70's bikers just got older and ate too many bacon rolls along the way.Now it's fat old men with loud exhausts meeting on Sunday to eat bacon rolls.
PT1984 said:
Biker's Nemesis said:
You're not young though are you.
I’m looking at a CRF300 this weekend to get even further away from the bearded bikers, and people. On the other end of the scale, what was the youth attendance to the Bike Shed show?
I Have no idea what the Bike Shed Show is.
Bikes are not really more expensive. I just put a deposit on a CBR600 and using an inflation calculator it is pretty much what I paid for my first bike in 1997 (a Zx6R).
Middle weights like the R7 are cheaper and more capable than what I could have bought.
Insurance seems an issue though. I’ve been quoted £900 for the first year (I don’t have any no claims as not been in the UK recently). That seems a lot for someone who has been riding since 1997 and not had an accident since 1999. Plus the bike will be garaged.
I do wonder whether I will keep riding though as state of the roads in the U.K., dash cam warriors, too much traffic (in the South East), s
t weather and enforcement might make me stop.
Middle weights like the R7 are cheaper and more capable than what I could have bought.
Insurance seems an issue though. I’ve been quoted £900 for the first year (I don’t have any no claims as not been in the UK recently). That seems a lot for someone who has been riding since 1997 and not had an accident since 1999. Plus the bike will be garaged.
I do wonder whether I will keep riding though as state of the roads in the U.K., dash cam warriors, too much traffic (in the South East), s
t weather and enforcement might make me stop. Birky_41 said:
croyde said:
As to running a bike, most cars these days have better mpg than a lot of bikes, and petrol ain't cheap.
Hmm I dunno on that. So this one here https://www.tiktok.com/@r7_lily?_t=8naGamvaPLt&... is probably my youngest biker mate. She's 21, her fella is 28 and I'm old at 42 in JulyShe has a fiesta ST and an R7. The ST mapped with all that rice crispy map does mid 20s mpg. It claims combined about 40 but never do you see that. I had to drive it once when a group of us went out and 5 up I was seeing mid 30s at motorway speeds
Her R7 will do 50-55mpg all day long. I'm sure there's examples of 18 year olds with black boxes in their 900cc 3 cylinder cars getting 60+mpg but then compare that to a 125 4 stroke? I know those things do 80-100mpg all day long
as my old Street Triple would rarely get up to 30mpg and my current Speed Twin is supposed to get 70mpg but I'm only getting 50mpg 
My car, an Abarth 695 is only getting 25mpg so that debunks my own theory
Edited by croyde on Saturday 29th June 10:35
Did my DAS 3 years ago at 36. It was more down to having the time and disposable income. It’s not cheap for the lessons, test, bike, right gear etc and particularly if it’s more a hobby than a necessity.
I was raised around bikes, Dad was and is a keen biker and I had a moped at 16 then briefly a 125 before passing my car test at 17 and driving since.
My bike is now my toy and my “head space cleaner” but I’m old though now that the cost isn’t really a factor anymore, in my 20s when I was still renting and not in the same financial position, the cost would be too high for a toy.
I was raised around bikes, Dad was and is a keen biker and I had a moped at 16 then briefly a 125 before passing my car test at 17 and driving since.
My bike is now my toy and my “head space cleaner” but I’m old though now that the cost isn’t really a factor anymore, in my 20s when I was still renting and not in the same financial position, the cost would be too high for a toy.
If you adjust the cost of bikes for inflation that mainstream bikes are a similar price to what they were in the early 90s, its just we have many more high end niche models available for well off bikers.
Life in general is more expensive though. When I was buying my first house, I didnt have broadband, TV subs, mobile phone, tablets, laptops, smart watches , £3 cups of coffee etc competing for my money. £250 a week went much further back then. Its hard to get a good start in life if your first few years wages are taken up buying into unnecessary subscriptions for everything .
Life in general is more expensive though. When I was buying my first house, I didnt have broadband, TV subs, mobile phone, tablets, laptops, smart watches , £3 cups of coffee etc competing for my money. £250 a week went much further back then. Its hard to get a good start in life if your first few years wages are taken up buying into unnecessary subscriptions for everything .
Seems a lot of faff passing a test these days,
Back in 1969 at 16 you could jump on a 90mph 250 with L plates, take your test, which comprised of an examiner with clipboard watching you ride round the block, do a few hand signals and an emergency stop and bingo.
Then (at 16) jump on a 110mph Triumph Bonneville with your mate on the back, you didn't even have to wear a helmet until 1973, and there was a right uproar when that law came in,
Obviously motorcycling can be very dangerous, and safety should be paramount, but it does seem as though the government is trying to make it as difficult as possible to encourage new riders,
Back in 1969 at 16 you could jump on a 90mph 250 with L plates, take your test, which comprised of an examiner with clipboard watching you ride round the block, do a few hand signals and an emergency stop and bingo.
Then (at 16) jump on a 110mph Triumph Bonneville with your mate on the back, you didn't even have to wear a helmet until 1973, and there was a right uproar when that law came in,
Obviously motorcycling can be very dangerous, and safety should be paramount, but it does seem as though the government is trying to make it as difficult as possible to encourage new riders,
CoreyDog said:
Did my DAS 3 years ago at 36. It was more down to having the time and disposable income. It’s not cheap for the lessons, test, bike, right gear etc and particularly if it’s more a hobby than a necessity.
I was raised around bikes, Dad was and is a keen biker and I had a moped at 16 then briefly a 125 before passing my car test at 17 and driving since.
My bike is now my toy and my “head space cleaner” but I’m old though now that the cost isn’t really a factor anymore, in my 20s when I was still renting and not in the same financial position, the cost would be too high for a toy.
But compared to having a second, fun car for the weekend bikes are massively cheaper for the performance and fun. Isn’t a new MX5 inching closer to £40k (certainly the new GR Yaris is £45k)? Half that buys you a bike that is many times quicker, many times more fun, can overtake almost anytime and anywhere (no point having the best car in the world if you stuck behind a convoy of Sunday drivers) and can often fit into a garage with your car. But you don’t need a superbike. Even a middle weight at £8k is much more fun.I was raised around bikes, Dad was and is a keen biker and I had a moped at 16 then briefly a 125 before passing my car test at 17 and driving since.
My bike is now my toy and my “head space cleaner” but I’m old though now that the cost isn’t really a factor anymore, in my 20s when I was still renting and not in the same financial position, the cost would be too high for a toy.
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