Motorcycling a dying hobby?
Discussion
It is pretty obvious to anyone that young people are not buying motorcycles in the number they were thirty/forty years ago.
Reasons are many and varied, probably cost of machines plus insurance, more traffic on the roads and government legislation making it fairly difficult to pass your test.
In my day, you could ride a bike up to 250cc as a learner at sixteen, pass a fairly basic simple test and away you went onto a 650 Bonneville or whatever.
Sales of Royal Enfield's are booming, but I reckon 90% of the customers are forty years or over, many wanting to re live their youth, (And nothing wrong with that)
The classic scene is also booming, with stuff fetching silly prices, but again it is the older generation that are usually interested.
A typical average new bike is around £6k and you can get a fairly decent used car for that, superbikes are £15k plus.
Sorry I'm painting a gloomy picture, but I just wonder where the sport will be in thirty years time, with no new blood coming onto the scene.
Thoughts?
Reasons are many and varied, probably cost of machines plus insurance, more traffic on the roads and government legislation making it fairly difficult to pass your test.
In my day, you could ride a bike up to 250cc as a learner at sixteen, pass a fairly basic simple test and away you went onto a 650 Bonneville or whatever.
Sales of Royal Enfield's are booming, but I reckon 90% of the customers are forty years or over, many wanting to re live their youth, (And nothing wrong with that)
The classic scene is also booming, with stuff fetching silly prices, but again it is the older generation that are usually interested.
A typical average new bike is around £6k and you can get a fairly decent used car for that, superbikes are £15k plus.
Sorry I'm painting a gloomy picture, but I just wonder where the sport will be in thirty years time, with no new blood coming onto the scene.
Thoughts?
I'd agree. Seems a lot more at least in Essex wanting leased German cars with snap crackle and pop bangs from their exhaust, super white teeth, trousers so tight you'd hear a fart squeak and an appearance thing over anything else
There seems to be fairly heavy car scene still although it's much more on private IG/Snapchat for underground meetings posted last minute
For the bikes I don't think as much though. Again could be wrong but my generation of owning road bikes from the latter 90s doesn't seem as big now 20+ years later
There seems to be fairly heavy car scene still although it's much more on private IG/Snapchat for underground meetings posted last minute
For the bikes I don't think as much though. Again could be wrong but my generation of owning road bikes from the latter 90s doesn't seem as big now 20+ years later
In Nov/Dec 2018 I went to an MCN bike show at the NEC with my daughter. It seemed to me that 40+ white males (sometimes with wife in tow) were predominant. Ironically the last time I had been at the NEC was to take my daughter to Crufts and then it had been mainly 40+ white women (with husbands in tow).
At the time it did make me wonder whether biking had a real future in the UK. Manufacturers are currently doing okay selling expensive bikes to older blokes who have a bit of money to spend on a weekend toy but once our generation is too old to ride I’m not sure if there are enough young people riding bikes to replace us.
At the time it did make me wonder whether biking had a real future in the UK. Manufacturers are currently doing okay selling expensive bikes to older blokes who have a bit of money to spend on a weekend toy but once our generation is too old to ride I’m not sure if there are enough young people riding bikes to replace us.
Skeptisk said:
At the time it did make me wonder whether biking had a real future in the UK. Manufacturers are currently doing okay selling expensive bikes to older blokes who have a bit of money to spend on a weekend toy but once our generation is too old to ride I’m not sure if there are enough young people riding bikes to replace us.
Roads are much busier, cameras everywhere, and no more two strokes so teenagers have to putt-putt around on sluggish four-strokes getting cut up by electric scooters. Bring back two strokes I say! If Kawasaki started producing the KMX200 again I'd be all over it... with fuel injection and 60BHP... mmmm
I had a discussion about this with my nextdoor neighbours quite recently. They have 2 teenagers who have both recently passed their car tests.
Neither are interested in bikes, much to the relief of their parents.
They don't fancy getting cold and wet and their girlfriends don't like bikes.
Apparently it's much the same in the building trade where the average age of people working on sites seems to be increasing every year.
Neither are interested in bikes, much to the relief of their parents.
They don't fancy getting cold and wet and their girlfriends don't like bikes.
Apparently it's much the same in the building trade where the average age of people working on sites seems to be increasing every year.
I tend to agree but my local dealer also runs a training school(as many larger dealers do) There's steady stream of FB post of new riders passing tests, often younger guys but a fair number of females too. What's rarer is the 16/17 year olds, but back in the 80s I was in a group of about 15 lads all bombing round on 50s at 16. By the time we'd all turned 18 only 2 of still rode bikes all the others moved to 4 wheels
I’m 41 and have had my bike licence 3 years. Several friends around my age have obtained their licence or started learning since I passed, couple of them being female. Also remember I convinced a 26yr old colleague in the US to get a bike, which I’m he did (vitpilen 701)
Lot of interest in general amongst my peers especially with a few of us now riding. Helps that the weather and roads are good mind
Lot of interest in general amongst my peers especially with a few of us now riding. Helps that the weather and roads are good mind
Edited by shirt on Tuesday 24th May 19:10
Most bikers do seem to be middle aged men, but I think it’s wrong to assume they all started young. I didn’t take my bike test until I was 38 (20 years ago), when I fancied a bike and had the disposal income to indulge.
Perhaps bikes will always appeal to middle aged men, and that’s always been the sweet spot for bike sales. I doubt many 20 year old’s can afford to buy and insure a £16k sports bike.
Perhaps bikes will always appeal to middle aged men, and that’s always been the sweet spot for bike sales. I doubt many 20 year old’s can afford to buy and insure a £16k sports bike.
See Vision Zero.
It wasn't possible to ban motorcycles, although they wanted to.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1579372/Ba...
The next best option of introducing a ludicrous licencing regime is having the desired effect.
It wasn't possible to ban motorcycles, although they wanted to.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1579372/Ba...
The next best option of introducing a ludicrous licencing regime is having the desired effect.
I’d say numbers are up in London.
TFL and the Mayor might be doing their best to make all surface transport a nightmare - but bikes in a much better place than 4 wheels.
Am seeing a lot more bikes in the work car park - I think that lockdown has shaken the routine and made people think more about how they want to get to work the days they do come in.
TFL and the Mayor might be doing their best to make all surface transport a nightmare - but bikes in a much better place than 4 wheels.
Am seeing a lot more bikes in the work car park - I think that lockdown has shaken the routine and made people think more about how they want to get to work the days they do come in.
I’m 32 and have ridden for five years. I’ve got a few mates in their 20s and 30s who ride.
I think these days a lot of it is down to money. People don’t want a bike as their only vehicle generally (I couldn’t because of my job) and having a second vehicle is a luxury easy to forego.
As others have said, by the time people are in their later 30s and 40s they generally are better paid and are beyond childcare costs etc so a bike becomes a reality.
I think these days a lot of it is down to money. People don’t want a bike as their only vehicle generally (I couldn’t because of my job) and having a second vehicle is a luxury easy to forego.
As others have said, by the time people are in their later 30s and 40s they generally are better paid and are beyond childcare costs etc so a bike becomes a reality.
Janluke said:
I tend to agree but my local dealer also runs a training school(as many larger dealers do) There's steady stream of FB post of new riders passing tests, often younger guys but a fair number of females too. What's rarer is the 16/17 year olds, but back in the 80s I was in a group of about 15 lads all bombing round on 50s at 16. By the time we'd all turned 18 only 2 of still rode bikes all the others moved to 4 wheels
They may have all suffered the same ultimatum from the girlfriends, "It's either me or the bike" 
sociopath said:
Tbh OP you could have posted exactly the same post 30 years ago. MCN and the mags were commenting on the imminent ending of biking even then.
I think part of what saved the industry then was that the ageing bikers had more money, Honda dealers sold fewer C90s but a few more Fireblades. As biking has become primarily a leisure activity, something you might do once you've bought your car and your rail season ticket if you have anything left over, there are obviously going to be fewer youngsters. It isn't so much a dying hobby, as it's become a hobby. Which hobbies aren't dominated by the over 40s? Only the cheap ones.Only a problem if most middle aged bikers come mainly from the ranks of the 'born agains', which doesn't seem to be the case.
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