Team Hammer replacing Yoshimura

money , its all about money, or the lack of it. age has no play in it .eather you can afford it or not. most can not. this includes joe amature, how many can afford 1000 a weeked to play. lots of bikes sitting.

 

Goes back to the same problem as riding dirt bikes. Where do they do it? Most neighborhoods are chopped up subdivisions with too many cars and no connectivity to other areas. Or you are in the city and traffic will turn little Suzy or Johnny into a grease spot. And kids are programmed to the hilt - soccer, basketball, etc.

 

Same here! Jumping shit, bmx, riding in the local trails/pit is what pushed me to motorcycles and then racing!

Both of my kids have good bicycles but never really use them. Sad, as for me and my friends, this was the only way to get around and do shit back in the late 70's early 80's.

 

Or maybe that is why he is racing

 

The shit below is a copy and paste from the top result in a Google search for "millennials age". (To be fair I have seen results that vary a touch from different sources.)
Here is the link: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article...-years-millennials-gen-x-and-post-millennials

Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old) - When I go to the track I see plenty of these dudes running around.
Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (22-37 years old) - At the track this group looks to be outnumbered by Gen X.
Post-Millennials: Born 1997-Present (0-21 years old) - Over 50% of the people in this group are too young to ride on the track. More importantly all of the people in this generation are either in the process of finding the things in life they connect with or on the path to doing so.

Post Millennial or Gen Z if that works better is filled with potential and hope. Many riders start on the dirt when they are young which can lead to street or track/racing later in life. As I understand it the smaller displacement off road bikes are a segment that is performing well now. (Please note I do not have much personal experience with the moto side. This is information I have acquired from multiple conversations with others in the industry that are involved in that segment.)

The ship has sailed on many of the Millennials. IMO when someone makes it into their 30's without riding a motorcycle or really having been exposed to them the odds they ever will ride one are slim.

Motorcycling is an experience filled with excitement, emotion and risk. Young people tend to associate happiness with exciting shit (God willing motorcycle riding!). Older people connect happiness with peacefulness. The things you connect with mid/late adolescence to early adulthood have strong influence on the dynamics of happiness to purchasing behavior. For these reasons the long term solution to the challenges of the motorcycle industry is to get the Post Millennials (I prefer this term to Gen Z) to form a positive connection with motorcycles. The best way to do this is to get their asses on seats and hands on throttles. That said someone can still connect with something without actually doing it themselves. In time this connection can grow into participation.

 

Sadly, there is way more money to be made being good at video game over being a good racer.


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You know my priorities all too well.

 

I don't think interest in bikes has anything to do with generations. I think economy crash simply wiped them out. It also made racing much more expensive after it and will leave mark on next generations.

 

I’m 33 years old and maybe it’s just my circle but most I know are living paycheck to paycheck. Most of my friends and family enjoy my pics of my racing/riding and motogp trips to Europe. They definitely think bikes are cool but why would they have any interest in Moto racing when they can’t even afford a bike let alone a place with a garage to keep them, truck, trailer, leathers, spare parts, etc. Now ball and stick sports are some thing they played in their teenage years, still play recreationally, or have children that play. Why worship Rossi or Marquez when just getting to the local track is a journey where as the field or court is a 5 minute drive away where you can shoot like Lebron, swing like Trout, etc... just my 2 cents that people are more inclined to take interest in any activity that’s within reach.

 

I disagree as a 29 year old. Problem with current times imo is motorcycles aren’t as “cool” as they used to be, socially not as accepted with the environment idiots and as a whole are very expensive compared to what they used to be.

10-15k for a dirt bike
18-20K for a stock 1000
18-25 for an adventure bike.
40k for a Harley.

Hard to afford one of those when you have 600-1000 dollars a months for school loans. Not starting a debate with education but you old timers don’t understand you need a degree for most jobs now a days.

 

32yo here. Bikes are very cool - go to Brother Moto (Atlanta), Deus Ex Machina , etc. Those places are pouring with millennials, and in the case of BM, owned by millennials. The thing is, they’re not into racing other than some lo buck, folky vintage stuff. Bike guys for sure. Most of that crowd is playing with old bikes from the 70s and 80s (because they’re cheap). The clubs should reach out to these places and make their presence known in those circles. MotoAmerica needs to reach out and try to engage and have exposure within those circles to engage the enthusiasts. Screw the layman at this point, most of the Moto world has no idea things like MotoAmerica, WERA, etc. exist and they’re already half way there by already being into bikes.

 

That actually Worked in the 90's ....

 

Tatum is 39 and Reeves is 55, hardly kids.

 

False. Keanu is eternal.

 

I agree. I've known a few people who have seen "those guys on TV who drag their knees on the ground" and were just kinda "meh" about it until I took them to the track (Back when Nashville was still on the calendar, it was only a 30-40 drive for me so I would try to get as many people as possible to come out to the WERA races). Once they actually got to see some of the trick machines in person, fear vibrations in their chest when bikes came screaming by, and watch guys leaning on each mid corner and full tilt, they became a good bit more interested. Now out of the 20 or so people I brought out there, I can only think of 2 who ever thought it was cool enough to maintain an interest in the sport. But that's two more than we had previously. And none of them were bike people (all my "bike people" friends are already racers anyways).

I do think it would help it the OEMs also invested more in marketing. Some of the height of motorcycling culture in the US was due to the OEMs building that culture. "You meet the nicest people on a Honda." Bring that shit back. One Super Bowl commercial. Sure the cost is expensive to people like us. But the OEMs have the cash to invest in that. Spend that $20 million to come up with the perfect commercial and air it during the Super Bowl. Your reach is massive. Sure you won't see an ROI overnight. Shit takes time. But get it started. Get people thinking bikes are cool again. I remember just 15 years ago, as a teenager, people thought motorcycles were so badass, especially sport bikes. Now they're just a "neat" subculture. Time to get back to badass.

I'll also agree about racers being elitists... mostly. I think away from the track we have that tendency, me included. But once you're at the track, I've actually always felt like racers are usually pretty helpful. We're pretty welcoming to the new guys as long as they aren't complete tards. But I have had the tendency in the past, when a guy is bragging about his interstate stand up wheelies or how fast he went down the backroads the other day, to call him a fucking dipshit. Really, I should be taking the opportunity to sell him on the idea of doing that shit in a better environment, like a race track.

 

I suppose. I guess it's just hard for me to forget the days of firebreathing monsters. Some of my favorite machines I've ever seen are the old Formula USA, Formula Extreme, and homologation special bikes from when I was growing up. Gotta step back and remember the shit that gets me fired up isn't necessarily the same shit that gets everyone else fired up.

 

Sorry I have to disagree on one part. I agree with most of your post except the last part. You don't need a degree to be successful and/or make enough money to have fun. A large chunk of millenials and Gen Z (the ones old enough to be entering the work force) simply lack the motivation or discipline to make good money and not end up with a shit load of debt, student loan or otherwise. One of the many downfalls of the participation trophy generation. Not to mention, parents of these two generations are WAAAYYYY more protective so far fewer kids are growing up on dirt bikes or jumping their bicycles off of shit. And those are basically your gateway drugs to sport bikes as a kid.

 

I got my start by working at bike shops. Some manufacturers like Trek offer employee discounts at up to 50% of MSRP. If it wasn't for programs like that I wouldn't have been able to afford my race bicycle. Of course the running costs are nothing compared to a motorcycle so it's a lot more attainable for kids to get into. Motorcycles were a fantasy until I started my "career".

 

Things like that get me fired up also, hence going apeshit with my R6.

But being fired up about the bike itself doesn’t necessarily translate into full grids and great battles throughout the field.

We won’t be able to have both without some magical huge influx of money in the sport.

 

Well last I heard, you got some pretty deep pockets.

 

IMO, as ive said before, I think a HUGE contributing factor is insurance.

Dealers have incentives, credit card deals, loans etc. Somebody can get a brand new bike for ~$140-160 a month. Even someone working fast food can afford that.

The problem is after that, they have to account for $300-400/month in insurance.