Give a Shift, MC Industry troubles

My wife would agree

 

No

 

Garelli, Tomos....
Man I wanted an upgrade from my Huffy 3spd.

Now they are Chinese throw away scooters

 

This is a big one. Most families have $100+ cable bills and $200 + cell phone bills for the family. They wouldn’t dare go without it. In this case, the cell phone/cable companies which are really one in the same have done a better job at selling thier product than the MCY industry. It’s safer and more people can enjoy those services and it just makes it that much easier to justify the expense.

 

Without veering to far into dungeonland, I think there is a significant difference in the mindset of the millennials as opposed to boomers and gen-x. Millennials are much more prone to group think as a result of social media and having your life out there for all to see, or at least the image you want others to see. Boomers and gen-xers were far more likely to be enticed by the open road/find yourself/on the edgeish image of riding. Hell many of the millennials are not in a rush to get that ultimate symbol of freedom, the drivers license. That attitude would have been rare a couple generations back.

 

good point... used to be IF you wanted to experience something... you had to go out and do it.
Now you can google and youtube to assuage the curiousity.

 

There was a concern when I lived in Italy (2000-2002) about the state of Italian soccer's future. The concern was that kids weren't playing soccer, they preferred to be inside and play video games. This year Italy didn't qualify for the World Cup. This may also effect motorcycling (if there is a correlation between video gaming hours played vs goals scored by the national team) in that kids aren't getting outside as much, but prefer electronic entertainment. Maybe another factor in the low number of new riders/sales.

Also, most new riders I have met in the last 5-6 yrs went for some 'ol bucket of parts to make a cafe racer or whatever instead of purchasing a new bike.

I myself have never purchased a new bike, always used, so disposable income then vs now is probably a big factor too.

 

I have not really had an outing on a motorcycle that some asshole with a cell didn't come over into my lane..pull up to any light and look around...very very few are NOT fucking around with a phone.

 

You could argue that they are displaying the "ultimate symbol of freedom" by casting off everything that the previous generations felt were important...like a drivers license.

 

You could, but you would be wrong.

 

I'm a glass is half full kind of guy.

 

Since I can see them on the damn phone texting as they slowly pass my truck, I'd say they are out there.

 

If you define freedom as avoiding the responsibility that goes with having a car, I will concede you are right. If you define freedom an no longer needing to rely on others to get you from point a to point b in a motor vehicle, I win. I prefer the latter.

 

There are two types of mountain biking as far as i'm concerned... downhill, and exercising.

Good on him...

 

Im not saying they atrn’t out there. I’m saying A) they either pay more attention when they know a bike is around, B) are getting better at multi tasking, C) They arn’t In Gwinnett Co. I rarely have an incident with I didn’t see coming or plan for. Rarely as in maybe 3-4 in the last 10k miles

 

C) It isn't that I don't see it or anticipate an exit strategy it is that, It Is...happening in the first place...for instance that person at the light when it turns Green that seems to have not seen it...Yeah..they didn't because they were looking at the fucking phone...Same goes for the ones who run the RedLight or Stop Sign...

A) Nope, they are paying attention to the phone.
B) Nope, proven Fact...Texting and Driving are Not Paying Attention to Driving.
C) They are EVERYWHERE..

We may just have to agree to dis-agree on this.

 

I agree that motorcycles must be introduced at a young age. My favorite memories as a child were going to the track on Saturday night, freezing my butt off in the trailer (with a propane heater) and watching my Dad race. I got to race as well (my Dad made it look much more effortless...). With that being said, motorcycling now has to compete with many more youth activities. While my son and I ride a bit, he also plays soccer, baseball, basketball, and we go boating most summer weekends that we are free. We struggle to find time for it all (we now live on 10+ acres to, among other things, eliminate any travel time for outdoor sports). And with the boom in youth sports, some kids play the same sport year-round. That leaves little time for other sports/activities and, in my opinion, is a severe disservice to the child.

 

At the end of the day, the root problem is that every day the country gets more pussified.

Young people are too worried about instagram followers and how tight their skinny jeans are, while parents are too worried about the youth getting a papercut.

 

I disagree (based solely on my anecdotal evidence). While kids should be introduced to motorcycling at a young age, that "sport" has to deal with a growing number of options. They don't even know what instagram/social media is at that point (at 5-8). And I've coached about 10 softball/baseball teams, 4 soccer teams, and 2 basketball teams, and not one parent was worried about their little Johnny or Suzy getting hurt. Most (if not all) were encouraging their child to be more competitive and try harder. Add to this growing number of options for a child, the fact that now we see more dual income families than before who must work more hours than ever, with less land immediately available to ride - all while the local sports fields, which are booming, have gotten even closer, and school demands (homework) have increased. With even less available time, it's an easier option to throw a kid into a sport that (1) has a lower cost of entry; (2) has lower travel times; (3) gets the child more social interaction; and (4) easier to practice at home. I have 4 young kids at home - I'm going through this now. Motorcycling, in every respect, has an increasingly higher barrier to entry. But of course, in my opinion, it has much more of a "reward" than any other sport.

 

i grew up in the city (or right outside of). even though my mom hated motorcycles to death... football and motorcycles (which in retrospect is so weird because she didn't seem to have any problems with lacrosse or boxing)... my dad would take me to car or motorcycle races as a child... road and drag. i had exposure, but there was literally nowhere to ride a dirtbike near me unless you drove 45-50 minutes. i didn't know anyone that had a dirtbike growing up at all until i went to college and some of the people i started drifting with grew up more in the boonies and grew up that way. i WISH i did, but it just wasn't that atmosphere. if my dad was one of you guys, maybe he woulda gone the extra mile, but he was just a casual motorbike guy only for a brief time period and sold his bike when my older brother was born. it woulda taken a bunch of effort to get into compared to just riding my bicycle to the sports fields at the local school or taking the metro downtown with my friends to skate in DC. i started riding motorbikes in college on my own accord after day dreaming over motorcycle magazines all thru high school and watching MotoGP every weekend.