mcgaskins
Rising Sun Member
I read this article below on Revzilla this morning about the year over year declines in the motorcycle industry. Granted this article was mostly about the American manufacturers, but I think a lot can be extrapolated about the industry as a whole. It's also interesting in the sense we've been in a long term economic expansion, so the economy can't be blamed. They're crying tariffs which affects profitability (not sales if prices aren't raised commensurately), but I think consumer preferences play the biggest role by far.
Anecdotally, virtually all my riding buddies and I have hung up our boots and either don't ride at all any more or only go for a spin a couple times a year. I started riding when I was 12 and have typically had at least 1 dirt bike and often 1 street bike until I was about 34. I have zero bikes now, but I did keep all my gear in case I rent one from time to time. I've also noticed the last couple of years on my commute the frequency of seeing motorcycles has massively dropped. I often don't see a single motorcycle on my 20 mile each way commute, and I definitely keep my eye out for them. It certainly "feels" like motorcycling has dropped off the radar for the vast majority of the population, whereas when I was growing up nearly every guy I knew wanted one and many people knew how to ride.
So is the industry dying or is it a temporary trend? I'm curious and hopeful that electrification will breathe new life into motorcycles and attract a new contingent of buyers, but it is hard to say if that will be the case.
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tre...nufacturers-but-turnaround-plans-are-in-place
Anecdotally, virtually all my riding buddies and I have hung up our boots and either don't ride at all any more or only go for a spin a couple times a year. I started riding when I was 12 and have typically had at least 1 dirt bike and often 1 street bike until I was about 34. I have zero bikes now, but I did keep all my gear in case I rent one from time to time. I've also noticed the last couple of years on my commute the frequency of seeing motorcycles has massively dropped. I often don't see a single motorcycle on my 20 mile each way commute, and I definitely keep my eye out for them. It certainly "feels" like motorcycling has dropped off the radar for the vast majority of the population, whereas when I was growing up nearly every guy I knew wanted one and many people knew how to ride.
So is the industry dying or is it a temporary trend? I'm curious and hopeful that electrification will breathe new life into motorcycles and attract a new contingent of buyers, but it is hard to say if that will be the case.
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tre...nufacturers-but-turnaround-plans-are-in-place