Aging face of biking

grin factor · Dec 14, 2012

Came across this on another forum & thought it interesting:-

"I've started this a combination of an article written by Kevin Ash in this weeks MCN about the average age of show goers at this years NEC and how this older generation asked parents to take them to shows when they were kids and now the drag their kids along while dad sits on bike and the kids have no interest,the article was a tad more complex than that but that was the gist.

Combined with a couple of posts on the Sport Tiger thread about being 60 or in that age bracket and not needing extra HP etc,all of the above,I'm talking to a bike trader the other day who was saying he reckons when this older generation is finished the bike trade will go down the tube,as it's that generation that has sustained the bike industry since the late 60's early 70's"

Your thoughts?

WileeCoyote · Dec 14, 2012

I dont agree that it will go under. I have been teaching my daughter to ride and she loves it. It is my hope that she teaches her kids and so on. I am 45 and intend on riding till I die, naturally or not. Its the wife that shows no interest, not my kid. I currently own three motorcycles and am always looking for more. Cant ride more than one at a time I know. Each has its own personality and Ive explored them every time I ride. That said, short answer is no, I dont agree.

felix · Dec 14, 2012

In this country.... probably.
Read recently that the average age of a person buying a new yamaha in the uk is.... 48.
That cant be good for the industry.
Think about some of the rides out weve all had this year..... Devils / hartside / hawes.... What sort of age group do you see there..
Insurance and test saga are turning the future generations away.
Quite sad realy....

brooksy · Dec 14, 2012

GF sadly i must agree that bikers are a dying breed and most articles i read on biking agree also. i agree with Felix that rising insurance costs and test fees are turning people away but also the prices on new bikes are beyond a lot of younger people however i dont think thats the only reason and feel the ever increasing speed cameras and introductions of lower speed limits isnt helping, look no further than the Cat and fiddle route thet not long ago was one of the best biking roads around IMHO.
CE LE VIE

Aldo · Dec 14, 2012

I agree with the fact that the bikers from the 70's 80's are by in large the ones keeping the traders in business. Where I grew up and stay was a large village when I was a boy, it's now a town with about 3-4 times the population it had in the 70's. Gone are the days of the moped, 125, 250 then whatever. Today the number of kids running about on scoots etc I could count on one hand, where as in the past there were literally hundreds of us. Why this is I've no idea but it's probably a combination of what's already been said.

Sad when you think about it, aye who'd buy a bike shop now.

garry · Dec 14, 2012

imo, its legislation thats killing it, apart from price.

The test , although i agree its a good thing its tougher than it was in our day, its a massive expense.

At 17, if you can afford, pass your car test and woo woo, drive whatever you can insure..

At 17, if you can afford, pass your bike test...................... and boo boo... your limited until yer 21.

felix · Dec 15, 2012

Price is an interesting and surprising one...
In 1981 i bought a new yamaha DT50 mx for Â£435 on the road. (RD 50 was same price) Thats Â£1,470 in todays money allowing for inflation.
Looking at yamaha's website i cant see that they do a 50cc road bike anymore, only scooters so cant compare price - Though the 50cc scooters listed are all Â£2,199
In 1981 a RD125 was Â£820 OTR - Thats Â£2,771 in todays money allowing for inflation.
Today a Yamaha YZF R125 is Â£4,349, or a YBR 125 is Â£2,449
Bought a ZX6 in 1997, list price then was Â£7,200 - Thats Â£10,584 in todays money
Today a ZX6 is Â£8,999

brooksy · Dec 15, 2012

Felix you need to also look at the increase in salaries to gain a bigger picture as the average wage in the UK has not risen in line with inflation for a while.

felix · Dec 15, 2012

Thats a fair point mr B, i know that's true for recent years, but i couldnt find anything to cover that over the long term...

Think the japs milked the market in the 90's too.... the ZX6 i mentioned was imported via Germany. Full UK spec OTR for Â£5,750. Asked my local Kwak dealer to match the price and they wernt allowed - they would loose their franchise. Kawasaki deemed that the market price for the UK was Â£7,200 and that we were prepared to pay it. All the parallel imports reduced that , for a while then the prices crept back up.
Did this help push a generation away ?

s1imster · Dec 15, 2012

i always took my kids (one girl & one boy ) on the back of my bikes when they were young, my brother in law always had bikes as well and we used to take them to
race meets (super bike & gp ) and local bike meets, i also bought a old rev & go for them to prat around on in the garden and they used to love it,but now they are not interested in bikes
my son is car mad or just mad don't know which

zippyque · Dec 15, 2012

I think there are young people getting in to scooters/bikes mainly 125cc, around my area as they are being priced out of cars by the insurance.
One lad at work who is 18 can't get insurance for a car in his area less than Â£2500. he can buy a cheap 125 and insure it for less than that.

WileeCoyote · Dec 15, 2012

What I find interesting is how the european governments are hurting the sport. Taxes and inspections and all the ******** as well as insurance rates. I guess it will happen here in the states. I hope not in my lifetime though.

Bigralphie · Dec 16, 2012

I just if we will have another wave of born again bikers in say 2022 etc when the scooter boys and girls can afford a bike as a toy ?

OlafTuono · Dec 17, 2012

When I was a lad of 16, the moped scene was at its peak, Fizzy`s, AP`s, several italian mopeds were all "decent bikes".

It was my only form of transport and because I was working I had to keep it working, fixing it myself.

A lot of this generation are currently still into biking.

A lot of the off-spring from the above have been "allowed" to get into biking, I think a lot of current potential bikers have been stopped by over-protective parents.

I think the nanny state has brain washed the younger generation not to take risks.

Plus, I think a lot of the younger generation, just cant be bothered, it is hard work when compared to jumping in a car that was bought for them.

Even I sometime wonder is it worth it, but the answer is always yes.

aka_Gilo · Dec 17, 2012

I don't think the manufacurers have helped by being obsessed with punting out 180bhp sports bikes that need electronics to make them rideable, whilst making sod all newbies / young'uns could afford or want to ride.

The tide is starting to turn (a bit). KTM are leading the way with their seriously cool small capacity singles, Kawasaki have just brought out the GPZ300..... We can't get around the legislation bollocks or the insurance costs, but let's face it: biking ain't cool these days. Go to any bike meet and it's mainly middle-aged blokes with their expanding guts squeezed into garishly coloured leathers - does that look like summat any self-respecting 16 year old would want to be part of? When I was that age starting off on my AP50 all the local bike pubs were full of guys a few years older on RD's, GS's CB's, Zeds etc, and they all seemed cool as **** to me.

If KTM and others keep selling small capacity, affordable, and most IMPORTANTLY cool, bikes, and get a few celeb types riding them in their ads etc I reckon we could se a small resurgence in biking amongst the nippers, though it'll never be what it was in the 80's and 90's.

Ash · Dec 17, 2012

Mental note, no bike meets for me next year.

Your not far wrong Gilo.

OlafTuono · Dec 18, 2012

In recent years, sports bikes were always top sellers in the UK.
But I think all agree, a lot of people are wanting something different.
I think for many reasons, cost, insurance, price of consumables, speeding tickets, bans.

But I read an article recently that sums it up. They are just too fast, handle too good for most of Joe Public.

You used to get a good feeling after riding an early superbikes, Gixers, FZ`s Some of the old italian stuff.
Tyres, suspension etc was "low tech" and after a good blast, you felt as if you had achieved something, just by staying on it & getting home in one piece. Every ride was an adventure.
Modern superbikes are so good, that you can only ever hope to get that feeling from a track day.

bay_1472 · Dec 18, 2012

Thats quite a good sum up Olaf. I bought as my 1st bike a K7 GSXR 1000 and although really easy to ride etc just didn't feel like anything at all. I like my old gal of a 2003 plate racing. Lovely looking bike and handles enough for me plus I get a sense of having gone out for a ride.

However, having 120 to 130bhp is still too much power. Gilo has a 675 Triumph which I always thought wouldn't be powerful enough but to be honest it goes well enough. Obviously it doesn't have the looks or prescence of an Italian thoroughbred (but neither does he even though he thinks he does) and it sounds like a hairdryer (even though he's put an aftermarket exhaust on it which he thinks makes it loud I couldn't hear it) but its ok as a 2nd bike for a ride down to the shops and back.

Tifa · Dec 18, 2012

Some very valid points here.

I'm just glad that I can tell my kids (and grand kids if they come) that I lived my life and and rode in the true 'Golden Era' of motorcycling...

OlafTuono · Dec 18, 2012

One more thought, when I was getting into bikes, we all got a bike, a helmet & went out.
Now, as with most things, the youth of today seems to have to collect everything & spend a fortune before they can start.
Especially if its got a "label" on it & they can impress their mates.

All the gear - no idea springs to mind.

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Aging face of biking

grin factor

WileeCoyote

felix

brooksy

Aldo

garry

felix

brooksy

felix

s1imster

zippyque

WileeCoyote

Bigralphie

OlafTuono

aka_Gilo

Ash

OlafTuono

bay_1472

Tifa

OlafTuono

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