Honda looking for younger riders... why dont they like bikes. (1 Viewer)

[PhilG]

Lots of interesting points, and while lots can be said for people not wanting bikes for safety reasons , or the sparseness of top flight UK riders at the top of the sport , I think the main reason is very obvious.

People don't buy bikes, because the expectation of being able to leave them anywhere , and still be there when you get back, and the insurance biteback that causes, mean people just aren't going to bother.

Its nothing to do with bikes, its all to do with the lack of punishment for those that steal them , making it a futile exercise.




<Broken link removed>

 

[Boringfrog]

Wonder of it's just the UK where younger people aren't buying bikes?

 

[The Old Man]

Possibly, you get cold and wet?

 

[PhilG]

Wonder of it's just the UK where younger people aren't buying bikes?

It isn't part of our culture , like it used to be, and still is on mainland Europe, they are suffering, but not in the way we are here.

 

[icantremember]

It may well be down to the cost of bikes now .. I got my first one (Triumph Speed Twin) for £4 .. bet you can't do that now!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Boringfrog]

Yeah, after being out of the Motorcycle market for over 10 years I've noticed bike prices have risen where cars seem relatively cheap. The new Honda Africa twin is stunning but how much $$$

 

[chaser]

It may well be down to the cost of bikes now .. I got my first one (Triumph Speed Twin) for £4 .. bet you can't do that now!

My first bike with a motor , can't really call it a motorbike was an nsu quickly off a bloke where I worked , £1 and I had to give him that at five Bob a week.
Every teenager in the village rode it one time or another when their proper vehicles were off the road.
Happy days

 

[hilldweller]

It isn't part of our culture , like it used to be, and still is on mainland Europe, they are suffering, but not in the way we are here.

I doubt it's "our culture" since the start of the Hot Hatchback.

But mainly as The Old Man said, weather and add roads and respect. Bikes have so much more going for them over the channel.

 

[David and Sally]

On top of the cost of the bike getting a full licence and some decent gear (needed whatever the size of bike if you commute) is going to set you back over grand - maybe £1500.

Motorcycle training is not cheap these days.

 

[PhilG]

Every teenager in the village rode it one time or another .
Happy days

I had a girlfriend like that ...

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Silver-Fox]

I had a girlfriend like that ...

?

 

[PhilG]

On top of the cost of the bike getting a full licence and some decent gear (needed whatever the size of bike if you commute) is going to set you back over grand - maybe £1500.

Motorcycle training is not cheap these days.

This is a relevant point , I have ridden since 1974, actually took a test in 1990, and rode on the road for 3/4 years, then sacked it off as it wasn't for me, and subsequently lost my bike entitlement due to a clerical FUBAR a few years after. I have a mate who owns a shop ( I used to run one for him) and will lend me a bike if I just get a license, but I don't feel the need, based on how much it costs , and the fact I don't miss it.

 

[pappajohn]

Can't get three mates on a bike like you can in a car.

 

[Shaun929]

One of the reasons we got hooked on bikes when we was kids because we could buy a old bike and ride it down all the lanes around us having loads of fun Kids cannot do that now to many dog walkers etc down the lanes who will just report the kids To the police and get there bikes taken of them.

 

[icantremember]

Can't get three mates on a bike like you can in a car.

Don't talk daft .. of course you can!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Boringfrog]

One of the reasons we got hooked on bikes when we was kids because we could buy a old bike and ride it down all the lanes around us having loads of fun Kids cannot do that now to many dog walkers etc down the lanes who will just report the kids To the police and get there bikes taken of them.

We had a local quarry, would spend all Sat/Sun up there, fuel was around 30p a gallon so it was a cheap weekend. The quarry is now a AONB and very few people go there any more.

 

[Theonlysue]

Being an ex mc rider if I had children, I would buy them a car rather than see them on a mc!

 

[tonyidle]

I doubt it's "our culture" since the start of the Hot Hatchback.

But mainly as The Old Man said, weather and add roads and respect. Bikes have so much more going for them over the channel.

Other than relatively few diehard enthusiasts most owners had a bike until they could afford a car - that was true even back in the '50s and '60s. However the need to use one changed many into enthusiasts - most of whom fell by the wayside when house, wife, and kids came along. A few of them remained active but most became armchair enthusiasts. The 'culture' was initially driven by necessity. It was also driven by a shared enjoyment of 'tinkering' and varying levels of ability to mend anything that broke (whether motorcycle related or not). The last two generations have been so discouraged from fixing anything that most struggle to change a tyre (or even a mains plug!). There is no necessity for really cheap transport nowadays - cars are as cheap or cheaper than bikes especially once they have a bit of age - so the pool of people available to become 'enthusiasts' is much, much, smaller. That along with better publicised dangers, very expensive insurance, and the commitment required to obtain a full licence makes it unsurprising that the numbers of young people buying has fallen.

 

[Canyon904]

Lots of interesting points, and while lots can be said for people not wanting bikes for safety reasons , or the sparseness of top flight UK riders at the top of the sport , I think the main reason is very obvious.

People don't buy bikes, because the expectation of being able to leave them anywhere , and still be there when you get back, and the insurance biteback that causes, mean people just aren't going to bother.

Its nothing to do with bikes, its all to do with the lack of punishment for those that steal them , making it a futile exercise.




<Broken link removed>

I think one of the biggest factors is that while in Europe kids can ride from 14 years old and in France get a car licence at 18yrs, 4yrs of fun & mobility. Parents can't use (as my mum tried to do) the excuse/bribe we'll pay for your lessons when you're 17 so don't go riding motor bikes, I gotta Saturday job and got a Garelli Tiger Cross from a school mate and still got my car lessons paid.
The theft thing is an issue in the UK but I can't help thinking that if all kids were owning & riding from 14yrs, the joy riding would be less cos they all already had one.

 

[jockaneezer]

We both rode bikes for years, mine originally out of necessity as a poor apprentice. Our son got his first motorbike aged 4, at about 8 or 9, he used to ride our XL250 off road but couldn't reach the ground. At 16, he bought a Malagutti Drakon that together, we "worked" on and would do nearly 70mph on the flat with a following breeze. We never worried if he was out late or off on an adventure.
The day he past his car test, he crashed it that very night. If there had been another vehicle coming towards him I hate to think what would have happened ? Plenty more incidents followed, nearly all fuelled by having his mates in with him or thinking he was a better driver than he was.
At age 28 now, he fancies a KTM Supermoto but doesn't have the funds.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[fullfat]

I had a girlfriend like that ...

Did you marry her ?

 

[dulvil]

My wife closed her bike training business last October due to the dwindling number of youngsters taking it up.
20 odd years of being busy. Kids want their parents to run them around

 

[PhilG]

My wife closed her bike training business last October due to the dwindling number of youngsters taking it up.
20 odd years of being busy. Kids want their parents to run them around

That's sad. It shows where we are really though. The ability to insure is killing the job. Same for cars.

 

[PhilG]

Did you marry her ?

No , I did not. I am trying to remember who did , never forget him , nice bloke , always had a smile on his face...

Oh to be young again.

 

[Westbarn1]

I think is purely down to cost, cars are much cheaper than bikes, youngsters just cannot afford them, just look at the average age of bike riders now, I would guess at middle to late forties.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Richard n Ann]

Have you seen the rigmarole you have to go through to get a bike licence nowadays?
CBT
Mod 1
Mod 2
Theory.

Then there's the different licence types...
A
A1
A2
Direct access

Then you can't ride anything more than 40hp for a certain length of time ? or do you have to do another test ? all very confusing and very expensive.

All because nanny state wants us all to live in utopia.

 

[tonyidle]

I would guess at middle to late forties.

At least! See:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/694965/motorcycle-use-in-england.pdf

 

[hilldweller]

At least! See:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/694965/motorcycle-use-in-england.pdf

That fooled me, it downloads a pdf. I didn't spot that.

 

[Mr B]

Plus, it’s a lot harder to access faceache or twatter on a bike....
And....as stated in the news....
Just look at the sales of the I watch and the old wrist watch. ? 30,000,000 plus for the I watch

 

[Canyon904]

Plus, it’s a lot harder to access faceache or twatter on a bike....
And....as stated in the news....
Just look at the sales of the I watch and the old wrist watch. ? 30,000,000 plus for the I watch

Funnily enough that is the exact reason that I ride. Helmet on, engine on, go, no phone, no worries, no FB and no problems parking.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}