Ssky0078
Junior Member
Saw this article on Ride Apart and was wondering what the sentiment was for the forum here.
Motorcycle Industry vs. Next Generation Riders - RideApart
Motorcycle Industry vs. Next Generation Riders - RideApart
Ironically I just read a disturbing statistic in a recent issue of Time magazine: fully one-third fewer teenagers are pursuing a driver's license, as compared to ten years ago!
Has the social media/internetz age really taken that much of a bite out of actually living??
Ironically I just read a disturbing statistic in a recent issue of Time magazine: fully one-third fewer teenagers are pursuing a driver's license, as compared to ten years ago!
Has the social media/internetz age really taken that much of a bite out of actually living??
Let's keep things in perspective. A lot of people moved to the cities.
I have friends in NYC that simply don't car about owning a car. They have no need for it. It's too costly and mass transit system in NYC is pretty expansive and sufficient enough.
If you live in the suburbs, without a car you are stuck. It's a must have.
Well, I certainly agree if you live in a city (I wouldn't own a vehicle in NYC either).
But, I see it happening around here too, and I really have trouble understanding it...
I guess you can put me in with the Europeans
my FZ is my primary means of transportation, it gets just shy of 50mpg, insurance is $109 for a year, I only have to put tires on every other year and it keeps people from asking me to take them places :thumbup: its just all around cheaper than my car. I only put gas in my car every 4 months, and thats $60+ a tank and ~20mpg, insurance is 6 times more a year and its not as fast as my bike. I cant financially justify driving my car any more than I absolutely have to.
It always comes down to money.
I have tons of 20 something year old friends envious that I ride a motorcycle. And they all would get a bike if they could afford.
Truth is that my generation doesn't really have a basic financial understanding or the ethic to live frugally within your means. Half of them have ruined credit scores.
No disposable income= no luxury goods such as a motorcycle.
Not everybody can afford this expensive hobby.
Hell, for commute purposes I still prefer mass transit and bicycling. Much easier and less of a hassle than riding a motorcycle in the NYC. Many of my peers jump onto the bicycles as a preferable means of commute.
I for one think that the motorcycle industry will be just fine.
Edit:
A part of me also doesn't want more guys on bikes.
It's easier to pick up girls when only 1 out of 5 guys rides a motorcycle.
It's easier to be cool ;p
believe it or not the actual running/maintenance costs for a bike and car are about the same. mainly because of tire costs. unless you ive in an area where you need to switch back and forth between snow tires (which still doesnt skew the figure much) tires on a car last ~30-40k miles. thats 6-8x as long as on a bike. more maintenance actually has to be done on a bike. and the gas mileage only offsets on the occasions where you go somewhere by yourself, not meeting people or riding on a trip with another bike.
believe it or not the actual running/maintenance costs for a bike and car are about the same. mainly because of tire costs. tires on a car last ~30-40k miles. thats 6-8x as long as on a bike. more maintenance actually has to be done on a bike. and the gas mileage only offsets on the occasions where you go somewhere by yourself, not meeting people or riding on a trip with another bike.