Creating New Riders

[Biker_Andy]

Motorcycling is slowly dying, less people ride bikes in North America each day. Older riders are retiring their motorcycles faster then new riders are replacing them. The writing on the wall is obvious but the solution isn't so easy for people to see...

Long Way Around created the ADV craze we have today.
American Chopper brought choppers back to mainstream.
SOA saved Harley from going bankrupt.

What do these three things all have in common? Their all popular TV shows centered around motorcycles.

If we want kids to ride motorcycles then someone needs to put some kids on bikes in front of a television camera. We need a popular TV show with kids riding motorcycles. If kids see how 'cool' motorcycles can be then they will become the riders of tomorrow. There's a million shows and movies to watch today but almost nothing is about motorcycles. Nothing mainstream about bikes and nothing at all showing kids riding. If the manufacturers would invest in a TV show it would pay back in dividends. Think if the kids of Stranger Things rode dirt bikes instead of bicycles. Thousands of kids would be begging their parents for dirt bikes today.

I bet there's not a single rider here who was not influenced by a movie or TV show they watched about motorcycles as a kid.

[Boatguy]

Lots of hobbies that require activity are dying. But, there are still some people doing them. It’s been said for many decades that sailing is dying.

I’m not sure that you need to influence children to ride. If you buy your kid a dirtbike, they’re going to take it out. Lol assuming you live in the countryside somewhere. Or at least buy them a four wheeler. Something. Some Powersports equipment.

Of course, most people live in urban and very developed suburban areas. So this entire population does not grow up riding. Not unless they are those sketchy weirdos that ride dirt bikes on the tar roads in nyc.

I think it’s more a product of people not growing up in the countryside.

[Biker_Andy]

Dirt bike was just an example. You could give the urban kids of Stranger Things scooters and watch scooters sales skyrocket. Or supermoto's, Groms or really anything two wheeled. Even give them period appropriate Cubs or Trails. Kids need to be enticed to ride like we all were with the countless motorcycles movies of the 60's, 70's and 80's. We have seen how putting motorcycles into pop culture makes future sales of that bike type explode time and time again. Yet manufacturers still wine and complain about horrible sale yet nobody will invest in a TV show or movie.

[VietnamVetRider]

Well I'm a rider and 72 yrs old. Wasn't a movie for me. I was about 10 yrs old and the family across the field had a son, Roy, that was a hood. He had a Harley with a side shifter and straight pipes. He always wore Black t-shirts with Pall Malls rolled up in the sleeve, black moto boot and tattoos. Every cuss word I learned I learned from him.

I have 5 brothers but I'm the only one who rides

I would sit on the curb and watch him kick start it and watch him take off. I promised myself one day I would ride. Been riding 50 years now. Here's to Roy

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy

Dirt bike was just an example. You could give the urban kids of Stranger Things scooters and watch scooters sales skyrocket. Or supermoto's, Groms or really anything two wheeled. Even give them period appropriate Cubs or Trails. Kids need to be enticed to ride like we all were with the countless motorcycles movies of the 60's, 70's and 80's. We have seen how putting motorcycles into pop culture makes future sales of that bike type explode time and time again. Yet manufacturers still wine and complain about horrible sale yet nobody will invest in a TV show or movie.

Oh I see.

Honestly, I didn’t even know there were any motorcycle or off-road motorsports movies as a kid. I guess we all look at our own situation and try to project out from that. Other kids in town had dirt bikes, three wheelers, and it looks like so much fun I had to get one too. That’s how I started.

I don’t think I was influenced by TV in many parts of my life at all. Maybe Star Trek and Doctor Who. That’s about it. Those influenced me into becoming a physicist. Oh yeah. And the walk like an Egyptian video. ZZ Top legs. That defined the type of women I like. Those two videos have damned me to a lifetime of super crazy, super hot women. Ha ha ha

[TominMO]

On Any Sunday is a 1971 classic documentary of offroad riding/competition. Back in the Steve McQueen days.

[Biker_Andy]

I love watching all the old motorcycles movies. Wish there was modern movies about bikes not just niche film festival ones we have today.

[2LZ]

I'm finding that "vehicle enthusiasts", either two or four wheels, is fading. I come from a motorcycle/hot rodding family, between my brothers and I. My dad was a real car buff, as they used to be known. Now? All of our kids are computer nerds and have no real interest in vehicles other than basic transportation. Kinda sad, really.

Back when we were young, cars and motorcycles (and hopping them up) were cutting edge tech. Now it requires an electronic device.

[culcune]

There doesn't need to be a show, per se, but rather an 'influencer' on a bike or influencers on bikes. Tik Tok and/or YouTube (Tik Tok is the one the 'kids' are more likely to be on). We moved to Northridge in 1979. Technically in the city limits of L.A., but on the edge of 'rural'. So, a lot of my friends had bikes they were riding in the 70s and into the 1980s. But, the San Fernando is all grown up, now, and busy suburbs. Plus, cops crack down in suburbs unlike the old days. I do think the street-legal motorsports are what would help revive an interest. Put young influencers on Groms, or other minis. Heck, there are sponsored 'influencers' on YouTube and even here on Chinariders, but they are targeting us older people ('older' as in 20s and up) rather than teens.

As a pre-teen, I found the street-legal CT70 one of the sexiest bikes ever, before really knowing what the 's' word really was LOL. I found mopeds really intriguing as well. But, again, that was because I fantasized about riding them around Northridge which was fairly rural/suburban (sadly, my parents would have NONE of it). I could imagine putting a young guy/gal influencer on a re-released real Honda CT or even a clone might be some young kids sex-on-wheels desire.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

I'm finding that "vehicle enthusiasts", either two or four wheels, is fading. I come from a motorcycle/hot rodding family, between my brothers and I. My dad was a real car buff, as they used to be known. Now? All of our kids are computer nerds and have no real interest in vehicles other than basic transportation. Kinda sad, really.

Back when we were young, cars and motorcycles (and hopping them up) were cutting edge tech. Now it requires an electronic device.

There is one among us here. Me! Ha ha.

As a child, I did a lot of actual computer programming and played plenty of games. Started programming at age 7 in BASIC.

Years later, I still got a 3 wheeler as my first fun grown up toy thing thanks to seeing how fun they looked. Never even rode one before, but my friend had one and I got to try it out a few moments. It was fun. I worked all summer (child labor laws be damned) to afford it.

Cars? Never cared for them either. Just point A to point B. I’ll drive anything. A car doesn’t bring me joy or define my place in society. It should be as practical as possible.

Boats? Much like the 3 wheeler, boats looked like so much fun when I was in college and I got my first sailboat while still in college for $2500. It was 23’ long and a trailer sailer. That was really something for a college kid. I’ve owned one ever since.

Motorcycles? I’m riding a China bike. That’s almost the same thing as the cars paragraph above if you really think about it. If i cared about them that much I’d be on a KTM or Honda CRFL or something. In my more mature age, a china bike is good enough to go everywhere, but very VERY practical and very much point A to point B. Though you do get joys out of a motorcycle that you can’t out of a car.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

There is one among us here. Me! Ha ha.

As a child, I did a lot of actual computer programming and played plenty of games. Started programming at age 7 in BASIC.

Years later, I still got a 3 wheeler as my first fun grown up toy thing thanks to seeing how fun they looked. Never even rode one before, but my friend had one and I got to try it out a few moments. It was fun. I worked all summer (child labor laws be damned) to afford it.

Cars? Never cared for them either. Just point A to point B. I’ll drive anything. A car doesn’t bring me joy or define my place in society. It should be as practical as possible.

Boats? Much like the 3 wheeler, boats looked like so much fun when I was in college and I got my first sailboat while still in college for $2500. It was 23’ long and a trailer sailer. That was really something for a college kid. I’ve owned one ever since.

Motorcycles? I’m riding a China bike. That’s almost the same thing as the cars paragraph above if you really think about it. If i cared about them that much I’d be on a KTM or Honda CRFL or something. In my more mature age, a china bike is good enough to go everywhere, but very VERY practical and very much point A to point B. Though you do get joys out of a motorcycle that you can’t out of a car.

I find that the younger set is also far more risk-averse than we older folks were at that age, who now suffer from chronic limps and pains from our younger indiscretions. My nephews usually don't partake in anything that may cause cuts, bruises or possible structural damage. Frisbee football or golf is about as violent as they get. Heck, they're in the late 30's and are still gamers, buy the newest, latest game boxes and play on huge networks of like-geeks. Fortunately, they go to the gym so they're not fat (yet).

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

I find that the younger set is also far more risk-averse than we older folks were at that age, who now suffer from chronic limps and pains from our younger indiscretions. My nephews usually don't partake in anything that may cause cuts, bruises or possible structural damage. Frisbee football or golf is about as violent as they get. Heck, they're in the late 30's and are still gamers, buy the newest, latest game boxes and play on huge networks of like-geeks. Fortunately, they go to the gym so they're not fat (yet).

I’ve noticed that too. It’s not really their fault. They weren’t allowed to do anything as children. Everything was portrayed as scary and dangerous.

So unfortunate for them.

[JerryHawk250]

I grew up riding everything from Mini bikes, go karts, dirt dikes and motorcycles and never stopped riding. I intend on riding until i can no loner ride. A good friend of mine had stopped ridding the day he made 91 years old because he was afraid he would drop the bike. Now he's looking at a trike.

[Megadan]

I'm in my late 30's (basically 40, but I will cling on for every minute lol) and I am not like most people in my age group. Likely why I have a destroyed back, back knees, shoulder, elbow, and ankle lol. It is entirely due to the nanny state wanting to make things safer. I also don't blame them at all for not wanting to ride bikes. It isn't a safe thing to do. Think about how many cell phones you see in peoples hands while they drive. Think about modern vehicles being so packed with "safety features" that it has created lazy and distracted drivers.

I think the other issue is financial. Relative to income levels motorcycles have become rather expensive. One of the biggest appeals of riding bikes was always low cost. These days, they cost as much as cars do and the insurance rates are really high, especially for young men who also happen to be the biggest market for said bikes.

Another argument for cost is actually the ever increasing popularity with e-Bikes, Motorized bikes, and China bikes. They all have one thing in common, lower cost. Barring some outrageous exeptions, your typical young person can afford one of those three things. Ranging in price from about a grand to 5 grand, and having little or no insurance requirements, license requirements (yet). or needing to be registered.

[tpelle]

If you want to attract young people to motorcycling, don't look to TV or the movies. Instead look to computer-driven media - Youtube, maybe video games, etc. And right now there are plenty of examples of people touring the country, even the world, on motorcycles.