Motorcycle Industry is Doomed

Does a bike need to send out light in a 360 degree cone in front of it, or does it need to send out light a little on the ground, more in a straight line, and a bit to the sides, with more light on the right side than the left?

Some funky winged wedge looking thing would seem to be the best reflector setup for that design goal.

WTF are you talking about?? The V7 guzzi's and all of the triumph modern-retro thruxton/scrambler/bonnie's add up to a pretty good amount of new bikes that fit the "no plastics, exposed engine, tubular steel frame" bill. Ducati did the same thing a few years ago with their sport classics. Seen Honda's new CB1100 yet? I doubt it. Every major manufacturer has a standard bike as well, ie: SV650, FZ6, CB500, etc. Then theres the more aggresive nakeds like the ducati streetfighters, monsters, hypers. I could go on and on...

I don't even really know why I'm taking time to explain this. It seems like you're too busy making sweeiping generaliztions while hangin with your skinny-jeans hipster commune to stop and actually look around at what's out there. Maybe a little more time riding these newer bikes and a little less time "making bikes look cool" and you'll figure it out.

You mean like me?? Im a 31 year old gun-toting, America-first, rides-like-a-dick-when-I-commute white male who wears black overpants and a gray jacket, while riding a 650GS. Oh yeah, and Ive got tat's and usually sport a beard that Im told makes me look like either Charles Manson or Grizzly Adams.

My first truck had points and a carburetor. NO I do not miss them!! While I dont mind having a carb'd bike, I love the FI on my Dakar. No muss, no fuss. I just ride it. Sure some think its ugly as hell, but Im very much function over fashion. Dont give a shit what it looks like, because I love the way it looks and thats the only opinion that counts.

The problem with the motorcycle industry these days isnt ugly bikes, or some weird notion of predetermined identities. Its the fact that the economy is in the toilet. Especially for younger people, work is scarce and cost of living has gone way up compared to older generations. We're just at a low point. The industry isnt doomed. This slump cant last forever. Eventually things will get better, people will have more disposable money and you'll see toys being bought again. And yes, here in the U.S. bikes are more or less toys. We dont use them for serious transportation compared to the rest of the world. And yes, I do know that many, including myself, ride daily/commute via bike but compared to our total population, its a very small percentage.

I dont have the numbers, nor know where to find them, of how good or bad its actually doing, the motorcycle industry isnt doomed....not by a long shot.

That's part of it, too, KG6. Some people are in it strictly for the image. The guys that take a perfectly functioning motorcycle, make it rigid framed, put clip-ons on it, and generally make it less comfortable (and you get an idea how far they actually ride, if they ride it at all), and run worse than it did, strictly for some image they are trying to live out. Same with a lot of the Adventure guys. Gotta have that GS, big aluminum bags, all the little lights and guards, GPS, Spot finder, roll charts, map holders, ADV stickers all over it, and for all you guys that actually do ride the adventure ride, I guess it's kind of a compliment, that these poseurs are trying to appear like you. But a whole industry has popped up, whether ADV, cafe, sport bike, chopper, whatever, many, many, people are in it strictly for the look they want to achieve.

I get what you're saying, but bear in mind over a third of the people in the world drive on the left. Any touring bike that will be crossing multiple borders really needs a symmetric headlight IMO. One of the things I like about bikes over cars for tours is that there's no "wrong side of the road" penalty. Try driving a Right-side Drive car in a country where they drive on the right (or vice versa) and aside from really struggling to see properly at junctions, you'll have to attach ugly temporary stickers to screen off your lights to prevent blinding other driver and your headlights will tend to be less effect than a native model of the same car as a result.

Only guy I knew well who rode one was the guy who taught the motocycle maintenance nightclass I went to. He was a proper hardened old biker; was riding 30-40k ever year, including through winter in the snow and ice, into his late 60s. He liked all bikes; Indians and 60s Brit twins especially, but he also had a first gen R1!

He had a shedload of bikes new and old, but his main ride was his a W650. Main reason was "it feels and looks like my old Triumphs, but it's reliable enough for my 300 mile a day commute." I am glad they made the bike as he liked it and it made him happy. What percentage of people in the bike buying public have any real need/desire for something like that though? I suppose my cousin commutes a fair bit on his early 70s Triumph Tiger, but that's not high miles at all and for him, it's the appeal of it being a genuine old bike that he likes.

Yes, but you'll get all the body and blood of Christ you can eat, and how do you put a number on that?

Oh shit, that's priceless!
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A light array that puts out as much light to both sides will be blinding to oncoming drivers and unsafe, even if it is on a bike.


there are few enough countries that drive on the wrong side, though.

I like that solution, it beats just having a shitty light or a light that blinds people, that's for sure.

I'd be careful w/ that assumption.

164 countries use RHT, and 76 LHT, which is 33.6%

In addition,by POP, it's is 33.9% that are LHT.

Not exactly insignificant, especially in terms of market share.

Here ya go:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic
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There is a big logic fail in that sales are down because of pussification of generation Y....

1. Bikes are reliable, you dont need to be able to rebuild them anymore.
2. Bikes don't have kickstarts anymore.
3. Gear is so good that you don't have to get wet or cold anymore.

So you don't really need to be a hard ass anymore (but don't let that out).

Dunno what you guys are arguing about headlights and side of the road to drive on. Back to the OP comment, I'm a gen Y (b 1990) never bought a new motorcycle but that's because their too darn expensive (relatively) considering I picked up all the bikes in my sig for maybe 2000. I think the cheapest honda is about 4k, rebel or some 250. I have friends who ride but wrenching is different. Two are mechanically inept beyond checking tire pressure. One is decent and is considering buying new. We all use it as our primary transportation. One was bike less for a while and though working full time didn't want to go for financing. I think it's more of a motivational thing, they wait for things to be convent rather then going out and doing even if their alone.

Yup:



Looks like plenty of red land to me.

Seems like a minor enough concern in terms of land mass. As I said before, it is important enough to argue against simple round headlights. However, it is not something every rider needs to deal with. If you're plotting a red/blue trip, you know who you are and what you're getting in to (or should).

Just because motorbikes used to be so unreliable they turned riders into mechanics doesn't mean those that have no interest in wrenching when they don't have to are somehow lesser people. There is only so much time in the day, and like many, I only wrench myself when I have financial constraints, otherwise it is well worth it to have it done for me while I read. Modern bikes can be as reliable as modern cars, and that's great.

Dang crazy British Colonies .

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-mo-autos-motorcycle-sales-2012-20130205,0,7904379.story

Good news, not doomed! Yay!

Well that's a relief : D

Sent from my M9300 using Tapatalk 2

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/aging-easy-riders-beware/

And yes, I used "shocking" very sarcastically. I'm amazed they print this dribble.

disagree.

fun never goes outta fashion & gas prices will only rise.
mfg are changing to adopt to aging riders (Honda dual-clutch auto) and newer rider (more powerful scooters with smaller engines that still get high mpg). maybe the current type of bike will morph, but people still need to get places and transportation is not going away. younger ones who just buy scooters will not forget the fun of it, they'll buy bigger ones to travel farther as they get older and still get great mpg.