Is the era of the motorcycle over?

[gojira]

NY Times opinion piece.

[ab]

huh ?

as a compromise, i really do have an apple logo sticker on my bike.  (and yes, i get a lot hate for that sticker)

[muskrat]

someone picked the wrong mushrooms in that field. 

[zarn02]

I, uh... what?

So he's saying that the sort of knobs who might once have bought a motorcycle as a fashion accessory are instead buying smart phones?

1) Can he back up this assertion?
2) Why should I be concerned?

("Next week: Are people who once purchased CDs now buying hamburgers?")

[Howie]

I, uh... what?

So he's saying that the sort of knobs who might once have bought a motorcycle as a fashion accessory are instead buying smart phones?  My take.

1) Can he back up this assertion?  Do you care?  IMO, the assertion is pointless.
2) Why should I be concerned?  I can say I'm not.

("Next week: Are people who once purchased CDs now buying hamburgers?")

[hillbillypolack]

I think I can 'hear' where he's going,though he doesn't make many good arguments for his point.

Seeing a new bike unveiled gets us all lathered up, since it represents something we relate to.  Riding.  Others get lathered up because it's beautiful.  It's sculpture.

In other sports, we have seen the video game become more important than the real sporting experience.  EA Sports has a headlock on this, and we see teenage kids opting for the video instead of tossing a pigskin around.

What does that mean for that article?  he makes a bad attempt to parallel Apple to a new bike unveil.  But I just wonder if the thought was that 'bikes can get you hurt. . . . but you can instead putz with something Apple like, and its technologically acceptable'.  I don't know.  But that could be one aspect of his thought.

Another is that we've seen choppers (and the TV adoration) jump the shark.  Nobody wants to see another OCC bike, and they were fashion accessories from the get go.  Ducati is an exotic maybe fickle brand but even if the author rides bikes, it's a weird article, especially for a big publication like NY Times.

[hunduc]

Nobody wants to see another OCC bike, and they were fashion accessories from the get go. 

amen to that.

[Pip]

Is the era of the motorcycle over?

For me? Not on your life.

[Buckethead]

Meh. His editor had a hole in the layout so he crapped out 1000 words.

[seevtsaab]

Meh. His editor had a hole in the layout so he crapped out 1000 words.

this

[77south]

So I ask with some authority. Are motorcycles — even superb and lovely Italian motorcycles from the land of Donatello and Bertolucci — being replaced as love objects, as arm candy, by other more contemporary show-off desirables?

The big reason people aren't buying sportbikes like they did before the recession is that they don't have the disposable income.  If I made an extra $10K or $20k I would have an 1199 reserved with my name on it.  To keep the 1198 I would have bought 2 years ago company.  but since I don't make that extra cash, I don't have the bikes.  Young people don't have money these days,  I saw a figure this morning that the median net worth for households where both partners were over 65 was over $170,000.  The median net worth for households below 65 was just over $3000.  With those kinds of numbers, who's going to buy a $20,000 motorcycle?  I am confident that if the economy turns around, people will buy motorcycles again. 
   Lets face it, an iPad or Powerbook are both nice,  but they have nothing on a hot motorcycle.  I work in IT.  I am surrounded by neat tech toys all day.  Not one of them has ever made my heart beat faster.  There isn't a smartphone in the world that has ever sung to me through an open airbox as I open the throttle.  Bikes are having a tough stretch, but they'll come back. 

[yamifixer]

I think somebody harshed Mr. Seidel's mellow.

[77south]

He's been writing since '56.  I think there are kids with iphones on his lawn.

[hillbillypolack]

Young people don't have money these days,  I saw a figure this morning that the median net worth for households where both partners were over 65 was over $170,000.  The median net worth for households below 65 was just over $3000.  With those kinds of numbers, who's going to buy a $20,000 motorcycle?  

This.  Every company focuses on the 'youth' market but during the last 5 years, that demographic has less disposable income.  I know Ducati's business model involves a lot of accessories beyond a high MSRP but I don't believe that's sustainable in established markets like NA and EU.  Also, I'd like to know what the median age of its buyers is, and what their median income is, knowing Ducati NA had a record sales year.

[Pedro-bot]

Too much of a reach with no substance to back what he's implying. 

Nice writing style though.