Are motorcyclists doomed to age out and disappear?

Roads empty of motorcycles could become a reality if we don't attract more young riders to our sport.
Pic by Mathieu Day-Gillett

Are motorcyclists doomed to age out and disappear?

This is something that has really been on my mind of late, as a forced absence from two wheels looms with the arrival of my firstborn.

While my absence from the roads on two wheels will hopefully be short, what will be left when I make my return in a couple of years time?

Motorcyclists as a whole have been slowly demonised on our roads, and as we age out (sadly there’s nothing we can do about that), it seems that while more and more riders are falling into the older and coincidentally more at risk category over 45+ there are very few coming in below them.

Where have all the young riders gone?

I have a couple of theories as to why we don’t seem to see too many riders under the age of 30.

Firstly, and possibly one of the least emotional reasons, is the overwhelming abundance of cheaper alternatives to motorcycling in the New Zealand transport landscape. Why would a teenager or early 20-something fork out thousands of dollars on a motorcycle, Class 6 licence, and all the protective gear needed to ride safely when they can get a cheap and reliable 15 year old Japanese import at a fraction the price?

Sure, Scooters can cost as little as $2000 new, but even they with their nifty CVT transmissions and vast underseat storage don’t come near the convenience of a tin top.

Secondly, is the safety considerations needed to successfully navigate the woeful driving standard of Kiwi motorists, and I think parents have a lot to answer for here.

What parent in their right mind would put their child on a motorcycle as their primary form of transportation, knowing full well the often touted (and by some shouted from the rooftops) statistics that motorcyclists are 20x more vulnerable than a car driver our our roads.

So who is really to blame?

Partly, I think we as motorcyclists have to bear much of it.

On a recent long weekend trip up to Auckland, I was appalled by the number of riders out on their bikes not wearing the appropriate gear. The number of exposed knees and ankles truly frightened me, while the lack gloves on many riders brought back memories I’d rather forget.

Like it or not, we are the ambassadors for our pastime, and if we don’t put our best foot forward and demonstrate best practice then we may as well hang up our helmets early. It's PR101 – if the public continues to see us as idiots on two wheels, we're not going to be able attract newcomers to motorcycling. What a tragedy that would be!

One final bit of food for thought. If there’s no new blood coming into motorcycling, then how on earth will the manufacturers of the bikes we love survive? If they give up on our marketplace due to falling sales for an ever shrinking number of riders, then keeping our beloved bikes on the road will suddenly become a lot more expensive.

Add that to your $400+ rego and smoke it!