Bike Bandit BLOG: Large motorcycles are a dying segment

[TURBO200R4]

when i decided to start riding again i got a sportster and at 3000 rpm it would vibrate me off the seat. it was a nice little bike to ride to work. i took it to the dealer and they had one or their mechanics ride it and when he came back he said that that was one of the better ones. is this your first harley and i said yes and the last.
now i like the way it looked and the way it handled but it strained on the freeway and after 100 miles i was done. (like get me off this thing)

 

[Paul Bryant]

There was a time when 650 cc was the king of the road.

When most roads were gravel and you had to understand that riding on gravel was like steering a boat on water. You had to let the front tire float and gently guide as it planed.

At the end of the day you would pull under over on the side of a country road take your night roll and sleep under a bridge. Bath the cool water of a creek feeling the minnows swimming in the current.

Stop at a diner and get as many cups of coffee you wanted for a nickle and breakfast for under a buck.

$20.00 was a weeks worth of adventure.

Today everyone is so into technology they have forgotten how to live.

Admit it we are dinosaurs. All we can hope to do is pass on what we know so there is always a candle of hope for others to follow.

Yep, this was me in my youth.
My revenue stream always had cash flow so I could travel at will.
Long days of riding and stopping for a three coarse meal (Two beers and a pie) somewhere was all it took.
Back then I would head out with ten $10 notes in my R/H pocket, time for gas or a meal, I'd dip into that R/h pocket, pull out a tenner and put the change in my L/H pocket.
When I ran out of tens, I'd head for home.
Getting home (sometimes only just) with no coin left was a 100% successful trip.
All of this done on either a 1952 Matchless 500 single (15-16years old) a 750 Norton Combat Commando (the hot ones, and yes I did blow it to bits, many times) (16-19) then a string of Triumph Triples (19 to present )
Man, I saw the country, meet a heap of great people and LIVED LIFE

 

[Blackthou]

Bit like me except add gallons of beer and a few gals along the way. The bits I can recall were brilliant.

 

[Paul Bryant]

Bit like me except add gallons of beer and a few gals along the way. The bits I can recall were brilliant.

Oh yea' there was always girls

 

[scot in exile]

The under 1000cc market has always sold the most bikes,, but as the late great Adam Smith would say higher price bikes bring more profit not much profit in cheeeeep bikes.

 

[BillyIndiana]

The under 1000cc market has always sold the most bikes,, but as the late great Adam Smith would say higher price bikes bring more profit not much profit in cheeeeep bikes.

Well Triumph has not been making much money off of the rockets and TBirds the last year. There have been some great deals out there on new bikes.

And I would put the quality of my 2005 America up against any bike in it's class.

Other than that i agree with everything you said.

 

[1olbull]

Lets face it kids today are basically priced out of the market....!! I have parents pleading with me to give their sons a job for the summer,most live at home with their parents. The average house here that was $50K in the 70's is going for $300K+...rental apartments and houses that were $300 are now $1300-$2500... At 18 i lived pretty good on $50 a week.. I wouldn't want to be a kid today..

Pretty much the same price increases here in WA.
Bough mine for 52K in 1975 - now worth 325K or more!
Tis tough for the kids to get a home.
Mine just got their first home at 39 years for 520K!!!

 

[Ishrub]

You are not even close to our situation and it has kept going since 2016.

This Chart Shows Just How Ridiculous Sydney House Prices Are

This Is Fine GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Source:
This Chart Shows Just How Ridiculous Sydney House Prices Are

 

[Jsmcdorman]

Well, time for a millennial to join this post and join the conversation I guess. I was born in 1990 and the proud owner of a 2014 Rocket III Touring. I'm currently in the process of getting my CES full system from Australia. I was born and raised in Virginia. Prior to owning the Rocket, I had a Suzuki c50t which I modded. I don't have a degree and I don't mooch off my parents. I taught myself everything in my career choice and love to correct the college grads when they join the work force because the only they learned in school is about their safe space. To be honest, my parents try to mooch off me. It sickens me to see my "generation" and the way they live life. So, speaking for my "generation" I will say there are some still out there that still know how to live. Some of us grew up watching John Wayne westerns and know Clint Eastwood as a gunslinging badass.

 

[OldNorthState]

There was a time when 650 cc was the king of the road.

When most roads were gravel and you had to understand that riding on gravel was like steering a boat on water. You had to let the front tire float and gently guide as it planed.

At the end of the day you would pull under over on the side of a country road take your night roll and sleep under a bridge. Bath the cool water of a creek feeling the minnows swimming in the current.

Stop at a diner and get as many cups of coffee you wanted for a nickle and breakfast for under a buck.

$20.00 was a weeks worth of adventure.

Today everyone is so into technology they have forgotten how to live.

Admit it we are dinosaurs. All we can hope to do is pass on what we know so there is always a candle of hope for others to follow.

This is, in part, why I don't particularly care for all the gizmos to be had on the H-D Glides and Indian "whatevers"... and why I don't complain constantly about "I wish my R3T had sat-nav, infra-red missile guidance and surround-sound" (or whatever the h*ll they come up w/next...lol). I'm a MOTORCYCLE RIDER, and enjoy the more minimalistic experience of wind, road, motor, tactile, etc. If it gets so bad I'm needing e-stuff to "make it", I'll pull over and pull out a smartphone (and even that annoys me to some degree...lol...)