Motorcycle industry Council swings into action

Tarz483
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Edited Date/Time 12/3/2019 12:10pm
https://blog.motorcycle.com/2019/07/31/motorcycle-news/motorcycle-indus… I recently Read this, even though it was from few months ago , but pretty interesting.
Thoughts ?
Has there been any findings released ?
Anyone have any more info?
I wonder how long the study is supposed to be?
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wpark89
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11/29/2019 12:33pm
I always assume the MIC is full of smart people. It’s interesting that they had to hire a consulting group to figure out why people aren’t buying motorcycles when they could have got a vital account for free and let us all tell them why.
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Indy mxer
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11/29/2019 2:56pm
wpark89 wrote:
I always assume the MIC is full of smart people. It’s interesting that they had to hire a consulting group to figure out why people aren’t...
I always assume the MIC is full of smart people. It’s interesting that they had to hire a consulting group to figure out why people aren’t buying motorcycles when they could have got a vital account for free and let us all tell them why.
Lmfao!!!
4
zippytech
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11/29/2019 3:04pm
Some things don't take a smart person to figure it out, it's obvious.
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dcg141
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11/29/2019 3:21pm
Can-Am is selling a lot of their Spyders. Like enough that they are close to passing Suzuki in US motorcycle sales. I think it caught them off guard as it has most of the industry. You would have to think the majority of folks buying those are new buyers. You would think at some point that at least some of those buyers want to try a 2 wheeler. If people enter motorcycle riding via that style of unit so be it. Also E mountain bike sales are doing well and you may see new riders enter off road motorcycles via that route.
2

The Shop

EngIceDave
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11/29/2019 3:34pm
You hire an outside firm to avoid any perceived bias or conflicts.
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side-pipe
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11/30/2019 5:29am
zippytech wrote:
Some things don't take a smart person to figure it out, it's obvious.
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator??

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend... except one. Which animal does not attend??

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
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9
dang472
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11/30/2019 5:53am
So is the elephant a $4000 125 2 stroke in this game or is the refrigerator my wallet? I know, the Lion King is a $12k Factory Edition but the crocodiles are the 5 year loan for a 19yr old kid with 18% interest. So confused
16
Tarz483
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11/30/2019 6:23am
dang472 wrote:
So is the elephant a $4000 125 2 stroke in this game or is the refrigerator my wallet? I know, the Lion King is a $12k...
So is the elephant a $4000 125 2 stroke in this game or is the refrigerator my wallet? I know, the Lion King is a $12k Factory Edition but the crocodiles are the 5 year loan for a 19yr old kid with 18% interest. So confused
Doesn't sound like your confused it sounds like you hit the nail on the head!
Also the kid can't qualify for the 18% loan even if he wants to half the time.
And they widened the River over time = evolution
And it got a lot more dangerous to try to cross.
2
11/30/2019 6:31am
zippytech wrote:
Some things don't take a smart person to figure it out, it's obvious.
side-pipe wrote:
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This...
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator??

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend... except one. Which animal does not attend??

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
Mufasa and Scar both died during the events of Lion King one so they would not be there. There is more than one right answer here
1
JustMX
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11/30/2019 8:26am
Mufasa and Scar both died during the events of Lion King one so they would not be there. There is more than one right answer here

That question was designed to see if you spent time watching children's videos on work computers

You failed
2
JustMX
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11/30/2019 8:29am
dcg141 wrote:
Can-Am is selling a lot of their Spyders. Like enough that they are close to passing Suzuki in US motorcycle sales. I think it caught them...
Can-Am is selling a lot of their Spyders. Like enough that they are close to passing Suzuki in US motorcycle sales. I think it caught them off guard as it has most of the industry. You would have to think the majority of folks buying those are new buyers. You would think at some point that at least some of those buyers want to try a 2 wheeler. If people enter motorcycle riding via that style of unit so be it. Also E mountain bike sales are doing well and you may see new riders enter off road motorcycles via that route.
I think sales statistics would show that a lot of those are going to boomers that are in the market for a three wheel model and they don't buy into the Harley or goldwing conversions that handle like a motorized barstool and cost much more.
4
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CR250Rider
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11/30/2019 9:07am
They hire a consultant group to give them a different answer than the one they know is true.
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FWYT
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11/30/2019 11:36pm Edited Date/Time 11/30/2019 11:36pm
“Centauric has committed an impressive multi-disciplinary team of behavioral scientists, engineers, and business consultants, and takes a unique approach to problem-solving. We are excited to be working with them on this critical initiative,” said Paul Vitrano, MIC board chair and senior assistant general counsel at Indian Motorcycle and Polaris Inc.

From its suite of offices in tony La Jolla, California, Centauric’s site says it “offers an array of consulting services specifically targeting the challenges facing today’s leaders and their organizations. From Fortune 100 companies to start-ups, across sectors from financial services to high-tech and healthcare, we help clients survive and thrive at pivotal moments.”
]

Whenever you hear corp-speak associated with a niche activity, it is generally going to be a fail.
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EngIceDave
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12/1/2019 4:54am
I was at the MIC meeting/announcement of the consultant service's results and subsequent plans, and the reality is, it's difficult for new riders (street or dirt) to get into motorcycling. It's not always about price either. Convenient areas to ride have dried up. Empty lots where they'd let your kid ride without complaint is all but gone, and packing all your shit up to drive 2 hours isn't convenient for everyone, especially when you consider now you have to invest even more into trailers and additional things, especially a vehicle to tow the trailer (or buy a new truck).

On the street side, intimidation is a major factor. Dealers don't really offer "lessons" to noobs, so they have to go into a dealer, with little to no knowledge, be pushed in several directions on what to buy, then they're pushed out the door to figure it all out on their own. Your state may have a MC DL like mine, but there's no where to go before that, no one to educate the noob on how to ride, not to mention a convenient, safe and legal place to learn.

In many cities or with many dealers, it's "buy this bike, see ya."

This is driving away buyers. Buyers who have the money or credit, but don't know where to turn once they sign on the bottom line.

Poo-poo this all you want, these are legitimate issues. How the industry addresses them is the question.
How do you make the buying experience less intimidating? How do you make it less intimidating for the single female who wants to ride? How do you assist them more through the buying experience, and after making a purchase decision? What about continuing education? Ride nights are cool, but rookie riders may be wary or intimidated of riding with more experienced riders, not knowing all the "unwritten rules" of riding in a group. How does a noob test ride a bike, when they really have no riding experience?

Everyone's ridden in cars, so they have a rough idea how to drive and after sitting in a car, know what makes them comfortable.
How can a similar experience be had in motorcycling?

You have to remove your biases and try to view this objectively.
10
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peltier626
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12/1/2019 6:35am Edited Date/Time 12/1/2019 7:04am
The track's lately have had great turnouts with youngsters, this past weekend there must have been 20 kids at the track. Accessibility and affordability should be priority. This is our crew alone.
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peltier626
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12/1/2019 6:41am
The difficult part is attracting newcomers to the sport. I'm not sure how they should approach it, but hopefully e-tech opens up new accessible riding areas. The challenge is getting some newbies out there not us families that are already vested in the sport.
aeffertz
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12/1/2019 6:43am
side-pipe wrote:
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This...
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator??

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend... except one. Which animal does not attend??

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
This is the most frustrating thing I have read in quite some time.
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EngIceDave
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12/1/2019 6:46am
Newbies was a large part of what needs to be done to move forward.
Attracting them, educating them, teaching them to ride, test rides, sell the right bike, continuing education

Easy to sit here and judge, we're all experienced (I think) riders, but to someone who knows zero, but thinks it looks like fun, it can be very intimidating, especially when you consider very few cars are delivered as manuals anymore, so you have to teach (an odd) shift pattern and proper clutch use, not to mention, two different brakes, not a single brake pedal.

My wife can drive a stick, but gets confused on a bike, it's all different and backwards (hand/foot controls)
str8line
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12/1/2019 7:28am
The issue now might be cost or locations to ride but in the near future(if it isn't already) the primary issue will be that young people have more fun interacting on social media and playing virtual reality video games than participating in outdoor activities.
1
acres951
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12/1/2019 8:51am Edited Date/Time 12/1/2019 8:52am
This is a complex problem with complex solutions.

But... I always thought if I was a dealer it would make sense to:
1) include the pass of a membership to a local track with the bike and market advertise as such. This would help support what is likely only one track per dealer area in most cases. No track open no dirt bike sales.

2) find a super low cost lightweight trailer (think harbor freight) with a couple of bike rails and market a package to newcomers where you’d arrange to have a hitch installed (outsourced to a shop down the road for liability maybe) on their vehicle so they could tow the trailer with their new bike(s).

Fact is people finance stuff, great bike is covered there at 18% but now I have to pay another $500/year to ride (cheap by ski hill standards) and $1500 cash to be able to get my new bike anywhere.

Have to consider the total cost of all of this and make it as easy as possible.

Dealers get this wrong I think. Start soaking them for the higher priced items once they’re hooked not when they’re trying to start out.

Again, I know this is but one piece of the puzzle, and a small one at that.
peltier626
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12/1/2019 9:02am
It's expensive indeed, we've been having good weather here in the south these past couple weeks, We've been riding every weekend, it's $150 minimum a day for an outing at the closest track. Factor in other cost plus maintenance for the month of riding and it's a $1000 month of moto. We already have the bikes, gear, trailer etc. This is expensive indeed.
early
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12/1/2019 9:07am
I'm surprised that there isn't a bigger effort by manufacturers and dealers to create and maintain tracks or riding areas near where they do business.

Also a dealer or dealer satellite location at the track like alot of hobby shop setups with rc tracks.
12/1/2019 9:13am Edited Date/Time 12/1/2019 9:13am
side-pipe wrote:
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This...
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator??

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend... except one. Which animal does not attend??

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
I have some questions:

1. Why the fuck are you putting gigantic animals in a refrigerator?

2. Where did you get a fridge that big?

3. How did the animals not die while in the fridge without oxygen?

4. Since when do animals attend conferences?

3
bad juju
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12/1/2019 9:48am
It still boils down to high cost. Everyone is faced with it. Track owners, race organizers, dealers. The list includes all of us. 4t and oem greed killed it. Without the young kids riding and having that life long love for moto and being on a bike in general its a slow death for this sport. When i was a kid everyone on my street rode. Now nobody! Lots of kids are to soft and sheltered anyway these days. After my vintage racing ends that's most likely the end of moto in my family. When the oem's finally figure it out it will be too late.
motogrady
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12/1/2019 9:52am
early wrote:
I'm surprised that there isn't a bigger effort by manufacturers and dealers to create and maintain tracks or riding areas near where they do business. Also...
I'm surprised that there isn't a bigger effort by manufacturers and dealers to create and maintain tracks or riding areas near where they do business.

Also a dealer or dealer satellite location at the track like alot of hobby shop setups with rc tracks.
Well, the way I see it, the masses have moved to quads. And as of late, side by sides. Don't confuse the two.

Hey, a guy can take his wife or gf along, she's part of it. Any trail or off-road area will do. You can have your buddy right next to you, having fun. No pressure. They double as work horses out on the farm.

I heard the big dealer here in Morgantown WV, the home of MX Sports, is selling side by sides at a rate of 27 to 1 as of late. 27 to 1.

Eh, things come and go.

A megastar like McGrath, even bigger maybe, that could go mainstream might help MX/SX for a bit.

But face it, it's been a good run, the times, they are a changing........

motogrady
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12/1/2019 9:54am Edited Date/Time 12/1/2019 9:56am

As far as the money sure, it's a concern.

But price a loaded side by side.
Loaded, heaters and all the bling can go 25k.
1
endurox
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12/1/2019 10:17am
Question out there
How many of your friends ride an e assist mountain bike but have never been on a dirt bike?
wpark89
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12/1/2019 10:49am Edited Date/Time 12/1/2019 9:18pm
early wrote:
I'm surprised that there isn't a bigger effort by manufacturers and dealers to create and maintain tracks or riding areas near where they do business. Also...
I'm surprised that there isn't a bigger effort by manufacturers and dealers to create and maintain tracks or riding areas near where they do business.

Also a dealer or dealer satellite location at the track like alot of hobby shop setups with rc tracks.
It also surprises me that the manufacturers don’t appear to be more Involved in these issues. Doesn’t Honda have a guy who looks at the books and see’s how many CR 125s they sold in ‘77, ‘87, ‘97, compared to how many CRF 250s they sold in ‘17?

I’d really like to know those numbers.

Locally I see some positive efforts happening. A local shop sponsors several kids ride free days at the local MX track. I also see a local track going way beyond to encourage first time riders and beginners with free entry fees for newcomers and special classes for entry level bikes.

I don’t buy the cost being the biggest issue we are facing. Families are buying side by sides and boats that cost tens of thousands of dollars for recreation. There are enough iPods, X boxes, Kindles, and other BS in most kids bedrooms that add up to more than a good used YZ 80.

I don’t desire to be pessimistic but people are just not coming....and a reality is they just might not.

We will never see a boom like the 70s but how do we just stay healthy and consistent at whatever size moto can be?

A long time successful industry guy said to me last year....It’s just a dying sport. I’m thankful I got to see and be a part of the good years.
Doddy
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12/1/2019 11:18am
EngIceDave wrote:
I was at the MIC meeting/announcement of the consultant service's results and subsequent plans, and the reality is, it's difficult for new riders (street or dirt)...
I was at the MIC meeting/announcement of the consultant service's results and subsequent plans, and the reality is, it's difficult for new riders (street or dirt) to get into motorcycling. It's not always about price either. Convenient areas to ride have dried up. Empty lots where they'd let your kid ride without complaint is all but gone, and packing all your shit up to drive 2 hours isn't convenient for everyone, especially when you consider now you have to invest even more into trailers and additional things, especially a vehicle to tow the trailer (or buy a new truck).

On the street side, intimidation is a major factor. Dealers don't really offer "lessons" to noobs, so they have to go into a dealer, with little to no knowledge, be pushed in several directions on what to buy, then they're pushed out the door to figure it all out on their own. Your state may have a MC DL like mine, but there's no where to go before that, no one to educate the noob on how to ride, not to mention a convenient, safe and legal place to learn.

In many cities or with many dealers, it's "buy this bike, see ya."

This is driving away buyers. Buyers who have the money or credit, but don't know where to turn once they sign on the bottom line.

Poo-poo this all you want, these are legitimate issues. How the industry addresses them is the question.
How do you make the buying experience less intimidating? How do you make it less intimidating for the single female who wants to ride? How do you assist them more through the buying experience, and after making a purchase decision? What about continuing education? Ride nights are cool, but rookie riders may be wary or intimidated of riding with more experienced riders, not knowing all the "unwritten rules" of riding in a group. How does a noob test ride a bike, when they really have no riding experience?

Everyone's ridden in cars, so they have a rough idea how to drive and after sitting in a car, know what makes them comfortable.
How can a similar experience be had in motorcycling?

You have to remove your biases and try to view this objectively.
Lack of riding areas is huge. Tracks only being open for practice/racing during the week also doesn't help.Trail riding is no longer going down the street or across the way. Pack up everything and drive a few hours to get a little ride in.

This of course is what I notice in my area.....I also don't know anyone who has a private track.....even though I hear and sometimes see them.... IE. The one I see all the time off 405 on my way back to Mukilteo.

If dealers, manufactures, don't create more places to ride.......no matter the cost of any of it......it's all hopeless. It's already hard enough to go ride myself, let alone trying to get someone new to go out and ride. Just my 2cents.
2
Taotech
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12/1/2019 11:18am
I dont mind having to travel to ride. I dont mind the expense of a nice used dirtbike and closeout gear. I cannot afford the hospital bills and lack of income when I get hurt, that is what is to expensive. So after 45 years of passion for moto I have to quit or go slow. I quit.
1

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