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LoudLove
7/5/2017 8:30am
7/5/2017 8:30am
Edited Date/Time
7/9/2017 6:40am
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-05/can-millennials-save…
"In 2003, only about one-quarter of U.S. motorcycle riders were 50 or older. By 2014, it was close to half." There you have it: those of us fortunate enough to grow up with low-cost off road bikes and more areas to ride are dominating the industry today. And the exact opposite has taken affect since the mid-90's.
"In 2003, only about one-quarter of U.S. motorcycle riders were 50 or older. By 2014, it was close to half." There you have it: those of us fortunate enough to grow up with low-cost off road bikes and more areas to ride are dominating the industry today. And the exact opposite has taken affect since the mid-90's.
Meanwhile in our sport...
The Shop
The market for dirt bikes is very small comparatively, which means manufacturers are going to be less inclined to invest in and develop new, innovative and, as you suggested, "low cost" dirt bikes. The world doesn't need low cost dirt bikes. The world needs high performance dirt bikes that don't cost a bunch of money to maintain. It's one thing to buy an expensive dirt bike. It's another thing to have to continue pouring money into it for simple things like oil and air filter changes, not to mention costly top-end work.
So, look to the future and consider the possibility that, while expensive, perhaps more people will be inclined to endeavor to ride a vehicle that doesn't cost as much to own and doesn't require nearly the amount of time necessary to maintain. Electric bikes are where you will see an up-tick in motorcycle ownership, especially among younger buyers and perhaps that will encourage the electric bike manufacturers to introduce newer, low-cost alternatives over time.
Saw one the other day made from a dang xr 600.
What the hell?
KLX140G $3700
Pitster Pro LXR 250F $3600
AJP PR3 240 Enduro $4800
Honda CRF150 $3800
Honda CRF125 $3400
Yamaha TTR 230 $4200
Yamaha TTR 125 $3300
Not a 2stroke in the bunch
And it's one of their top selling models: The SX50. That's what that price buys you.
I see a future where motorcycle companies will build a "one-size" rolling chassis and then bolt different-sized engines or other features onto it. Auto manufactures already use this "platform" idea to sell one car design several times over as different products across different brands. R&D costs are minimized in this manner and profitability rises along with flexibility.
Imagine one aluminum frame which houses a 450F, 350F, 250F, 250 or 125 engine, mated to different suspension components. The 4-strokes could be top-of-the-line components, and the 2-strokes could be 2010 specs.
Pit Row
The European manufacturers did that in the 60's and 70's ( and probably earlier and later) with their dirt bikes. The Huskys, Maicos, CZs and I feel certain several others, had the same frames with different size engines in them. Different sprockets on the rear wheel between each model, but the 125, 250 and 400 engines would swap out between frames.
Ossa did it between 125s and 250s. Husky only changed front forks on the earlier 125s (72, 73, 74) but not the later ones. Maicos would swap out, so would CZs.
Of course I would still love to have a garage full of brand new bikes, but using a little elbow grease stretches the dollar considerably. Until I can get the same "value" (different for everyone, I know) out of a new bike, I'll keep busting my knuckles on these too-good-to-be-true craigslist heaps.
So much so that if one were to build a budget-first dirtbike for the masses, the cheapest option would likely be something with an Asia-market streetbike engine. And that's exactly what Honda did with the CRF250L ($5149).
They've got existing designs that could be combined with type of production considerations that Newmann is talking about.
But seriously.... here are the big two... easy enough to come up with, seemingly impossible to fix...
1. There needs to be more places to ride.... realistically, that falls straight down to government owned land... I am sick and tired of going around to different city/county/state parks where there are ZERO f'n people hanging out and they do not allow any type of riding.... not bikes... not scooters.... and certainly not off-road motorcycles... however, if that were to change, that would help our industry tremendously... seriously, a few trails on all the land that isn't being used by anyone, for any purpose, could sell a lot of bikes, and thus rake in millions in tax dollars....
2. Shall we look at the selection of today's entry level full sized dirt bikes? Yamaha has the TTR230... it is priced over 4K and is loaded with technology straight from 1979.... how about Honda?? they have the CRF230F... it is also priced just over 4K and has suspension that even a noobie is going to bottom over a cigarette butt..... now, just who wants to spend that much cash on technology their grandpa road on??? Hell, break out the molds on an '89 YZ125 and that bike would be infinitely better... or better still... pop a liquid cooled 4 stroke 250 engine, with about 30 horse, into a decent chassis with 10" of travel at both ends (with a 3.5k price point) and just see how many going flying off the showroom floor...
Yes, the industry is dying, on-road and off... but it isn't too late, there are a bunch of things that can be done now to ensure that my great-great-grandson still rides... and our industry shouldn't simply give up, he needs to ride.... only riding a motorcycle on dirt can give a person such a sense of freedom and a connection with mother earth, while giving you a great workout... I would hate to see a future where nobody would know the absolute bliss of riding a dirt bike...
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