It is widely reported that millennials are not into motorcycles and that sales are going down because of that. Most of the supporting evidence offered for this notion is that Harley sales are going down. It seems that for too many in the motorcycle business, Harley-Davidson is the standard by which the health of the motorcycle industry is judged. Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorneys do not notice this millennial bike crisis in their practice because they help motorcycle accident clients of all ages in their offices on a regular basis.
Explanations for millennials’ lack of interest in bikes
There are a number of theories and explanations that people point to when trying to determine why millennials do not seem to be riding as much as prior generations. A few of the most common thoughts are listed below.
- Millennials simply do not have the money to take up motorcycling. More of them went to college than prior generations and they have more debt than any other generation as a result.
- More millennials are living at home for longer periods of time after college. It may be hard for them to justify buying a motorcycle for their parents when they are not even paying for their own rent.
- Motorcycle life does not have that cool guy cache that it used to have. Motorcycles are not glamorized as much in television and movies as they used to be.
- Millennials are the generation of safety. They actually had bicycle helmets as kids like no prior generation. They wore wrist guards and elbow pads to go rollerblading. They always wore seatbelts, even on long car trips. Motorcycles are dangerous and they are especially dangerous to a generation of people who grew up with protections that prior generations had largely not experienced
It may not be true that millennials are not riding
As mentioned above, the evidence relied upon when declaring that millennials are not buying bikes is often simply pointing at the decline in Harley-Davidson’s sales. That could be an indicator of millennials not riding bikes, but it could also be an indicator that millennials have a problem with Harley. Their bikes are luxury priced and out of many millennials’ budgets. Their options for bikes under the $10,000 mark are often criticized for not matching up to their under $10,000 competitors.
To further this thought, there actually has been a rise in motorcycle sales in the under $10,000 category. They not only want less expensive bikes, but they also want better gas mileage, and bikes that are better for the environment. These under $10k bikes fit those requirements and maybe Harley and a few other makers are too set in their ways to give millennials what they really want, so millennials are turning elsewhere.
Regardless of your age and the kind of bike you ride, if you have been involved in a motorcycle accident, motorcycle crash lawyers at the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg are available for consultation. If you have suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated.
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