Outdoor Recreation - Motorcycling—changing Times

Motorcycling is not only a means of transportation but also a popular recreational activity. In 2002 the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that just under five million motorcycles were registered in the United States. The Motorcycle Industry Council reported that motorcycle sales increased 6.4% during 2003, to a total of approximately 996,000 cycles sold during the year.

The Motorcycle Owner—a Profile

In 1980 the average age of registered motorcyclists was twenty-six; by 1990, thirty-two; and by 2003, forty-four, according to research firm J.D. Power and Associates. Although men bought the vast majority of motorcycles, they are proving increasingly attractive to women as well. In 2003 more than one in ten new motorcycles were purchased by women, an increase of 30% from 1998. Of these, half were first-time buyers, compared with just one man in five who was buying his first bike.

In the early twenty-first century, the industry catered more to baby boomers with disposable incomes and a yen for adventure. Manufacturers introduced a line of bigger, safer, and more expensive machines with plenty of extras—wide-body, big-windshield cruising bikes—aimed at customers more interested in comfort than performing daredevil acrobatics.

By 2003 very expensive bikes were reviving the industry. The recovery of Harley-Davidson from the edge of bankruptcy was based on marketing to older, more affluent consumers looking for excitement in their lives. The median age of a Harley buyer in 2003 was approximately forty-seven, up from forty-four in 1999, and his median income was $80,000, up from less than $75,000 in 1999.