Our membership is currently at one of it's highest points (~2120 in March 2024). Harley ownership is at an all time high, 2022 saw 52,876 Harleys registered in the GB (Statista.com). Our membership in proportion to the number of Harley Davidson motorcycles registered is lower when compared to the 1990s (~1850 members, but fewer Harley motorcycles).
The average age of a motorcycle rider in the UK is 54 (honda.co.uk). The average age of a club member is around 67 (need to fact check this) and they own their own home and have a garage/lockup.
Many of those who were members in the 1990s, are still members today, this is a huge testament to the club. However, familiarity and a touch of nostalgia reinforces repetition and sometimes complacency. Many of us seem to feel that what we offer isn't necessarily that appealing to those who don't have established friendships/associations with other longer standing members.
As the number (and variety) of H-D motorcycles remains high, this has created sub-groups within the brand, (choppers, sportsters, dyna bros, FXR, touring), which attract riders to specific aesthetics / styles. Equally, as the age of existing riders increases, this affects the popularity of certain models (heavy touring bikes being replaced by lighter softail models or sportsters). Social factors, such as the cost of a property with a garage or a lack of a space to work on a bike, make owning a motorcycle that needs work, less appealing or practical. All of these need to be considered when identifying who best to appeal to. It's too difficult to appeal to everyone all at once.
For the club to continue, we need to attract new members at an equal or greater rate than we lose members. What the rate of acquisition/growth should be, what new members 'look like', and how to engage with them, requires a more complex answer.
Do we push for growth for a couple of years, in order to generate membership subscription revenue and get more money in the bank, which would enable us to take (limited) financial risks by trying new things when appealing to other Harley sub-groups at our events? If the club is to exist for another 75 years, my personal feeling is that change is to be expected, what that looks like is unclear without a strategy.
For instance, the largest group of active Harley riders in the UK is HOG (17,000 members in 2017, MCN). Is this not the demographic we should be targeting if we want to increase membership? HOG members own Harleys, they understand the club structure we have, they like to ride, they go to rallies and they make use of volunteers. By comparison, Sportster Sickness are smaller, appear to have a much less formal structure, don't rally and tend to participate in day events. (I'm not well informed on "the Sickness"). The chopper scene (Hook-Up, 101 Run) isn't a members/club scene and I'm unsure why many of the chopper riders and builders I know would want to join the riders club today, even if they attended an event we put on.
In terms of what we currently offer, we have a lot of regions and a lot of rallies, which are generally small in size and similar in theme. I sometimes wonder if our funding setup (subs to the club, regions to be self-funding) creates a situation where we compete against ourselves by offering so many smaller events, rather than fewer, larger rallies which rotate geographically? edit: Or larger collaborative events with other organisations to share risk and profit.
My personal opinion is that our rallies struggle to differentiate. Aside from Perrys and the Vintage & Sportster, I'd struggle to explain how many of our rallies differ from one another in terms of the theme, format or what is offered once you are there. This is in no way a criticism as each rally has many merits.
If we want to appeal to as many people as possible, one needs to offer more of the same for existing members and something that meets a need for a new audience eg Hook-Up chopper show, Hot-Rod Hayride, Goodwood Revival, Trip-Out etc. Whatever is offered also has to compete with everything else that is going on that weekend in that June - August window.
Practically speaking, until we define some expectations around how many new members we want to attract, from where and what changes we are able or prepared to make, I'm unsure what can be done to change current perceptions.
This topic is something that the committee is aware of and any solution I imagine would require a lot of moving parts and a significant amount of volunteer time (from across the club) to deliver.