Fowlers Breakfast run

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Degsy said:
And none of 'em a day over 35.
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Yeh I was thinking that… after looking at the photo. We could argue that the younger members were at work. But @Degsy your point is worth reflection.

Sportsters, for a while recently brought in younger riders with the ‘Hipster’ period, the new ‘Revolution’ Pan Am is less likely to as the ‘Adventurer’ motorcyclist tends to be in the 50-70 age group.

So I guess we end up asking ourselves if the 30.. somethings actually buy Harley-Davidsons here in the UK?

🤔

There is a rumour that a middleweight ‘street-fighter’ is on its way, I think it is going to be called the Bronx, as in NY. But until H-D produces something for the younger generation and our Club is ATTRACTIVE to them then the average age of ‘us’ will go up a bit more until we fade out entirely… perhaps.

How depressing 😕. Having said that some may say that we are an ‘ era’ and all things come to an end..then woffle on about the ‘Golden years if biking’ . When in fact Fowlers bike store, which was were this even was held was positively humming with young and old buying/arriving on a whole range of bikes, from V twins to electric commuters.

So we find that biking is by no means dead, but if we don't find a solution then maybe our Club has a limited time span.
 
Degsy said:
And none of 'em a day over 35.
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Its a bit unrealistic to expect to see members under the age of 35 at a Friday morning breakfast meet. Most will be at work earning the money to buy and maintain their bikes.

How do you suggest the club attracts and retains a younger membership profile?
 
Not one over 35 - in spirit. Is that better?

I watched a video by Freddie Dobbs the other day, where he examined the demography of motor bike riders. His personal tastes in bikes I find odd. He raves about everything he tries, and each one is the 'bestest' of the moment. His posh drawl doesn't help his image much either, but I digress.
What he does seem to have a point over, is that modern bikes, say from 1995 on, are less likely to become so called 'Classics' as are the bikes from the 1950's through to the late 1970's and will depreciate more rapidly for it. For my money, anything that resembles an exocet missile is a non-starter. Plastic encased crotch rockets 'need not apply' to my senses of desire. No thankee.

What is preventing young people (in the main) from being attracted to motorbikes, is the fact that many are affluent enough to get into four wheels, out of the elements, somewhere to canoodle, and room for mates. Whereas during my teens it was all about getting out of the buses and trains or not having to pedal to work and home. It spelt a degree of freedom that enabled access to the world (albeit a little limited) at large, though lip service must be given to continent crossers on even such humble beasts as the BSA Bantam. Anyone fancy a continental crossing of the French and Swiss Alps in an open topped 122cc Villiers powered Bond Mini-car? It has been done. Why? because it represented a challenge. And many cannot resist such a challenge. Where is the challenge today? Any vehicle can go most anywhere - effortlessly, political skirmishes permitting.

So, how do we attract more youngsters into the fold? We cannot. Lifestyles and politics have eaten away any need or desire - even ability to fettle anything nowadays, and the hoops and hurdles needed to navigate to get riding in the first instance, are a million miles away from fitting a set of 'L' plates, getting the thing started, and riding off - hand signals only. The 'Adventure', of powered motion with few restrictions - has evaporated. Only the seriously disillusioned with a life of boredom will be attracted to classic bikes, and Harleys in general. Those of us left are living on a tankful of nostalgia and the dreams of youth. We won't live forever.
 
I thought they were grey because of all they have seen!

The age thing has been a committee concern for over a decade, with few solutions presenting themselves. When I joined it was during the Italian two-strokes period, which was fairly unique even though small two-strokes had been available since the war, these last being virtually unknown to the British motorcycle scene. We thought the 750 Street might change things but they didn't last long - this far east built single MAY have some effect as the market for that category is being sustained by Enfield but I suspect a greater deciding factor will be the move toward electric bikes. With those I see little indication that an enthusiasts scene will be part of their ethos so followers of petrol bikes will likely go the way the scooter fans have - older die-hards clinging to their last hurrah?
 
Sadly nothing lasts forever - history tells us that and for all the reasons already articulated, I suspect that means also the slow reduction in membership numbers of our great club.

Instead of endlessly beating our chest of the what if and how, let's just enjoy what time we have left together. Keep on riding and whilst we often like to look back (nostalgically) we still have a future to look forward to - we just don't know for how long!

Our club and all the region's that make it so great is like a quality barrista coffee, it's taken time to create and yes it may be more exclusive due to the cost, but give me one good cup anytime over a jar of bland instant!
 
Supporting what Degsy just said was a comment ex-London region pal Steve Kickstart said to me. He was born in 1950 and though it is only seven years earlier than me we noticed that those years counted for quite a lot. He recalled that as soon as he could get on the road he did so, with a TZ175 Lambretta that would be big bucks today and he said as long as a young bloke had some sort of transport - bike ok, car even better - and some disposable income then unless he was pig ugly he could get a girlfriend with little effort.
Through my daughters (18 & 24) I have been surprised to see how many of their social circle bother to hurry onto the road, even more surprising is the boys who are not in any hurry. I'm guessing almost all of us took our very first chance to be mobile, I was quite unusual for skipping the moped/16 year to save for a Z-90 at 17 and that year seemed to go on forever. I'll admit by the way that I mainly joined the club because buying that Z-90 from Fred Warr I picked up a leaflet on the club and Fred took it off me saying "oh no, that's not for you" (he was against the club allowing the Italian bikes in) so I sneaked one home and joined.
 
I guess when you look back at our younger days we were still as a nation recovering from WW2 and folk had little money. Treats were visits to the cinema, dance hall / disco and the local pub. Travelling abroad was virtually unheard of for working class families and many had not even a car! Bikes were our ticket to freedom, excitement, means of getting to and from work, courtship and weekends away camping. Life was much simpler.

Now look at today - youngsters have mobile phones, internet, 24/7 news coverage, hundreds of tv channels, Netflix, Amazon, Sky etc. Foreign travel is easy, you don't need to join the military to see it. Life is totally different and youngsters don't need a motorcycle for all the reasons we did.
 
It's true, life was simpler. Some basics were in effect - luxuries (cue cardboard box analogies). Communication was face to face at work or in a pub/club. Newspapers reported stuff that few questioned, most of them only useful as chip wrappings. We had party political broadcasts on TV prior to General elections which most folk turned off. Vote harvesting.

"What did you reckon of that broadcast last night?"
"If voting changed anything - they'd ban it!" End of. If we voted at all, it would be how our parents voted.

People are waking up, but the forces of 'evil' have frequences and 'legislation' at their command.

I have ridden abroad solo and alone. To Paris on a Yam DT175, and a couple of times down to the Cote d'Azure - camped in a one man tent. Don't think I'd bother nowadays, passport expired. Couldn't be arsed. It happens when you pass the 70yr mark. Enjoy what is around you. Note to self: Get off the bloody keyboard!
 
Rick, you forgot to mention getting a sidecar when the wife/girlfriend went and got herself pregnant...
 
Well Ive read all the comments above, and all I hear is the end is neigh.

🙄

Motorcycles were selling well at Fowlers in November.

Its got nothing to do with their value in 10 years, second harley are almost worthless now.

Its got nothing to do with plastic bikes or what young people ride.

Its because we are a Club that has become a pastiche of ourselves in the 1980’s. And unless you are from then we have nothing to offer. 😊

Motorcycle sell ok, and youngsters are still buying them.
 
I’m probably always going to be a member, it’s been such a chunk of my life, and a good proportion of my friends are members too.

But as I continue to go to Rallies here & in Europe I find I am less interested in the rock concert than sitting around laughing and conversing with friends. I still wander the site and look at the bikes, but see less that is new or interesting.

Everyone is doing just what they have been for 30 odd years, just a lot slower.

I am starting to find the ride there and back more interesting than the event on occasions, and try to avoid the hangover more than I used too, which seems to hang around far more than it did.

I have noticed that events other than Fed & Riders do have an average age the is younger, Harley days & the West Country bike rally event a good few of our members attend.

So maybe we can look around and see what others do to engage with younger riders, but we will only do that if the members have the inclination which will require a change of our perspective of the biker world.

There are so many biker events out there and our Rally Calendar is bursting at the seams, yet we appear to fail when we look at our own demographics.

Its no big deal, there is a huge biking world out there, but I would like to think our club will see its centenary with a membership of 2000 or so similar to numbers we currently have.
 
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Roach said:
Maybe younger riders don't want to hear a pub band playing Smoke On The Water. 😂
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I doubt that, youngsters listen to a very wide range of music, my daughter is 13 and her playlist includes led zep and pink floyd right through the 80’s 90’s to modern stuff which is quite rappy.

Id say we are the ones than don’t listen to much else than what was cool in 1970-90.

At the Wobbler the DJ put on some Abba between bands and the response was quite a surprise..the dance floor suddenly became a mass of heaving rhythmical grey haired youngsters 😂😂
 
michael_dinwiddy said:
Not sure how I spell that. Is it nay ? Probably is.
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Nay, is as No; neigh, the sound horses make. Nigh, as in coming soon. 'The end is nigh' - so it was claimed on the boards of 'Sandwich men'.

Abba - heaven help us . . . . Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, some Genesis, a bit of Rush and a whole host of folkies in preference to bloody Abba! Sounds like Zimmer frames at dawn.
I don't dance either. Well, maybe a bit when no-ones looking, and somewhere near the settee so I can fall on something soft.
 
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