Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/919511
Flashback! State of off-road motorcycling? I believe we're good. Over the past year, insiders amongst the motorcycling industry have pre- dicted a rather large downward spiral in the sport of motorcycling. At last year's AIMExpo, there was a lot of talk of how millennials do not like motorcycles. In fact, a large majority of millennials do not even care for automobiles. Their disposable income is spent on electronics, gaming and spor ng events. Baby boomers, once the backbone of motorcycling are growing older and dropping off at an alarming rate. Yeah, it sounds gloom and doom but in my opinion, I feel we'll be just fi ne. Middle aged riders such as myself are passing their love of two wheels on to our children and grandchildren in fi ne style. Yes, I do agree motorcycling might skip a genera on and I also feel the days of dressing up like a pirate, spor ng a prac ced scowl, while horrifying women and children are close to over. What I have witnessed fi rsthand this past season has been incredibly encouraging and I feel the off -road segment of motorcycling will be just fi ne. As most of you are aware, along with my passion for the latest and greatest of modern woods rides, I'm also a huge lover of the vintage scene. If I've got a free weekend, it's easy to fi nd me, I'll be at one of NETRA'S Vintage Scramble events. Yeah, for the most part, it's a bunch of funky old dudes on funky old bikes but what's also happening on these Saturdays is the Pee Wee and Jr Enduro races are also being held on the day of vintage events. The numbers of young riders showing up to race are staggering. With ages ranging from fi ve to fi een, these riders are the new blood entering the sport. Entering the sport of motorcycling through off -road riding. There will be no argument, for the sport of motorcycling to survive, there needs to be an infl ux of new riders. Here in New England, John Day and his immensely pop- ular J Day Off road (jdayoff road.com) Race Series is drawing numbers unheard of since the mid 70's. It's not uncommon to see up to 1000 riders entered during his larger GP and Sprint Enduro weekends. What's even more impressive are the number of young riders a ending and racing. A typical J Day event includes the en re family from the li le kes riding around on trikes, to their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents. The draw is huge, the ac on fast and the beau ful New England terrain where events are held makes for a very enjoyable motorcycling experience. Our local shops we've been dealing with for years have reported they've all had a banner year when it comes to off -road motorcycle sales. No ques on new motorcycles are expensive but it's clear the economy has picked up and riders young and old are spor ng new bikes. So cool to see. I do feel strongly that more development in entry level trail bikes would be benefi cial to a rac ng new riders. Yes, Beta has done a great job with their 125 RR-S and AJP's PR4 really fi lls a rather large void when it comes to off -road capable, entry-level machines. What I'm really fl oored about is the lack of marke ng entry level motorcycles to women. The op ons for a woman entering the sport of motorcycling are very limited. If there were more bikes designed with the female rider in mind, I truly believe there would be an infl ux of new riders down the road (or trail hopefully) in the not too distant future. I'm sure most will agree that women who ride will have kids that will ride too! -Kurt