The more motorcycle folks I talk to, the more I realize my personal story of how I came into it is different from nearly everyone else. Now, while it's true that not everyone I've spoken to grew up riding since they were kids, I'd say somewhere around 60 to 70% of them have that kind of story. Or at least, that they discovered riding sometime before they were full-fledged adults.
That's not me, though.
I didn't learn to ride a motorcycle until after I learned to drive a car. And I didn't learn to drive a car until I was an adult. Part of that is because I grew up in a major city with a decent public transportation network, and I was taking buses and trains across Chicago. Honestly, it's almost surprising that I learned to ride a bicycle back then, but I did.
Yet, from watching the latest Canyon Chasers video, two things were immediately clear to me: The guy narrating is clearly a bit older, as are many current riders I've spoken to. And his cultural touchpoints and the story of how he got into riding are also much, much different than my own lived experience.
At the same time, I've also talked to riders my age and younger, and I've found loads of different stories there, too. Still other folks I've talked to (mainly women) have been all hushed tones and amazement, surprised to see me out riding on my own, and then asking me a bunch of questions because they think they might want to give it a try, too.
Those experiences usually make me feel a whole range of feelings, because I hate thinking that anyone ever thinks they can't ride, or that they shouldn't ride (or shouldn't do most things, if it comes down to it) because they've been socially conditioned not to. If you don't want to ride, don't ride, but don't NOT do something you might really love just because someone, in all their wrongheaded audacity, told you not to. That is not now and will never be it, folks. You have to chase your dreams, big and small.
In the Canyon Chaser's video, they use recent motorcycle sales and demographics statistics to illustrate the well-worn point that motorcyclists in the US, Canada, and Europe seem to be aging up and out, and that newer, younger motorcyclists aren't joining the ranks enough to replace the ones who are aging out of the hobby.
But then they talk about certain go-fast e-bikes (likely either registered as Class 3, or else possibly not labeled at all because they're definitely not constrained to the accepted limits of Class 1 or Class 2), and how there are tons of kids who are rolling up on these things, and how they might, in fact, be the real resurgence of motorcycling in a completely different form. And that's worth discussing.
Now, admittedly, another difference I probably have from this guy is that I'm a woman who rides. So when I decided, for practical reasons, that the very first motorbike that I bought would be a maxi-scooter (because, as I've told folks many times, it's the only two-wheeler that could fit a full knife roll for culinary school inside; even a massive moto top box that would've cost way more than I could've afforded back then couldn't make that claim), I probably didn't get as much toxic feedback from dudes because, well, I'm not a dude.
Weirdly, the inherently lowered expectations of women on bikes meant that I probably got less negative feedback about choosing a scooter instead of, and I quote this as sarcastically as I possibly can in writing, "a REAL bike."
To be completely clear, I've met and continue to meet all kinds of rad folks of every possible description because of motorcycling. But there are always a few here and there who go out of their way to be jerks. And that's something that Canyon Chasers brings up in this video as a reason for these declining numbers of younger riders getting into the sport. To that, I'll absolutely agree. Gatekeepers suck. Do what makes you happy; don't listen to those folks, is my best advice. From a lifetime of experience, I can tell you that the people who aren't for you will fall away, and that over time, you will find the real ones who vibe with your particular flavor of weirdness, and it's a magnificent thing that I 100% wish for everybody.
But what about e-bikes and the adjacent e-motorcycles?
The final point that Canyon Chasers makes, though, is one I want to zero in on. While we've had a bunch of discussions amongst the RideApart staff about how all the kids are out on super-fast e-bikes and we see them having fun all the time, it's unfortunately not true that no one has a problem with this.
Local municipalities around the US (not sure about Canada or elsewhere; drop a note in the comments if you have more info!) have steadily been cracking down on e-bikes, tightening legislation around those that are either Class 3 or unregistered, and severely restricting where even the Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes can and can't legally go. I've seen it up close and personal in and around the Chicago area a bunch, and you can find plenty of places across the nation where different flavors of the same type of strict crackdowns are in effect.
From old folks yelling about kids knocking them over, to kids nearly causing a head-on collision on local trails because they're texting while riding (this nearly happened to me over the summer), there are conflicts both real and overblown.
Me, personally, I hate it; I love the idea that e-bikes can provide a great, fun way to get around that doesn't cost as much as a new car, or even a new motorcycle. But as with people on every type of transportation, you'll have some who behave responsibly and try to share the road and trails, and others who ride like jerks and don't care if they almost cause a calamity. And the latter are the ones that stick in people's minds, and the ones that people yell about.
Sure, e-bikes are more expensive than the average pedal bicycle (and no, I'm not talking about super fancy, carbon-fiber-everything high-end race bicycles, so no snarky whatabout comments about those please). But the thing is, everyday transportation costs exist on a spectrum. Assuming that you live in a place where the public transit system is reasonably robust, and there are monthly passes you can buy, a few months of the cost of transit passes will likely get you a halfway decent e-bike. And it's not difficult to understand why someone might make that choice, because then the only schedule you have to adhere to is your own.
Also, that's only talking about the folks who use it to commute to work and/or school, and who don't instantly gravitate toward an e-bike in order to do delivery or courier jobs, which e-bikes have democratized in a lot of ways. Then again, you could always be a person who does both, because lots of people have side hustles with side hustles on top; in which case, an e-bike may very well be a necessity!
Everything Costs Money + Gatekeepers Suck = Why Wouldn't Some Potential Riders Choose To Put Their Efforts Elsewhere?
Super-valid points about the cost of new motorcycles and gatekeeping goblins discouraging new riders (or would-be riders) out of buying the less expensive options out there do, unfortunately, very much ring true. And it's a sticky situation in multiple ways.
Some OEMs offer some new motorcycles at extremely attractive MSRPs, but everyone knows that won't be what you pay when you actually take it home from the dealership. At the same time, we also understand that dealerships need to make money, or else they're not going to stay in business. It's true enough that there needs to be some middle ground somewhere, but by the time a potential new buyer's headache has backed off enough that they're ready to make a decision, maybe they've already put their wallet away and moved on.
Maybe they weren't that into it after all, especially after enough naysayers chastised them for not getting "a real bike" instead of whatever smaller-displacement machine they were eyeing to build their skills and see if they even wanted to invest a bunch of time, money, and effort into a new hobby they might tire of in a couple of months.
Great, Now I'm Thoroughly Depressed About The State of Motorcycling. How Do We Fix This?
I'm not here to sell you on anything, except maybe this: Don't be a jerk.
I've already spent 1,500 words telling you other things, but in the end, I think it's really that simple. Encourage people. That's something all of us can do. Be a resource, be a light, be a person who is honest and trustworthy, and treat new riders, old riders, and the moto-curious alike with respect. Answer questions! Stoke the fires of interest! Don't make fun of people for liking a different bike or style of riding than you! Everyone's path is different, but isn't it more fun in the end if we're all out there, doing what makes us happy with stupid grins on our faces?
Why would you want to take that away from someone? Maybe someone hurt you in your past; that's probably true for most of us, honestly. You can't change that, but you can change how you treat other people. It's up to you to treat people with kindness, and that starts with sharing your passion for a thing you presumably love if you've read this far (motorcycling) with others around you.
And if you're new here, I will gladly be your motorcycle auntie, so ask me anything you want to know and I'm happy to help.
Psst, I'm also going to tell you about an organization that's doing the complete opposite of gatekeeping, and that has a really encouraging mix of younger participants (many of whom are also women) and seasoned riders alike, but that'll be in another story coming soon to RideApart. So stay tuned!
