I am not an expert by any means but could taste the difference between absolut and popov
Printable View
I am not an expert by any means but could taste the difference between absolut and popov
But to the thread topic: I think the behavior and the perception of millennial is largely geographic. In the cities I think more of the current stereotypes ring true, in more rural areas its business as usual. We have a fresh crop of them in the office ranging from 19 to early 30's. All great people and ALL ride something gas powered (sled, bike, atv).
According to HD's own research, the average owner rides 1,100 miles a year.
From doing an analysis of used bikes on CL, New England riders average about 2,200 per year. And that's with a 4-6 month season for most.
The sales manual that got released to the intarwebz a few years ago lays out their strategy.
https://cdn.rideapart.com/wp-content...D-Manual-3.jpgQuote:
So you’re a salesmen tasked with selling someone a product they don’t need, that they can’t afford, that isn’t competitive with rivals, that isn’t new and won’t make buyers stand out or demonstrate unique taste. How the hell do you do that? Don’t worry, the official Harley-Davidson test ride manual is here to help.
https://cdn.rideapart.com/wp-content...D-Manual-4.jpg
How to sell a Harley-Davidson | RideApart
The "millennial" generation got to jump into the workforce during a terrible recession. Wages are stagnant all over, companies are not paying. Housing has gone through the roof anywhere there is decent pay. All these factors don't add up to disposable income situations that can be applied to what is, overall, a very expensive sport. Most have given up on even owning houses much less motorcycles. Other part of it is their priorities are so different, too busy buying up artisanal organic locally made goods.
Does this really impact the moto industry that much? Take a look at the past 15 years and look at how exciting the market is still. There is a model to cover every use, and crossover for every use as well.
I think that not only the motorcycle industry but car industry will have to go trough a deep transformation. This new generation don't want to have things, they want to have experiences. The car sharing services are growing everywhere.
I believe that motorcycle industry is very successful selling motorcycle riding as an experience, but fails addressing commercially the issue. hard time to park the bike, do the maintenance, store the bike for several months in the colder areas: these are things the millenniums just don't want to care about. Other issue is pollution and heavy traffic in bigger cities. This is another issue that the motorcycle industry has all the tools to explore, but for some reason, they don't. I mean, why buy a 30 grant Prius to drive yourself to work everyday to save the word, if you can do a lot better on a 4K small displacement scooter? I don't see the motorcycle industry exploring it commercially and work with government to use motorcycle as a solution to big cities traffic problem. You can easily park 4 bikes where you park one car. And the big displacement motorcycles should start to be provided as services. You pay like a membership and grab any bike available when you want to ride. No maintenance, no storage, no buy, sell, register. And when this millenniums turn 40s they will certainly feel the itch to buy their own bikes.
On my wife's side of the family there's a ton of millennials. I've noticed the following traits with them in relation to finances and vehicles:
1) Are not financially stable at all when compared to older generations when they were at their age. If you don't have disposable income, you consume less.... You cut out the non necessities.
2) Most of them don't own any vehicles. They rely on public transportation or Uber/Lyft. They view vehicles as a money pit. One of my sister in-laws just had her car totaled. Instead of buying a new car she decided the T and Uber/Lyft was sufficient for her needs.
3) General lack of interest with the millennials in my family. I got a good 12 millennials in my family. Not a single one of them is interested in cars or motorcycles. They generally view them as unnecessary expenses.
So what the fuck do they spend their money on? Or are they just making less, and working out an existence on the bare necessities?
I'm way the fuck out of touch.
Yes and yes, generally speaking.
God, how depressing.
--mark
I see that life in general has gotten more virtual, across all generations. The M's have just started in a more virtual place than the rest of us. I see it with my family and friends, more time on the computer and being entertained in that manner.
We were all way better off before computers. Period. We'd still be better off if a magnetic flux rebooted shit back to starting over with cards and tape
Convenience, better health care, entertainment, blablabla, once upon a time you could actually meet someone in person and have discussions with strangers in public. Now if you try, chances are it'll all be measured with an egg timer, lest you further interrupt their facey space ego time...
Reality don't need no virtual.
It's a combination of things from what i'm seeing with them...
1) Graduated college with 40-80k of Debt (varies per college)
2) Entered the workforce at the worst time possible (the recent recession we had)
3) Got low paying jobs out of college. Lot of them struggled for a couple years out of college because there were no decent jobs due to recession.
4) Low paying job + 40-80k of debt + the cost of living in New England = Just barely makes enough to get by.
5) No disposable income.
grumpy old geezers :twofinger
Meh. Must be a city millennial thing.
Bunch of my friends my age are getting bikes now.