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Motorcycles:
A Boomer-Fueled Boom
The liberating power of the road has been an enduring theme in American culture and male mythology but motorcycle
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Business New Haven
5/12/2003
By: Lisa MiCali
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The liberating power of the road has been an enduring theme in American culture and male mythology but motorcycles are much more than just cool-looking machines that make a lot of noise: Depending on who you talk to, they are tribal totems, sacred temples, magic charms, musical instruments, time machines, transportation to a higher dimension of being, creeds of freedom and mortality, definers of the American way of life.
Plus, it's like they say: Nothing burns the rubber of life better at stoplights on a warm summer afternoon.
The leather rough-and-rumble biker image has softened over the years, and the pastime is now attracting a new segment of older, more affluent riders eager to motorcycle through midlife crisis or see the country in a more intimate and appealing way.
Despite the soft economy, baby boomers have more money for such expensive toys (brand-new motorcycles can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000), and sales over the last ten years have skyrocketed - along with an increase in the number of motorcycle
crashes, alarming even many industry advocates.
With 2002 sales up a remarkable (given the state of the economy) 9.4 percent, the U.S. motorcycle industry is celebrating ten consecutive years of rising sales thanks in large part to baby boomers exploring the hobby for the first time or getting back to their motorcycling roots.
New-unit motorcycle sales have surged as the 40-plus age group seeks new ways to reclaim the true meaning of life. Or, as they say: Life is too damn short not to be riding.
Harley-Davidson Inc., the king of American bikes, announced record revenue and earnings for its first quarter ended March 30. Revenues increased 20 percent over the same quarter a year ago.
Collectively, Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) member companies that distribute motorcycles in the U.S. account for nearly 75 percent of the market (according to the 2002 MIC Retail Sales Report, which includes all the major manufacturer/distributors). Among them, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha combined continue to lead with nearly 65 percent of total motorcycle sales last year.
New unit sales of on-highway motorcycles accounted for 62 percent of the market in 2002, with off-highway machines topping 31 percent. Current manufacturer-suggested-retail prices (MSRPs) of on-highway motorcycles range from only $2,999 for entry-level models to more than $20,000 for high-end sport and touring bikes.
The average MSRP of today's "street" or on-highway motorcycles (not including on-/off-road hybrids) is about $11,500. Among the on-highway models, cruisers continued to lead the market in 2002, gobbling more than 56 percent of total sales.But in the world of motorcycles, there's nothing that approaches the cachet and mythology of a Harley Davidson, often touted as the "American Icon of Bikes" (a retort to motorbikes from Japan, Italy and Britain.)
The company has just done the improbable, or even the impossible by producing its first truly modern sport bike - the new V-Rod - as a cruiser. It's the company's first new line
of motorcycles in more than a decade.
Inspired by the VR-1000 racing motorcycle, Harley-Davidson is trying to broaden its appeal to younger, richer Americans as well as buyers in Europe and Asia. With a starting suggested retail price of $16,995, the V-Rod even got its own TV special on the Discovery Channel this past winter. But, with prices like that, it's no wonder the generation born after World War II - at least those still flush with 1990s prosperity - can afford them.
Grey-haired riders such as Kevin Geenty, 60, founder of the Geenty Group, Realtors in Branford admits to being a Harley RUB (Rich Urban Biker). For him, there's nothing like the experience of a Harley.
"It's the freedom, the wind in your face and your hair, it's being one with the road, leaning turning, the noise, the speed," he adds with a laugh. "But, the only tattoos I have, are the washable ones."
Geenty's Harley - a 1997, 100-horsepower custom-built Fatboy, an extremely fast hotrod - has seen many miles. Part of the bike scene are the annual bike shows such as Laconia in New Hampshire, Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C., or Americade in Lake George, N.Y.
Charitable runs, too, are an important part of the experience. "When you see a big group of people on a ride in the summer - 50, 100 or 2,000 people - it's almost invariably a charitable ride," explains Geenty.
During the last weekend of August, Harley fans will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Harley-Davidson, reveling in everything the company and its Milwaukee home have to offer, including live entertainment, special exhibits, food and a motorcycle parade. Locally, area dealerships will be feting the event with their own special parties, and some will even organize rides to the "Cream City."Sales are strong for area dealerships. Libby's Motorcycles of New Haven, selling Ducati, Triumph, Honda, Yamaha, and Excelsior-Henderson motorcycles, is doing extremely well, asserts George Libby, co-owner with his two brothers, Damon and Keith, and his sister Karen.
In business since 1957, Libby's attributes the rising popularity of motorcycling to baby boomers who are coming back to motorcycling now that their kids have grown and they have more free time.
"A lot of younger women, too, are getting into bikes," Libby explains, "now that Yamaha and Honda have created new bikes aimed at the growing market of women bikers. Such factors as seating position, height, width, the positioning and type of handlebars, make it easy for women to get a great fit. Some of them actually start out as passengers and graduate from behind their husbands into wanting a bike of their own. And, we're also seeing a lot of husbands and wives purchasing bikes together."
Libby says that the current batch of riders is as diverse as the bikes they buy. "Our customers are priests, lawyers, doctors, surgeons, teachers or blue-collar types," says Libby. "But, the market has definitely changed over the years."
Baby boomers such as Marty Ruff, 59, owner of HMR Enterprises in Hamden, an equipment brokerage firm specializing in laser printers, bought his first bike in 2000 after friends of his began buying bikes. A boater for many years, he wanted a new hobby and gave in willingly to his friends' coercion - though he had no previous riding experience.
"I never had the itch to do it, and I've heard horror stories about it," Ruff acknowledges. "But during the winter, I went to watch my friends buff their bikes and as I watched them, while I puffed my cigar, they talked me into it."
So Ruff bought his first bike - a Yamaha - two years ago. And earlier this year traded up. It wasn't his intention but while at the Hartford Motorcycle Show in January, Ruff fell in love with the Yamaha Road Star Silverado, Silver Edition, a limited-edition model that commemorates the 25th anniversary of Yamaha's cruiser line-up.
"It features styling extras galore like the chromed fork." Ruff crows, "and a beautiful liquid silver paint scheme with classic-style whitewall tires. It's a limited edition of 1,500 bikes this year. I'm No. 154."
Ruff rides almost every Sunday, weather permitting, with an informal group of like-minded riders, through little towns and back roads throughout New England. "One of the fellows is considered our general leader," explains Ruff. "He's 62, retired, and has been biking for years. A former truck driver, he knows all the back roads, and takes us for great rides and great food. There are riders who 'Ride to live, live to ride'? Well, he rides to eat. We go to Vermont just for BBQ ribs."Opened just last month, Indian Motorcycle of Stratford's customers are all about nostalgia and the historic Indian connection (see sidebar on the Indian revival story).
According to general manager Keith Buth (himself an owner of a black Indian Chief): "The market is more mature, and the buyers are in a relatively higher economic bracket. Our biggest age group is the 35-49 group. The second largest is the 50-plus age group. Combined they make up more than 85 percent of our customers. The owner of an Indian is more of an individual and less of wanting to fit into a particular group; they like to be seen as different but not as a bad boy."
Buth says that the industry has grown tremendously over the last decade because of Americans' increased desire to get back to motorcycling in mid-life. Prodded by baby boomers, sales are skyrocketing despite falling stock prices and a lackluster economy. Adds Buth: "The economy hasn't affected sales as it has other luxury items. Motorcycles are a want-to-have item - not a need-to-have item, unaffected by economic fluctuation."
A seasoned rider who has been racing and riding motorcycles for 30 years, Buth has always had a strong interest in the industry. When he got wind of a new dealership opening he decided to exit the corporate life and do something he had a passion for.
"We felt there was a market opportunity in southern Connecticut because of the growth and interest by riders in American V-twin motorcycles," says Buth. "The expanding popularity of motorcycling and a growing desire for Indian in the area influenced our decision to open in Stratford."
Buth's dealership, housed in a 10,000-square-foot former automobile dealership on Ferry Boulevard, is one of the largest Indian dealerships in the area. A grand opening is scheduled for Flag Day (June 14), with some surprises in store for Indian fans, Buth says.
He also expects to form an Indian riders association, which he hopes to have up and running next month. Since its opening in late April, Buth says his store has been very busy.
"We've had people traffic all week, both male and female. A lot of couples are also coming in. In fact, people were banging on the door before we even opened. And I let them in, even though we weren't 100-percent up and running yet."
Another motorcycle industry milestone surpassed for the first time is that of new unit retail sales dollars, amounting to more than $7.5 billion for all segments of two-wheelers in 2002, up 13 percent over 2001.
In terms of total annual retail revenues, including new unit sales, parts and accessories, services, plus state taxes and licensing, motorcycling is a $19-plus-billion industry.
As motorcycle sales have soared, so has the number of people taking Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training courses. Across the country, nearly 230,000 students took part in such training in 2001.
MSF estimates that one-third (or about 75,000) were female, demonstrating a strong interest in riding by women. And since 1974, more than 2.5 million men and women have taken one of the MSF classes designed to enhance rider skills and knowledge.
Classes for the state's best-known motorcycle safety course, the Connecticut Rider Education Program (ConnREP) are booked through the summer. The school's training coordinator, Ray Gaulin, explains that demand has skyrocketed over the last decade.
"In 1990 we had 1,147 students graduate from our program," Gaulin says. "Last year we had 4,142 riders, a 300-percent increase in ten years."
Motorcycle registrations, a key indicator of new bike sales have jumped too, says Gaulin. "The biggest push has been in the last five years. In 2002 we had 66,980 new registrations. But on average, 50,000 bikes are registered each year. What we're seeing are older folks, not the 20-24 age bracket like it was in the 1970s and 1980s."
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