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I follow this guy on YouTube and really like his attitude and his love for the older Iron.
He's mostly into Shovels and XL's but loves and works on just about anything including Pans, knucks and Flatties.
That said, he recently built a new shop and decided to have an open house of sorts for any of his YouTube followers and customers in his local area.
He had a pretty decent turnout considering the weather. Something that struck me is most all that showed up are in the 40 and below age range.
I understand that probably doesn't do much for the new bike market but gives some promise that the passion for Motorcycles isn't necessarily going away. I mean to get a decent turnout for an impromptu get together in the middle of winter in the boonies to me, is a good indicator that the passion is not as dead as many would have us believe.
Here is a link to his vid regarding the open house.
I follow this guy on YouTube and really like his attitude and his love for the older Iron.
He's mostly into Shovels and XL's but loves and works on just about anything including Pans, knucks and Flatties.
That said, he recently built a new shop and decided to have an open house of sorts...Something that struck me is most all that showed up are in the 40 and below age range...a good indicator that the passion is not as dead as many would have us believe.
Originally Posted by rizzo
We'll be hosting an AMCA event at the shop in Sept with an antique/vintage bike show. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up.
I've seen the same thing in the automotive realm. I hear that kids aren't interested in cars. Yet, my son, who is eaten up with cars, has an event almost every weekend. Sure, they're not the same type of event, but they ARE meeting up around cars. And, no, they are not "takovers" as many might have you beleive. Undoubtedly, they are still "kids" and there will always be idiots, but they weed themselves out pretty quickly or the group moves on.
I ride with a vintage British/BSA bike club a few times a year (on my Norton) and we do get some younger riders thankfully but IMHO not nearly enough to sustain the club going forward.
In the meantime plenty of the baby boomer members (I'm one too) are aging out of riding and some can't kick start an old bike anymore...awhile back I had to start a members bike for him and help him get it off the center stand.
The big annual All British ride has a smaller turnout each year. Anyway we do get some new younger riders and that is great to see and they are definitely welcomed...
The photo below is from 7 years ago and we haven't got any younger ;-)
Boomers developed a flavor for the oil iron bikes and cars some rode in the back window as kids and sat in from of who ever on a machine
times have changed but i have a pile of younger guys who come to the shop as the old timers are dying off we are seeing less of them
the real issue is in time no one will be able to do this once the old crew is done doing it - ver few of the kids want to learn and those that do want instant big money not interested in earning it
And its not just old bikes. I was at a car show in a supermarket parking lot a couple of weeks ago. Not a large show, maybe fifty cars, but some beautiful 60s and early 70s muscle, and some scarce examples.
Im 70 and all those owners of those beautiful cars were teenagers when I was born.
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Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
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Some hope for the future?
