Millennials are Killing the Motorcycle Industry

Millennials have killed so many industries it has become a meme. Now, the motorcycle industry has entered the ranks.

(Image from RevZilla)

According to Bernstein Research, which is consistently ranked among the top for qualitative research in the US and Euro markets, they have found that young millennials are 30 to 40% less likely to ride motorcycles as compared to their Gen-X (the generation following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials) counterparts.

Bernstein has found out that as baby boomers “age out” of riding, the millennials are not picking up the slack. Even when they entire one of the prime times to pick up motorcycling (as Bernstein liked to call it), which is the pre-family stage, millennials are just not interested in these two-wheeled vehicles.

The analysis firm has cited a few reasons, and one of them is the problem of student debt. Compared to baby boomers, the average millennial has nearly double the student debt at over $3,500 USD. This may not sound like an extremely significant difference, but “for the individual 20 million millennials with student debt, the difference between $15,000 USD and $26,000 USD of student debt is $130 USD a month, which is equivalent to a monthly loan payment on a $8000 USD bike,” David Beckel, who led the research study, said.

Furthermore, the used bike market is much more affordable. Harley Davidson CEO Matthew Levatich said that the used bike market is “a great entry point for more price-sensitive buyers, for new riders, for young adults, millennial riders”. Another interesting reason that was brought up was the idea that millennials do not feel the need to rebel as much as the generation before them, probably because of their debt burdens.

The motorcycle industry is also not as “cool” as it used to be, with less media outlets glamorizing riding the way it did in the past.

In response to a method that can be used to appeal to the younger generation, Bernstein stated that companies could try to sell bikes through a different business model. “That is, instead of loans being the primary means of financing, try leases,” Bernstein suggested. “Or, experiment with some of the concepts embodied by the sharing economy.”