caferay
Been Around the Block
I went to Mosport for superbike weekend for the first time in years. I had no idea how bad the sport was suffering in Ontario.
Many riders I talked to said they wouldn't be back, there was just no sponsorship money. The dealers can't afford to sponsor, the parts shops can't afford it either, the numbers of riders has no gotten below critical mass.
I have never seen fewer people at an event at Mosport. 1/20 old crowds, and of that crowd, there were few people under 40.
Ironically, there was great racing.
Who to blame?
Since the 80s, the population of the GTA has doubled. It's not demographics.
The track has a huge number of improvements.
I think since I've seen the rise and fall of motorcycling in Ontario, the blame has to be spread around.
The bike manufacturers and media: From the 80s forward, their marketing has all been about performance, and magazines feature supersports bikes doing wheelies, stoppies, and other stupid things. A 600 is now over 100hp...which is what motoGP bikes were making in the late 70s.
This led to the second part of the problem: poor licencing and riders, which ended up getting killed on SS bikes in record numbers. This also lead to road racing laws, where one blast above 150km/hr on a highway effectively removes your ability to ever ride a bike again.
You could get licence tested on a 125, and immediately buy a 1000. MOT did little to regulate this, unlike Europe, that has power and age restrictions.
This resulted in...the insurance industry, that went from universal coverage to banned lists and rates in the hundreds a month for riders under 30. In Ontario, they pretty much have all political parties in their deep pockets. It's insane that my liability costs on a motorcycle in a country that snows exceed that on my car, which I drive on ice and snow (and pelting rain, etc.). No one seems bothered by the fact that we pay more for insurance than anywhere in North America. I'm continually amazed at how people in the GTA just bend over and take everything in terms of costs.
The result is what we have today: sales plummeted, dealers broke, riding a bike under 25 is not really possible, racing is dying. New bikes? targeted still to riders over 40, with few choices and little variety. Even the manufacturers have cut back with little advertising and marketing -not a single motorcycle manufacturer sponsored the event, or the track (Honda did for >30 years).
Even in the vintage bike realm, insurance is bizarrely capping coverage to 30 years...so what happens to that 25 yr old bike you may want to sell in 5 years?
This means motorcycling is hitting its boutique phase...top end bikes are going to get more expensive, parts and accessories as well. BMW is doing fine, and has the largest presence. Even Harley now promotes their sportster class racing - but none of that is affordable to anyone under 40.
Japan seems not to care. They seem to be focused on cars only at Honda.
This means that the community will continue to shrink, and that means motorcycle riders will not be a lobby for road laws, and riding will get more dangerous as bikes get rarer on the roads (they are already a rare site vs 20 years ago). Between the decline of bikes on the road, and the increase of distracted driving, it is probably one of the most dangerous times to ride.
It's time to go back to, "you meet the nicest people..."
Many riders I talked to said they wouldn't be back, there was just no sponsorship money. The dealers can't afford to sponsor, the parts shops can't afford it either, the numbers of riders has no gotten below critical mass.
I have never seen fewer people at an event at Mosport. 1/20 old crowds, and of that crowd, there were few people under 40.
Ironically, there was great racing.
Who to blame?
Since the 80s, the population of the GTA has doubled. It's not demographics.
The track has a huge number of improvements.
I think since I've seen the rise and fall of motorcycling in Ontario, the blame has to be spread around.
The bike manufacturers and media: From the 80s forward, their marketing has all been about performance, and magazines feature supersports bikes doing wheelies, stoppies, and other stupid things. A 600 is now over 100hp...which is what motoGP bikes were making in the late 70s.
This led to the second part of the problem: poor licencing and riders, which ended up getting killed on SS bikes in record numbers. This also lead to road racing laws, where one blast above 150km/hr on a highway effectively removes your ability to ever ride a bike again.
You could get licence tested on a 125, and immediately buy a 1000. MOT did little to regulate this, unlike Europe, that has power and age restrictions.
This resulted in...the insurance industry, that went from universal coverage to banned lists and rates in the hundreds a month for riders under 30. In Ontario, they pretty much have all political parties in their deep pockets. It's insane that my liability costs on a motorcycle in a country that snows exceed that on my car, which I drive on ice and snow (and pelting rain, etc.). No one seems bothered by the fact that we pay more for insurance than anywhere in North America. I'm continually amazed at how people in the GTA just bend over and take everything in terms of costs.
The result is what we have today: sales plummeted, dealers broke, riding a bike under 25 is not really possible, racing is dying. New bikes? targeted still to riders over 40, with few choices and little variety. Even the manufacturers have cut back with little advertising and marketing -not a single motorcycle manufacturer sponsored the event, or the track (Honda did for >30 years).
Even in the vintage bike realm, insurance is bizarrely capping coverage to 30 years...so what happens to that 25 yr old bike you may want to sell in 5 years?
This means motorcycling is hitting its boutique phase...top end bikes are going to get more expensive, parts and accessories as well. BMW is doing fine, and has the largest presence. Even Harley now promotes their sportster class racing - but none of that is affordable to anyone under 40.
Japan seems not to care. They seem to be focused on cars only at Honda.
This means that the community will continue to shrink, and that means motorcycle riders will not be a lobby for road laws, and riding will get more dangerous as bikes get rarer on the roads (they are already a rare site vs 20 years ago). Between the decline of bikes on the road, and the increase of distracted driving, it is probably one of the most dangerous times to ride.
It's time to go back to, "you meet the nicest people..."