Noobie Explosion

awyala

awyala

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Ok what's causing the plethora of noobs? By the way, I love it. But I can't quite figure what's causing the riding boom.

To discuss:

Is there in fact a rider boom?

Is it due to:
1) gas prices?
3) congestion?
4) some sort of imported European sensibility?
5) high insurance rates for cars?
6) high insurance rates for noobs, pushing noobs to the 250 lower capacity market, which in turn creates a more accissible culture as compared to the olden days of jumping straight onto an R6, binning it, and having the rest of society hate your hooligan hide?
7) the hipster scooter culture creating a non-ss-biker culture which turns people onto 2 wheels in the first place?
8) warmer winters?
9) E-bikes making you envious in traffic while stuck in your car?


Discuss.
 
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1.no
2.no
3.no
4.no
5.no
7. definitely no
8.. yup...
9. no...

I've wanted a bike for over four years.. but just had other priorities... now I'm making enough to support the bike habit..it's not a cheap one.. and I feel mature enough to ride safely... and my God does it feel good to sit on a bike as a woman.. I'm an adrenaline junkie.. the sound of the exhaust... the sleek contours of almost any motorcycle.. its just HOT.. eventually i want to get a dirty ducati... eventually......
 
it could definitely reflect the shift in age of our population
 
CharleneLizette said:
1.no
2.no
3.no
4.no
5.no
7. definitely no
8.. yup...
9. no...

I've wanted a bike for over four years.. but just had other priorities... now I'm making enough to support the bike habit..it's not a cheap one.. and I feel mature enough to ride safely... and my God does it feel good to sit on a bike as a woman.. I'm an adrenaline junkie.. the sound of the exhaust... the sleek contours of almost any motorcycle.. its just HOT.. eventually i want to get a dirty ducati... eventually......
Click to expand...

u should be writing for motorcycle porn mag
 
I started cause I was broke, my car was broke down, and I was amazed at how versatile two wheels were in European and 3rd world countries. The hard riding, track days, and Duc dreams and fulfillment came later.

PS, Even I get jealous of E-bikes! And props to hipster scooters....they are a valiant effort to revive the scooter mod and cafe racer culture of old. Some of them really aren't faking the funk and have done a great job modding their bikes into great cafe racers in the true spirit.
 
gas prices (less expensive for my daily commute)
warmer winters (longer seasons)

i already love driving, i love the high revs...but its costly in a car lol
pushing my car to the limits means going way to fast too soon... and then well..ur OUTLAWED.
And getting to the fun roads costs lots in gassss
where as pushing a 250 to the limits means going not to fast but enjoying the feel of the road a lot more
its like waking up from the dream of being in the cage and finally getting to go outside!
 
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I always wanted to ride on street (legally) so I bought a bike once I had the cash.
Also, not being part of the reason I originally started, the amount of kindness and compassion/etc other riders show towards eachother (the majority of them---old and new alike) are part of the reason I wish to continue riding for a long long time.

its also a really great hobby/way to pass the time. From practicing to get better, going for a nice relaxing cruise, carving (okay.. ATTEMPTING to carve) up some twisting, to modifying and wrenching on your bike.

It takes a lot of time, something I have WAY to much of.
 
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OK back on track....cause of the noob explosion (if in fact there is one); more so than our individual reasons for riding.

Noob reasons for riding acceptable though ;)
 
I've always wanted to ride and wasn't able to financially justify it until recently...now I'm at a stage where I'm able to take up this (expensive) hobby and am sure glad I did...
Original justification was gas savings but let's face it...you don't save much! LoL maybe over time but not in the short run...

As for the noob explosion...more people are taking it up so it's becoming more and more visible...so more take it up...and then it just snowballs from there.

I think gas prices do have something to do with it though as it's seen as a more economical solution to the daily commute as people move farther and farther away from their workplace.
 
For me, I always considered it, but shot it down internally (too expensive, too dangerous, etc, etc). Then I moved out/bought a place and a few friends got their M2s so I started actually looking into it and decided to give it a go. Always loved cars (my first word was not mom or dad -- but car lol) and driving since I got my G1, so figured I'd like riding as well and was right.

I also went the 250 route due to the cheaper buy-in to see if it really was for me, coupled with lower insurance, and less risk of being a noob with the controls. Will likely be upgrading to a 600 SS once I get my full M and insurance drops with experience.
 
I just heard a report on the news yesterday that the luxury market (clothes, fine dining, etc) is actually above pre-recession levels (and is one of the only sectors that is), and is driven mostly by younger people. I know my discretionary income has increased dramatically in the last few years, and was a big factor in buying a bike last year.
 
giesen said:
I just heard a report on the news yesterday that the luxury market (clothes, fine dining, etc) is actually above pre-recession levels (and is one of the only sectors that is), and is driven mostly by younger people. I know my discretionary income has increased dramatically in the last few years, and was a big factor in buying a bike last year.
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Basically, young people who are getting a taste of their first "real" money are blowing it recklessly on motorcycles and other things they can't actually afford.
 
mmmnaked said:
Basically, young people who are getting a taste of their first "real" money are blowing it recklessly on motorcycles and other things they can't actually afford.
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Works for me! There's going to be TONS of nice barely used bikes for sale as soon as their bills come in and low financing ends! They're supporting the economy!
 
this is why young men start, not sure about the women.

met an 18 year old with a fancy new r6, I couldnt fathom the "fun" i would have in high school with an SS. good for him!

jen+centrefold+ducati+motor+girl+models.jpg
 
mmmnaked said:
Basically, young people who are getting a taste of their first "real" money are blowing it recklessly on motorcycles and other things they can't actually afford.
Click to expand...

The now classic European perpetual live-in offspring trap. As major items become more expensive, accommodation, cost of living, high capitol items (like a car), etc. Initial salaries are almost entirely "disposable" when living with the parents still. Once the reality of a delayed or accepted later start to branching out on one's own settles into the mind of said new income earner, spending becomes diverted to what is immediately attainable....lower capitol items (watches, clothing, dining out, even cars in the absence of housing payments!). The trap is actually when enough income is made as to easily allow the over-spending on these low capitol items, either acquiring too much, or being able to afford spending too much on single items such as designer clothes.

In many parts of Europe the trend is quite pronounced with young men in their 30s still living at home with their folks but non the less spending on designer clothing and dining / public entertainment.

If the bike is a serious commuting tool, then I don't see it as an unwise investment in this case. But if a bike fits the mould of the older school TO riding culture....it being a summer weekend toy, then yes, a bike would be unwisely blowing a starter income having mistakenly thought it was "discretionary" in the first place.
 
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^Valid points awyala. Politics and finances aside, the explosion in new riders is great. However, a big problem I've been seeing is new riders who claim they are better riders than they actually are, putting themselves and others at risk... Two weeks in a row on group rides we had people who have been rideing for 3 years almost hurt themselves, and put us at risk trying to keep them in the group., we lost one guy on a 600 ss on the highway with a group consisting of a couple 250's and 600ss riding at a fairly moderate pace, guy just had to slow down to 60 take turns in the road on the dvp...the other guy was excessively slow in general on a sport touring 500, lane changes would take 30 seconds.

Nothing wrong with learning, nothing wrong with not knowing how to handle certain things, just be honest about it and everyone will be cool.
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