Those of us who have a passion for motorcycles, and motorcycling have been
trying to figure out why it has been receding in the past decade or two. Yes
the prices are higher, but the bikes are so much better. The deals are out
there, even Harley is discounting, and financing is relatively low. But yet
dealer’s sales floors are knee deep in discounted machines, and us older guys
wonder why? And yesterday, I got the answer, which was not what I expected.
But first, the facts...
Talking with a European store last summer, he said he could only finance 3
out of 100 millenials, after a two-three week shopping and then finally
deciding. To many had low paying jobs, still lived at home, or had too much
debt at a young age. But an underlying reason it took so long was there was no
passion to ride. They were transportation, the thrill of speed and of going
places didn’t exist. They approached a motorcycle much like buying a TV, read
the specs, shop for price, then go to Amazon. It was no longer about the ride,
and so the new bikes sit. As us seasoned riders stop in and wonder why...
Now there are many hard core facts, but one intangible exists, or existed,
and has been overlooked. The magazines. As kids we used to read with great
anticipation about the new Mach III, the Z-1, the new 750 Honda, and each issue
had ads and stories that made us want to ride. To buy that new bike we dreamed
of, or to want a Kerker header, buy K81’s, or read about how to adjust the
valves on a two stroke. We were mesmerized, the issues read and reread by our
friends and non-riders, who would wonder what it was really like to ride. Cycle
had Cook Nielsen racing and winning at Daytona, and suddenly we were one of him,
with him in the pits, and he was one of us. Peter Egan took us on rides in
Cycle World from his garage, Cycle Guide gave us an honest look at road tests,
Road Rider tested bikes by riding them thousands of miles and across time zones,
Rider took us along, showed the maps, and Road Runner, the new kid on the block,
takes us along on the roads and places to stay. Yesterday it all became clear
to me why motorcycling is dying when I got my last issue of the new Cycle
World. Once monthly, now it is quarterly, $11.99 an issue, and not one road
test in it. The kind of magazine you find in the seat back of an airplane while
flying, and I cancelled my subscription after almost 40 years. I am ashamed and
embarrassed for them, they have lost touch and the passion s gone.
Motorcyclist, its sister at Bonnier, has gone semi-monthly, and again the same
format. I’m sure some focus group advised them, but I’ll bet no riders were
included. And no new ones will join in. The passion is gone, the road tests
are gone, the type got smaller, and after 10 minutes, I had looked it all, and
only Kevin Cameron’s stories stood out. My wife who rides and reads also, said
it looked nice, but after looking inside, the stories were as impersonal as the
cover. The lack of passion within the industry is gone, it is all about making
a profit for stockholders. I’ll stick with my old issues, in between riding. I
have been shown the future, and I rather go back. Finding out I never left.
But it will always come down to people, and a visit to a multiline dealer
and talking with the GM who I have known for years, told me how he was
overwhelmed. Not by sales, but by work, as the dealership had been sold to a
conglomerate, who saw motorcycles as a way to make money. He now works seven
days a week, has no time to ride, and the sales force has a high turnover. No
familiar faces to relate to. Unlike a BMW store where I have known them for
years also, and we talk trips and rides, how do I like the new Triumphs, and
they are always busy, selling four bikes last Saturday. The still care and
ride, for we have this common disease called motorcycling. We just choose to
ride different brands. But we all ride!
Today church boards meet with ideas of how to grow the number in the body.
When Saul of Tarsus became Paul of the Bible, he had four things going for
himself, his ancestry, orthodoxy, morality, and his activity. Which all refer
to the flesh, it was only when he gave in to the holy spirit did his life and
ministry change. He had been all about the church, all about the external, now
it was all about Jesus. He found you cannot have confidence in both Christ and
the world at the same time, one will always win out. All his education, study,
prayer time, and good deeds that shown were for nothing without the spirit
guiding. All the things that make you confident in the flesh are useless
without Jesus, neglecting you have all you need in him. We train or are taught
how to respond in any situation, yet cannot find the words based on teaching,
but we can on the spirit. Some memorize and brag on it, some read the entire
Bible in a year, some are so overwhelmed with study they never learn anything,
it is all to feed the physical, while the spirit goes hungry. Are you more
confident in the things you know than of the Jesus you claim to know? Has your
passion become one of keeping up with the other believers, or making it personal
with Jesus? Whom do you place your confidence in, Jesus or man? Reading or
studying? Have you or will you ever come to the point of saying all is loss for
me Christ is gain? You cannot have both, your actions show your choice. Your
words may only condemn you. All the education without the application of love
is pride plain and simple. The passion for the spirit is gone, many still are
saved, but never grow in grace. How many church boards seek Jesus or success in
numbers? The truth is out there, just look and see. Do we really trust Jesus?
Or just what we have been taught?
And so churches like motorcycle magazines have to compete in the
marketplace for customers. Subscription numbers help advertising rates,
membership numbers help feed the ego. But it goes back to the passion, of
wanting to have the aura of speed and excitement. Of wanting to be thrilled and
a bit scared, it comes down to looking forward to the next time we do it, and we
count the days. It works for motorcycles too. The headstone of the church
reads the same as motorcycling, “gone riding.” Some sit in pews, some
experience Jesus first hand. Some read and want more, some just look at the
pictures. Your actions will reveal your passion, sorry Cycle World, you lost
it. Motorcyclist too. As a Christian don’t you. Step out of yourself and
into Christ Jesus. You can listen to the testimonies or be in them. Shopping
without buying is still shopping. And saying nothing for Jesus is still saying
no. Ronald Reagan was once asked why he left the Democratic party. He replied,
“I didn’t leave the party, the party left me.” Motorcyclists please take
note....Cycle World too.
love with compassion,
Mike
maatthew25biker.blogspot.com