The Death Of The Motorcycle Industry U.K ?

Рет қаралды 2,930

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 71

@mikecartlidge5355 Ай бұрын

I worked in the motorcycle trade as a mechanic here in the UK from 1971 to 2019 when I retired. The 1970's were the boom days with a great ranges of machines from 50cc upwards, the big thing about the 70's was a lot more riders used their machines as every day transport. Over the years governments trying to save us from ourselves brought out many new laws, none of which did motorcycling any good in this country. Slumps in motorcycle sales and shops closing isn't a new thing, during my time in the trade I was made redundant 5 times by shops either closing down or staff cut backs due to a down turn in trade. For a young person to take up motorcycling these days it's very expensive and so they go for a little car instead which more or less makes the motorcycle a play thing for older guys, seeing little use compared with how people used to use them. When times get hard, like now and our economy takes a dump the first things to get hit are big boys toys and the leisure industry. If you have a motorcycle, doesn't matter what it is, old, new, large or small get it out of the garage and use it. Support your main dealer as well as guys who run smaller bike repair shops, a lot of these people have worked at main dealers in the past and have set up their owns shops and rely on a strong customer base..........the old saying, use it or lose it springs to mind.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@mikecartlidge5355 could not agree more. I worry how the industry will look if we ever do reach the end of internal combustion.

@mikecartlidge5355 Ай бұрын

@@Grumpy-Goblin Sadly one day it will happen, but as yet a viable replacement for the internal combustion engine has not been found as EV's are not the answer. It would be sad to think of going to a special event to watch a motorcycle as we know them actually run, a bit like our railways when steam was made redundant.

@timoakley277 Ай бұрын

@zaydgill545 Ай бұрын

I learnt to ride a motorcycle 3 years ago before I even took car lessons. Now I'm 22 I've got a car and my motorcycle is still my main mode of transport. I do my own servicing and maintenance work and if I ever get stuck I'll go to a local shop NEVER a dealership. Never brought anything other than a used bike and never will. The industry can do what it wants to. As long as the used market is alive and well and bikers don't become hyper dependent on dealerships then motorcyclists will keep on riding

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@zaydgill545 I get where you're coming from and when I refer to dealers I mean it as a cover all because we saw in covid that the whole industry is tied together. When new bikes weren't available the used market went crazy and only now are prices coming back.

@Mid-Knife-Crisis69 9 күн бұрын

I could hear everything perfectly alright, and im a deaf Triumph owner 😂 Nice point of view. Each to their own. From personal experience, my son and his friends, like the British style classics. He's 24 soon, and the next bike in his list is a classic Triumph T series... All the best, David.

@Grumpy-Goblin 9 күн бұрын

@@Mid-Knife-Crisis69 Hi David and thank you so much for your comment. It is an interesting topic and I do wonder about the future of motorcycling. My own Son is a little older than yours and he has settled for a Harley Heritage and loves the classic looks.

@simoncollins6529 Ай бұрын

Shame about the sound quality on this video.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

I don't know how far you watched but it does get better. I am really struggling with audio tbh I've tried loads of things but still not the best.

@johnreynolds5050 Ай бұрын

Bad audio!.. You need to get a fluffy mic!.. Awful wind noise, could hardly hear you talking..

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@johnreynolds5050 Well I would agree that the first few minutes is not good audio but after that it's fine. I do have a dead cat (fluffy thing) on the mic and the mic is pointing backwards and tucked into the cheek pad. Audio is a massive struggle unless you spend a lot of money.

@millinutz Ай бұрын

@@Grumpy-Goblin Audio can be quite cheaply upgraded by keeping your visor closed..., especially when riding over 30mph!

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@millinutz I actually edited out a lot of footage with the visor closed because it was worse and sounded just as windy but much more muffled. Again I notice you don't have any of your own footage on your channel perhaps you should try it because trust me it is not easy.

@5dTraveller 12 күн бұрын

Hi, I came for a look because Mr TAYM said you were thinking of packing in KZbin. You're not the only one, I and I'm sure many others feel that way at times, but don't let a few negative comments get to you. Sorting out audio is the most difficult part of making videos and it takes time to find the right solution for the way you ride. I don't know what your setup is so I can't give much in the way of advice, but I can make two suggestions, one is cheap and the other isn't. The cheap solution is to move the microphone closer to your mouth so that it picks up more of your voice over the wind. Because you like to ride with your visor open a lot you probably need to use a mic on a stalk and find a way for it not to snag on your nose and chin shield. The expensive solution is to use software to separate your voice from the other noise so that you can adjust the volume of each in editing. This is what I do but the software costs a bit, will take a bit of time to learn and will increase your editing time quite a lot. This might not help at all but anyway have a like, a comment and a sub on me 👍 Cheers, Mick

@Grumpy-Goblin 12 күн бұрын

Thank you so much for coming over and checking out my channel, and thank you for your advice. I have tried so many different mic positions it is untrue. I think the solution may just be to bight the bullet and buy another camera setup tbh. I only have a cheap Wolfang camera that my wife got me to try out and I've found "the best" mic position is just tucked inside the cheek pad of my helmet but when I say best that really is a relative term lol. I have tried playing with the audio track in Audacity but I haven't really got a clue what I'm doing with it so the results were not great. TAYM is a fantastic bloke and he's trying to help too, Thank you so much, Mike

@5dTraveller 11 күн бұрын

@@Grumpy-Goblin You're welcome, I'm sure you'll get it sorted out with Mr TAYM helping you 👍

@greendragon-44 Ай бұрын

Totally agree very worried about how its going , and certainly no electric in our house .

@peterwarneford-bygrave1490 Ай бұрын

Most new bikes are too expensive for the average biker

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@peterwarneford-bygrave1490 I do think that is true and they have relied on cheap pcp deals to keep moving bikes.

@theodavies8754 Ай бұрын

Should be easier to find local clubs to skill share. I had an RD500lc when they came out, I have a 1999 Harley FXDL now. Don't know if I'll need another bike but sure I would have more trouble finding the money than the bike.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@theodavies8754 I wouldn't have thought it was too hard to find a club unless you live in a very remote area, especially with a Harley.

@theodavies8754 Ай бұрын

@@Grumpy-Goblin Life's challenges are more interesting than hearing how much everything cost at a bike meet. We're not great with admitting which skills we lack. You should see my welding, sometimes it's not very good but other times it's totally unacceptable.

@steveparkins Ай бұрын

The industry is in decline because of the age of the riders. Older riders tend to have more money to spend, and with cheap financing, the cost of bikes has gone up. The market is due for a big correction, especially when all those PCP bikes are returned.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

Fair point, cheap financing is probably a factor in this and I did mention in the video that if we don't get younger riders coming in then the future is pretty bleak for motorcycling because of the ageing rider population.

@J.Harry.T Ай бұрын

I enjoyed riding much more when the majority of us were doing it on a tight budget. Everybody seems to have a new bike these days.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@J.Harry.T Life was a lot simpler back in the day. I think a lot of people have new bikes now because it is so much harder to get parts for older bikes these days.

@MarkKenworthy-d2d Ай бұрын

I agree with you , i was iker in twenties , kids came ,gave up the bikes for prams etc, in 50's now and have found my passion again, vfr anf ntv owner , riding a bike has nothing to do with getting from a to b , its the feeling, ive cried over bikes but never over cars .

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

Haha it is true, it is a very different relationship. If I have to be away for more than a day I actually miss my bike like it was a person.

@TheOriginalCoda Ай бұрын

Everyone is saying "Completely Motorbikes Group". Isn't it the "Completely Motoring Group"? Car dealers matter too!

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@TheOriginalCoda you are right and yes car dealers are facing issues too but my interest is in the future of motorcycling and I do touch on why the motorcycle market is different to the car market. I'm sure there are car channels that will focus on the issues facing car dealers.

@betruly7894 Ай бұрын

It is true. On the other hand the big engine bikes are getting too expensive. I own a heavy Harley and looking to exchange it with Royal Enfield SM650cc light weight and have enough power to do it all. Triumph Speedmaster is good choice but to expensive. I like Harley however the pricing strategy are just rubbish and out of any logic. Good luck to Harley. Thank you Royal Enfield 💕💕

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

Yep lots of people down sizing.

@timoakley277 Ай бұрын

Yes. It is slowly dying.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@timoakley277 sadly I think it might well be. I don't think it will be for a while yet but if we carry on down this road of banning combustion engines I think it will be the death of motorcycling as a hobby.

@simoncollins6529 Ай бұрын

This is a brilliant time for bike traders to buy up cheap stock.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

It is for those who have the money for sure but then again I'm hearing that some are only taking trade-ins for stuff they know they can shift quick.

@davidheron1884 Ай бұрын

Hello, whats your work history, motor trade? Also ,will royal enfield produce an affordable 125cc?

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

Not Motor Trade these are just my thoughts on things that are going on atm as a motorcyclist who has an interest in the future of motorcycling. I don't know but I would have thought that if Royal Enfield were going to make a 125 they would already have done it.

@simoncollins6529 Ай бұрын

Bike shops come and go over the course of time. All businesses come and go over the course of time. Kodak were 150 years old when it went bust. Look at photos of your town high street from 50 or 100 years ago. All those businesses have gone, and new ones have replaced them.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

I do try to cover that in the vid and it is true. It just seems that the whole industry is being hit with the perfect storm of cost of living crisis, higher overheads, ageing demographic and the impending end of comnustion engines.

@johnlesoudeur3653 Ай бұрын

In the UK it will be the same with the demographics. It already has in some places but getting more common.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@johnlesoudeur3653 I am in the UK and yes ageing demographic in motorcycling is definitely a thing in most western countries I think.

@johnlesoudeur3653 Ай бұрын

@@Grumpy-Goblin It really wasn't the the aging demographics that I was referring to lol.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@johnlesoudeur3653 sorry I missed the point you were making altogether then.

@tripledaveridesagain Ай бұрын

Must be the same at Colchester kawasaki big shop and closing.

@Terence-e5k 21 күн бұрын

gud

@AlDaley-e8z Ай бұрын

The old-school high street dealers will weather the storm. They tend to have seen it before, own their premises and stock and are able to cut their cloth according to the prevailing market conditions. This doesn't take into account the ageing demographic of the biking community trading down to smaller bikes. Completely Motorbikes were massively overstocked with big bikes with few wanting to buy them.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@AlDaley-e8z I don't think it is happening in the immediate future but with the lack of youngsters and the coming petrol ban (if it happens) I am not optomistic for the long term.

@regaz1486 Ай бұрын

Had to turn you off. Sound quality abismal.

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

@@regaz1486 that's a pitty.

@phillipmorgan6822 Ай бұрын

The sound quality is dismal

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

Comments from people who've never put out a video of their own are pretty dismal tbf.

@ljj808 Ай бұрын

Come on. Anyone can do an oil and filter change. I've bought a new Suzuki. I'm servicing it from new. What's gonna go wrong?

@Grumpy-Goblin Ай бұрын

Jeeez did I say you couldn't? I don't recall saying that you couldn't or shouldn't I just said that there has never been a more important time to support your local dealers. I never mentioned servicing. You could support your dealer by buying the O.E.M parts through them or even buying a tin of chain lube of them. I appreciate the fact you took time to leave 3 comments though.