http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2011/09/what-urbanization-means-for-motorcycles/
The incumbent manufacturers may be heading off to pasture, but the industry is far from done. The motorcycle is too practical, too iconic, and too fun to disappear. Abandoned by the industry, 20-somethings whove never assembled more than an IKEA end-table are taking matters into their own hands. Spend some time in San Francisco, Brooklyn or LA and youll see new riders on bikes that are timelessly styled and individualized, like a Harley-Davidson, but built for an urban environment instead of loud and ornate, they are subtle and simple, instead of huge and powerful, they are lightweight and nimble.
My daily driver is a 2003 Yamaha R6 with the plastics ripped off, headlights from a Buell, handebars and a clutch off of a dirt bike, Ohlins suspension, and lots of scars from horribly incompetent parallel parkers. I built the bike because I had to; because no one was already producing one. While the Big 4 (Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki) continue to think of these segments as the traditionally economic dual-sport (supermoto) and standard (streetfighter) categories, pumping out detuned and outdated options, companies like BRD, KTM, and (again) Triumph recognize that this is the same sportbike customer who wants the highest performance and state of the art technology, but transplanted into a new landscape.
The incumbent manufacturers may be heading off to pasture, but the industry is far from done. The motorcycle is too practical, too iconic, and too fun to disappear. Abandoned by the industry, 20-somethings whove never assembled more than an IKEA end-table are taking matters into their own hands. Spend some time in San Francisco, Brooklyn or LA and youll see new riders on bikes that are timelessly styled and individualized, like a Harley-Davidson, but built for an urban environment instead of loud and ornate, they are subtle and simple, instead of huge and powerful, they are lightweight and nimble.
My daily driver is a 2003 Yamaha R6 with the plastics ripped off, headlights from a Buell, handebars and a clutch off of a dirt bike, Ohlins suspension, and lots of scars from horribly incompetent parallel parkers. I built the bike because I had to; because no one was already producing one. While the Big 4 (Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki) continue to think of these segments as the traditionally economic dual-sport (supermoto) and standard (streetfighter) categories, pumping out detuned and outdated options, companies like BRD, KTM, and (again) Triumph recognize that this is the same sportbike customer who wants the highest performance and state of the art technology, but transplanted into a new landscape.