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Demographics

I am 59 and lust after the S1000RR. If I had the discretionary & disposable funds, I would own one....You can never have too many guitars or motorcycles.

Kim

Amen to that! I now own more motorcycles at age 56 than I have at any time previously since I began on two wheels in my early high school days. I have dreamed for 30+ years of getting back on a full race bike and doing both track days and multi-day hillbilly twisty tours and I began finally living that dream a year ago with the purchase of my new '13 S1000RR in granite gray. Since then I've been to track days and the California Superbike School for their levels 1 & 2. I'm going back in May to levels 3&4 at Barber and can't wait to get it back out to the track this year at Summit & NJMP.

Do it before it's too late!
 
I'm 68...and this is my story.

I joined MOA in 2012, shortly after buying a 2012 F800ST. Nice bike. Kept it for a year, and added a 2013 S1000RR to it. Now I had a sport-tour bike AND a sport bike.

Not long after, I found I was riding the RR about 20 times more frequently than the F800ST. So I put the ST up for sale. It didn't sell, so after another year, I traded both it and the 2013 RR for a 2014 HP4.

So would I have come to MOA without having gone into the ST first? I don't know. I have enjoyed long day rides into the mountains on the HP4, taking a bunch of stuff like camera, food, thermos of coffee, etc. in the Kriega bag...and I'd probably have enjoyed multi-day rides on the ST, but I never did it.

I have since traded the HP4 for a 2015 S1000RR, for reasons that aren't relevant to this discussion.

What does MOA offer the sport rider, I believe was the original thought behind this thread. To be honest, not a lot. I totally get the rally thing, and the vintage bike angle often presented in the magazine, and I know that's the demographic that's being targeted, Valerie Thompson paragraph inserts notwithstanding. I wish MOA WOULD get more sportbike specific stuff in the magazine, but to be fair, that's what magazines like Sportbike Rider, etc. are for.

I remain an MOA member, because it's a great organization. But even though I'm in the upper age demographic, I prefer to ride alone, at my pace and enjoy the ride without distraction. Someday, I'll give up the sportbike and go touring, but as long as I'm fit, I love the ride a RR provides.

And a sport bike is NOT all about speed...for me it's performance, sure, but handling is the primary attraction. Anyone can ride fast in a straight line, even a geezer on a 1200RT! :)
 
I am very late to this thread, but I just joined BMWMOA. I just bought my 2015 S1000RR just over two months ago and I am loving this bike! I am 37 and this is my only bike and the first BMW I have owned (only the second bike I have ever owned to be honest). I have put almost 5,500 miles on my bike and loving the ride!
 
I am very late to this thread, but I just joined BMWMOA. I just bought my 2015 S1000RR just over two months ago and I am loving this bike! I am 37 and this is my only bike and the first BMW I have owned (only the second bike I have ever owned to be honest). I have put almost 5,500 miles on my bike and loving the ride!

Welcome to the forum!
Gary
 
I am 32 years old and bought a 2014 S1000RR a year ago brand new. If it wasn't for the sheer speed and handling I wouldn't have bought it. I traded a Duc 1199 Panigale for it . IMO leaps and bounds better.
 
I'm 68 and just bought a S1000XR. Longtime BMW owner with over 17 BMW's owned over the years. Shortly after my first BMW, a new 82 R100RT, I joined the MOA and attended several local club rallies and eventually the National Rally in Flagstaff. I was hooked after owning Triumph , BSA, Yamaha, and Honda Machines. I have had a BMW or two in the garage every year since 1982.

My other bike is a 14 GSA that I really love for it's long ride capability and occasional off pavement rides. The SXR appealed to me because it was the first sport bike with ergonomics similar to a GS. A test ride had me hooked. This is my day rider, canyon carving, thrill bike. I plan to keep this bike light and simple. The GSA will remain my serious long distance bike. The two bikes don't compete with each other, they satisfy different missions.

The reason the Demographics for the S1000 series isn't likely to join the MOA is as stated, a different lifestyle. As a club we can start to attract the typical S1000 owner in steps not leaps. An article or two in the ON magazine can help. I notice in the latest MOA ON there was a short article about the S1000XR. That's a start, but a comprehensive test ride report would peak the interest of the demographic discussed. Maybe an occasional article about sport bike focused rides or track days would also help. I don't think we need to do this at the expense of our traditional interests. We need to focus on inclusion of this group. Perhaps activities and training focused on sportbikes similar to what is done with the GS Giant is another avenue. These sport bike riders will eventually transition to more traditional touring bikes as that interest develops through interaction with our club if they are felt to be welcome. This is a possible path to the longevity of the club.
 
I'm 62 years old. I have a 2009 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide and a 2015 BMW R1200R LC. My experience is that younger riders tend to shy away from riding clubs. They ride with friends or by themselves. I can't cite any statistics, but there are far fewer younger riders today than when I was in school.

I went to junior high and high school in Orlando. There were about a dozen kids at our junior high school who rode motorcycles to school. A lot more had a motorcycle but didn't ride it to school. In high school, motorcycle riders had their own parking lot. At a school with about a thousand kids, there were dozens of motorcycles. Again, a lot of the guys who owned motorcycles, me included, didn't ride them to school.

I now live about 35 miles NW of Charlotte, NC. It is extremely rare to ever see a motorcycle parked at a school campus. By rare, I mean that I can't remember the last time that I saw a student at a NC high school on a motorcycle. One of the teachers at my nephew's school rode his Harley a couple of times a year.

Growing up, just about every boy in the neighborhood had a motorcycle at one time or another. Of the kids who died while I was in high school, most were lost to motorcycle wrecks. Only one of my nephews friends has ever show up at our house on a motorcycle. It was a sport bike and the the riders has been out of school for three or four years.

Harley Davidson has tried unsuccessfully for years to appeal to younger riders and women. While they have made some inroads with females, they have not been at all successful at enticing younger riders to buy their motorcycles. Today when you think of the average Harley rider, you picture an older guy, mostly because that is who owns these bikes.

In my personal experience, BMW riders span a wider range of ages than Harley riders. The average age of the guys that I see on BMW's is probably in the mid to late 30's. They appear to be more likely to be riding alone while Harley riders are more likely to be found riding in a group.

BMW riders are almost universally found wearing good riding gear, properly equipped for bad weather and I have never seen a BMW rider without a helmet or just wearing a half-helmet. While Harley riders have a very low opinion of any Japanese-made motorcycle, they are very respectful of BMW's.

As someone who has reared a child, I am not upset that young people are shying away from riding street motorcycles. Growing up, I lost so many friends to motorcycles crashes that I tend to look on those enormous high school parking lots, devoid of motorcycles, as a good thing. My nephew never even asked me for a motorcycle. He does like dirt bikes, but street bikes do not interest him at all.

Pete


Elsewhere in this forum are extensive discussions about the MOA as a club and its members which were ignited by a recent change in MOA staff.
One of the issues is, how attractive the club is to younger members and the S1000RR is being used as a representation of younger rider's bike.

As a S1000RR owner, how old are you? Is this your only bike? Did you have a BMW before you bought the S1000RR?
 
I'm a 51 year old first time BMW owner. I just picked up a 2016 S1000XR and love it. Until now I have mainly alternated between KTM and Ducati. My last 2 bikes were a 2010 KTM SMT and a 2013 Multistrada GT. As of late, the last 5 years, BMW's have been catching my eye with the first being the R 1200 S. Since then the S 1000 R and RR had really caught my attention. I traded my 13 Multi towards the XR and frankly I am blown away by it. It hasn't been the age thing (getting older/earning more money) that has swayed me towards BMW as much as how I view the latest as a superior sporting option. I can't get over how quickly BMW has experienced success racing in such a short period. I have over the years seen many manufacturers throw millions at the track with little success and to see how successful BMW was in such a short time left an impression on me. Whether they got lucky or are just that good, the inline 4 they made is the stuff of legends.
 
I'm a 51 year old first time BMW owner. I just picked up a 2016 S1000XR and love it. Until now I have mainly alternated between KTM and Ducati. My last 2 bikes were a 2010 KTM SMT and a 2013 Multistrada GT. As of late, the last 5 years, BMW's have been catching my eye with the first being the R 1200 S. Since then the S 1000 R and RR had really caught my attention. I traded my 13 Multi towards the XR and frankly I am blown away by it. It hasn't been the age thing (getting older/earning more money) that has swayed me towards BMW as much as how I view the latest as a superior sporting option. I can't get over how quickly BMW has experienced success racing in such a short period. I have over the years seen many manufacturers throw millions at the track with little success and to see how successful BMW was in such a short time left an impression on me. Whether they got lucky or are just that good, the inline 4 they made is the stuff of legends.
Cool :thumb
And welcome to the forum!
Gary
 
My experience is that younger riders tend to shy away from riding clubs. They ride with friends or by themselves.

Exactly this. I'm 30 and have been riding 2 years so let me give you my young(ish) and new rider impression. Being younger you end up with the **** jobs that older folks had to do and now its your turn, which is fair enough. I worked 2nd shift for 7 years and just recently switched to 1st shift 2 months ago because I'm engaged and finally have the seniority to finagle a slot. No evenings at the bar when you are having to work during drinking hours and no early morning coffee shop rides when you just went to bed a few hours before. And with not enough time at the job for a lot of vacation days and/or seniority you end up working most weekends and holidays. There goes the traditional weekend group rides and national/regional get togethers. In 2 years of riding I have put in 13k miles and 99% of those miles have been solo simply because there is no one else to ride with. Maybe 80% of those miles are commuting but it would be a hell of a lot bigger number if I had been able to do some of the local and regional rides that had piqued my interest but were unable to attend.
 
I worked 2nd shift for 7 years and just recently switched to 1st shift 2 months ago because I'm engaged and finally have the seniority to finagle a slot. No evenings at the bar when you are having to work during drinking hours and no early morning coffee shop rides when you just went to bed a few hours before. And with not enough time at the job for a lot of vacation days and/or seniority you end up working most weekends and holidays.

Been there, I have worked in a steel mill for the last 12 years. I managed steady days with weekends off for 2 years now.
 
Also a note to the OP asking about MOA membership, this sub forum is called S1000RR. There are now 3 different models under the S1000 nomenclature. With "only" a single R I am just assuming this is where I would come to post on the board. Maybe a little subforum renaming would attract non members with XR's and single R's to register and post. Believe me when I say that when I was searching for a message board after I bought my bike that this one was not on the first or even second page of a google search which is where everyone under 30 is going to stop looking lol. I actually stumbled across this place when I was looking at insurance quotes of all things :dunno apparently if you are a member you get some sort of small discount.
 
Also a note to the OP asking about MOA membership, this sub forum is called S1000RR. There are now 3 different models under the S1000 nomenclature. With "only" a single R I am just assuming this is where I would come to post on the board. Maybe a little subforum renaming would attract non members with XR's and single R's to register and post. Believe me when I say that when I was searching for a message board after I bought my bike that this one was not on the first or even second page of a google search which is where everyone under 30 is going to stop looking lol. I actually stumbled across this place when I was looking at insurance quotes of all things :dunno apparently if you are a member you get some sort of small discount.

I'll bring this up, it may still fall under a common grouping, but need to tweak the title and description.
 
Little Late

A bit late to the discussion but have a '15 S1000R and I'm 62. Still have my '04 Triumph Daytona 600 but I wanted to have some thing more modern.
 
s1000rr SMART BIKE

68 years old now. Daytona 200 winner in 2016 is 47 and the oldest rider is 66 and he did not come in last. In 2013 I drove the k1300gt and took the California bike school on their s1000rr. Fell in love and purchased a 2012 s1000rr when I was 66 in 2013. We use the k1300gt for 2 up and I ride the s1rr for short rides and touring alone. Changed the bars (more upright) and pegs were lowered a bit for the longer rides. I have since added hard bags on the side and a 52 litre tail bag ( sits where the passenger usually sits and holds my camping gear) for longer tours e.g. 2014 went to St Paul MN MOA rally, Oshkosk WI , Mountain View AR, Indianapolis and Southern Ontario for 4400km / 2500 miles . I can change the bike over from normal to touring in 1 hour. One smart computer that keeps both wheels on the ground. Each time I come home Arlene states that the grin just gets wider. Try it you will like it. For a survey try the s1000rr forum re the age survey http://www.s1000rrforum.com/forum/bmw-s1000rr-general-discussion/103105-age-group-poll.html where the largest group with 34% is 31-40, yet the over 50 group came in second at 29%. These numbers keep changing after any new posts.
 
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This is what I was trying to say. The demographics (there are more to demos than age) and the psychographics here on the forum and in our club (or culture, as you call it) is why people either do or do not join the MOA.

We offer nothing to attract riders of the S1000RR, so naturally there are not many of them in our ranks.

Ian

Typical RR costs $18-20K ++, and is bought by genuine performance enthusiasts who don't participate in communities like this as often as other segments do, and generally participate in far more narrowly performance focused communities when they do. Focusing on this demographic to generate youth in the membership is a lot of wheel spin IMO... if you want to bring young blood in, focus on the young novice/intermediate segments buying F series bikes - they are more likely to connect with this culture as something to grow into, more likely to buy a BMW when they buy their next bike, and there are more of them out there... FWIW.
 
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