Observation from USA - motorbikes are not polular

[MD]

Well I've just got the family home today after 22 day playing tourists in the USA.

I was really disappointed at how few motorbikes there are on their roads. Finding bike shops to visit was a silly challenge. When I found the best two (supposedly) In San Fran they were below the average NZ shop for size, range and pricing.

I expected the warm west coast to be smothered in cruisers and bikers. No wonder I came back to the sad news Buell is no more. I only saw ONE Buell the whole time. Most of the bikes I saw in use were Harleys and old Jappas? Lots of old jap cruisers too. Of the few sportsbikes I spotted most were late model Gixers. Saw nothing like the abundance you see on our roads of top quality late models like Ducati 1098, MV, Aprilia, KTM..and of course Triumph!

To a point we did do the obvious tourist routes which may not be as popular for local riders. But I hired rental cars three times and drove across most of Cali, a fair bit of Nevada and Arizona. The whole ideal of driving was to get off the usual inter-city freeways and see the real America. The most Riders I saw and got to talk to in a single day was when we drove across Death Valley !! Go figure? %&$% me those riders were brave. Step out of the air condioned car for more than 2 minutes and the heat can knock you out. Averages 47C p.a.!!

Anyway, my point of this post is that I came away saddened at the apparent demise of motorcycling in a country where I expected to see the recent global financial crisis would have increased the use of bikes.

Now I see on here that ACC is driving another nail into the coffin.

Oh yeah, it was a great holiday and an interesting country. Did all the usual; Disney, Knotts Berry farm, Grand Canyon, Hoover dam, San Deigo, Yosemite, Vegas, LA. Started driving Route 66 from it's original beginning point - Santa Monica Pier. Most memorable for me was probably Alcatraz. I wouldn't bother revisiting Disney, LA or Vegas again but San Francisco for sure was the pick.

Gave the 675 a hug tonight. Man it looked sweet after 22 days away. I only saw two 675s on the roads in USA.

Got to get to sleep. It's been a 39 hour day and back to work tomorrow..shit.

[caseye]

Welcome home, pity about the state of the States bikers.Real shame bout the Buels.

[trustme]

As I rode down into Death Valley a van load of people stopped at a lookout aplauded & cheered, I'm thinking ' WTF '
HOT DAMN HOT.


Had full mesh gear on , it wasn,t too bad. A couple on a Goldwing in tshirts were doing it real tough, I suggested they put on full length shirts & have the visor almost closed which seemed to work.

I saw plenty of bikes in the National parks & on the coast north of SF, not so many in the main cities. Harley riders even know how to wave & are happy to talk .

[discotex]

Weird... When I was in SF a few years ago I couldn't believe how many 1098's and F4's I saw there.

[roogazza]

Hope to catch up at Breakfast soon MD ? Summers coming I think ? Haven't ridden for at least 3 months !!!!!! G.

[YellowDog]

Good time to visit the USA.

You get a lot of bang for your buck at the mo.

Maybe the shortage of bikers was just the time of year with the high humidity and all that.

The last time I was in the USA, it was Manhattan. Lots of bikers and biker Cafés around.

The American taste in motorbikes seems to be as dull as their taste in cars.

It is such a vast place that maybe they were hiding!

Agree that it's bad news about Buell.

It maybe a sign of the times ahead.

[Del Fuego]

Try the PCH through the hills (pismo... ish iirc) on a sunny sunday, by god I was depressed... wicked road, i was in a car... bikes bloody everywhere. They all stop at the big cafe thing at the top of the hill.

[EgliHonda]

You sound as disappointed as I was on my trip to Rome. Seemed to be nothing but large capacity Japanese scooters buzzing about, not the Italian utopia I imagined at all...

Although to be fair I HAD imagined gorgeous, slim, dark haired Italian beauties leaping off their Vespas and straddling me instead. Set myself up for disappointment really, specially since I had the wife in tow...

[grusomhat]

Wow, that's quite surprising. From reading a lot of American bike forums I had come to the conclusion that quite a number of them love riding. And man do they spend money on accessories.

[SPman]

Have they finished the bridge over the Hoover Dam yet?

[merv]

Mark I must have just missed you in San Francisco. I was there last week and it was first time visit for me and Mrs merv on our way home from Zurich. I loved the city and being a railwayman loved the life the city had because of its steel wheeled transport modes, but true I saw few bikes and it was unlike me I wasn't snapping pics of bikes everywhere. The only bikes I saw were cops on Harleys racing past with sirens on in a calvalcade and I wasn't ready for it and was too late getting the camera out.

I've attached a few pics Mrs took out of the rental car - typical clogged multi laned roads, not a bike in sight.

Oh, there's a scooter in the 4th pic.

Yeah a real shortage of bikes. Perhaps the 20 degree temperatures were a bit cool for them to come out.

[MD]

Have they finished the bridge over the Hoover Dam yet?

No. The two sides haven't quite met in the middle yet. Beggars belief that the structure can defy gravity until joined. I had no idea they were building a bridge/flyover above the dam. So when I drove around the curve into sight it was one of those "frozen with awe" moments. You have to give Yanks credit where credit is due. They can build BIG structures like no other. That over bridge alone must suck up more cement in a day than NZ pours in a month or two! Mind blowing.
Another impressive building was our hotel in Vegas - the Luxor. A 33 story high black pyramid. The rooms hug the four sides leaving the inside an enormous cavity. You got vertigo from our 27th floor room looking down to the casino & lobby below.

I went to a gun range too! What a blast firing an automatic pistol and machine guns. I was totally anti-guns until then. Every Kid should have a gun in their schoolbag.

[MD]

Mark I must have just missed you in San Francisco. I was there last week and it was first time visit for me and Mrs merv on our way home from Zurich...

hi Merv. At the bottom of the famous steep tram/street with the numerous flat level crossings was a great Irish pub. I got quite pissed there one night after a long days walking in the heat to find the bike shops.

I will post a few pics when I get around to downloading the camera.

[merv]

Crikey, there's a bike - looks like another scooter.

Then there was the Steam Flyer on display down at Fisherman's Wharf.

Another scooter getting along on the Cable Car tracks.

Crowded streets - yeah where are the bikes.

... but there were Segways, they've got two wheels eh!

[merv]

Mark mate, here's a pic from the other side of the Golden gate bridge, still no motorcycles, but there were pushbikes at Sausalito.

Bugger Irish pubs, we did Hooters for lunch lol, Mrs merv snapped the pic.

I've posted you more of my holiday snaps over here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=110472

[scumdog]

Another impressive building was our hotel in Vegas - the Luxor. A 33 story high black pyramid. The rooms hug the four sides leaving the inside an enormous cavity. You got vertigo from our 27th floor room looking down to the casino & lobby below.

I went to a gun range too! What a blast firing an automatic pistol and machine guns. I was totally anti-guns until then. Every Kid should have a gun in their schoolbag.

Yep great fun using those guns eh! - did it in various places in the US, my favourite is the MP5.

Bellagios fountain always captivates me as does the Paris casino withe Eiffel tower, Vegas? - just love it for its flashiness.:2thumbsup.

[longwayfromhome]

Proportionally, there are visibly fewer weekday riders on the roads in the US than in NZ. This is more true of the east coast & north. As a proportion of riders, there is a much lower % of riders in the US who commute. Therefore, you tend to see lots of riders on summer evenings and weekends, not so many in traffic-plagued freeways during the week. Why ride in downtown SF when you have 5 crossings of the Sierra's just a bit east? In the Bay area...San Fran, San Jose, Oakland...weekends are not wasted in cruising on freeways, they are off on the brilliant roads that abound in the area. These are places you would be unlikely to see if sightseeing in major cities and the tourist sights you visited. Several that were close to the Valley.....Skyline Drive area (Alice's is chocka on weekends and on many a summer's evening), Lick Observatory, Hwy 1 south through Big Sur to Cambria (one of the world's great coastal rides). If you want to see droves of Ducs, KTMs and MV's...its in places like these.

During the week its back in the F150 for the commute. As CA is the only state that allows lane-splitting, its a dream there for bikes that do commute, but elsewhere, bikes are just skittles for cage dodgems during peak hour.

[mstriumph]

Well I've just got the family home today after 22 day playing tourists in the USA.

.............. Finding bike shops to visit was a silly challenge. ................... The most Riders I saw and got to talk to in a single day was when we drove across Death Valley !! ................. You were in Vegas - home, i'm told, of the biggest Harley franchise in the US. It was HUGE [and quite difficult to miss?]

[SARGE]

oh bikes are popular alright .. but we dont hit the tourist traps too much .. too many miles of pristine, well constructed and maintained backroads to worry about ..

[Pixie]

You sound as disappointed as I was on my trip to Rome. Seemed to be nothing but large capacity Japanese scooters buzzing about, not the Italian utopia I imagined at all...

Although to be fair I HAD imagined gorgeous, slim, dark haired Italian beauties leaping off their Vespas and straddling me instead. Set myself up for disappointment really, specially since I had the wife in tow...

Do you look like a scooter?
Fat arse?perhaps?

[HenryDorsetCase]

Every Kid should have a gun in their schoolbag.

that made me laugh. :D

[Woody2]

No. The two sides haven't quite met in the middle yet. Beggars belief that the structure can defy gravity until joined. I had no idea they were building a bridge/flyover above the dam. So when I drove around the curve into sight it was one of those "frozen with awe" moments. You have to give Yanks credit where credit is due. They can build BIG structures like no other. That over bridge alone must suck up more cement in a day than NZ pours in a month or two! Mind blowing.
Another impressive building was our hotel in Vegas - the Luxor. A 33 story high black pyramid. The rooms hug the four sides leaving the inside an enormous cavity. You got vertigo from our 27th floor room looking down to the casino & lobby below.

I went to a gun range too! What a blast firing an automatic pistol and machine guns. I was totally anti-guns until then. Every Kid should have a gun in their schoolbag.

Totally agree Luxor is very cool, stayed there a few years ago (as well as the MGM) wife heard some kiwi accents at reception, said Hi and they were getting married the next day. Went to a Vegas wedding no less. We also drove from San Fran to Yosmite via death valley to Vegas, L.A thenback to San Fran. Would have liked to get down to San Diego - next time.