Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1262717
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 25 JUNE 23, 2020 P131 race. So long as dad didn't wad himself up, I suspect they'll be in the dealership shopping for mini- bikes for the kids next. And that's easier said than done right now, due to a sharp spike in demand for powersports, particularly for the mini-bike category. Manufacturers are quite literally running out of inventory, even calling back loan-pool units to help satisfy the dealer demand. Dealers talk of entire families coming in to get outfitted with bikes and gear. If junior can't go to lacrosse camp this summer, looks like we're all going riding! RV sales, boats, bicycles, dirt bikes, ATVs and UTVs all seem to be surging, since getting out- doors appears to be the only way to play during the Great Pause. It's the 2020 boom that no one saw coming. I would call it sur- prising, but it's not so surprising when you consider the history of off-road motorcycles. Seventy-five years ago, the world found itself in a different crisis. Post-WWII Europe was in ruins, roads broken, cities deci- mated, but countries needed to get back on their feet; people needed to start piecing their lives back together. Transporta- tion was challenging due to the crippled infrastructure, prompting people to turn to motorcycles. The scrambler motorcycle soon came into being, a bike that could take on any road conditions (or lack thereof) it might encounter between point A and point B. And as it goes, scrambler racing most likely began the day the second scrambler motorcycle was built. But before enduro racing be- came a thing, motorcycles helped get the lifeblood of Europe pump- ing again after WWII, and brought about the advent of the modern enduro, and eventually moto- cross, motorcycles. Today we find the world in a state of crisis once again. No roads have been destroyed, nor cities reduced to rubble, yet our way of life has been completely crippled by the challenge of avoiding one other. Mass transit, taxis, ride shares are all danger zones. And suddenly that "dangerous" motorcycle is looking like the safe choice. Mouths and faces covered, hands to yourself and effectively socially distanced. Now that we can begin to stitch our lives and our economy back to- gether, transportation is once again a challenge, especially in urban areas. Looking again to Europe, motorcycles are coming to the res- cue just as they did 75 years ago. In the UK, the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) is pushing motorcycles as the "af- fordable, economical and fun" alternative, and kicking off the #UnlockYourFreedom campaign. The UK government is advising citizens to avoid public transporta- tion, telling Brits that "the safest way to commute is in isolation, and the most isolated way of trav- eling is on two wheels." In certain UK cities, the govern- ment is also rolling out trials of e- scooters. These so-called PLEVs (Personal Light Electric Vehicles) are not yet legal on public roads in the UK but are being allowed to operate as rentals to help with the urban transportation challenges. Will U.S. cities follow suit with similar two-wheel initiatives? Will our government get behind social campaigns to attract new riders? It would be great to see. The num- bers are already pointing in the right direction for off-road powers- ports. Perhaps the street sector will help the urbanites who need to get across town without relying on the subway. Perhaps it will give rise to another all-new sector of two-wheel machines. After all, from crisis comes opportunity. By no means am I trying to make light of our current situation, or hope that our industry profits from the disruption of our daily lives. Yet I find it fitting that motorcycles are help- ing to breathe life back into a world emerging from crisis. For me, motorcycles have always been my lifeblood, through the good times and the bad. But to see motor- cycles bringing a piece of freedom and excitement to others during this crisis is significant. Not just because of the old friends and new faces lining up together at Glen Helen, but because the very advent of off- road motorcycles reminds us that our world has overcome hardship before. The world isn't as it should be right now, but motorcycles will help see us through, even if it's just a simple dose of throttle therapy on a Sunday. CN