Pretty good article! I don't know how realistic the author is, however. He does not seem to let us know how many of the dealers function or dys-function which effects everything. Cars and pick-ups are for everyone. Airplanes, motorcycles and today's scooters are NOT for everyone! Us older guys recall the splash in Popular Science and similar magazines after WWII the "big deal" about everyone would be wanting to fly (OK, I was a kid but I could read!). Did not happen. Not everyone wanted to leave the ground even if they were excited about the strides made in aviation. Not everyone is excited about the refinements in motorcycles and scooters. Most of "ordinary people" view anything on two or three wheels as a "death trap" and have no interest. All that is pointing out that two wheels appeals to a very small percentage of the total population in the US. Now, world-wide is a different story and always has been but we are dealing with the US. Back in the 60s when Honda took the country by storm with, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda," there was no real introduction to riding safety. You bought the machine and rolled it out the door, you were on your own. When Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki got going there were some really impressive bikes available with impressive performances and death and injury skyrocketed. Somewhere around 67 Yamaha of soCal put on a riding class in the San Diego stadium parking lot. Thousands of people showed up, rode a 50 or 80 cc bike and we all got t-shirts! Anyone that owned a Yamaha was an automatic "instructor!" It was a good sales gimmick, nothing more and it worked and I would do it again in a flash! They not only produced over one hundred "used" bikes but they sold HUNDREDS more new machines that had not been dumped in the stadium parking lot! It is an old idea that has merit especially today with the advent of good riding gear and MSF available. All it takes is promotion to the dealers by a manufacturer that is really interested in selling their motorcycles and/or scooters. Do it in several major cities across the nation. Make it attractive to riders and dealers alike. Use the innovative thinking of Honda and Yamaha to promote a new generation of riders and customers. Give it a try, Kymco. Whaddya got to lose?
Karl
