A Lasting Covid Shift?
Thursday, June 3rd, 2021
Even scooters are selling like hotcakes now.
Covid 19 has changed a lot of things. The real question is, will these changes last or will they stick around long after the virus is no longer an issue.
For instance, after being stuck at home interminably, people are hungry to get outside and do stuff. Judy and I like to camp but when we went out last year we had trouble finding a campsite because everyone else was out camping, too. And from the reports, this included a lot of people who had never camped before, not just those of us who have done it since forever.
Will this continue to be the case? Will all these new campers decide they really like this, and will they continue to jam the campgrounds? We’ll find out, won’t we.
A similar thing has happened in the motorcycling world. Motorcycle sales are through the roof.
In a report from the Motorcycle Industry Council, dated May 13, new bike sales increased 37.2 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to last year. And the increases were reflected in all of the on-highway, off-highway, dual-purpose, and scooter categories.
That’s incredible. And unlike camping, where lots of new campers can crowd out those who have done it for a long time, getting one new motorcyclist on the road doesn’t negatively impinge on us old-timers at all. It’s definitely a case of the more the merrier.
It could get a little congested on the off-road areas, however. The MIC report says that “Year-to-date sales of dual-purpose motorcycles were up the most, by 47 percent.” Wow. But maybe these folks are more like me, not necessarily wanting to go off on trails so much as just not wanting to pass by all these gravel roads and never finding out where they go.
There are so many ways that Covid has changed things and some of them are for the better. Let’s hope we can hang onto the good ones.
Biker Quote for Today
Look at that badass on that Can-Am Spyder said no one ever.
