CREATING NEW CONVERTS
Millions of people have a motorcycle license but don’t own a bike
They’re called “sleeping license holders,” nearly 8 million Americans who have motorcycle riding credentials but don’t own a bike. Harley-Davidson and other motorcycle manufacturers, seeking new customers as baby boomers age out of riding, want to wake them up. Who are the “sleepers”? Many were active motorcyclists who had things happen in their life that caused them to quit riding: marriage, kids, financial pressures, a job that demands most of their time or simply a change in interests, to name a few reasons.
Others completed rider training, got their license but never bought a bike.
Maybe they rent one occasionally, or they’re content to be a passenger with the option of taking over the handlebars should that be necessary.
It’s OK to set your own boundaries and limits, said Michelle Swanson, a motorcyclist from Muskego.
“I completely respect that,” Swanson said, adding that she was hesitant to buy a motorcycle after completing rider training but now has a 2014 Harley-
“It’s a group we are digging into … so we can figure out ways to bring them back into the sport and remind them of why they loved riding.”
HEATHER MALENSHEK HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL MARKETING
Davidson Dyna Street Bob.
“I was very motivated to get my license but not necessarily a bike right away,” she said.
Some aspiring motorcyclists take a rider safety class, which is the path to getting a bike license in Wisconsin and most states, but their confidence is shaken when they go from training sessions to highways swarming with distracted drivers.
“Many people are not prepared for that,” said Genevieve Schmitt, a longtime motorcyclist and founder of the magazine Women Riders Now.
Tom Stresing, a bike safety instructor in Milwaukee, said one of his best students quit the class before taking the final test.
She took the course to see if she could handle it, and clearly she could, but she wasn’t that interested in becoming a rider.
“I almost cried because she was an awesome student,” Stresing said.
Fueling the desire to become a motorcycle owner, or maybe rekindling it in a sleeper, is an integral part of the marketing strategy for Harley-Davidson and rival Indian Motorcycle Co.
Harley has a goal of attracting 2 million new U.S. riders over the next 10 years, a tall order considering it would represent a 25% increase in the total number of motorcycles registered in the nation.
Some of the hurdles to selling new bikes: baby boomers cutting their spending as they near retirement, and millennials — often strapped with student loan debt — not seeing the value in spending thousands of dollars for something they can use only eight months of the year.
Millennials value the experience of riding a motorcycle, but they don’t necessarily want to own one, Schmitt said.
The median age of U.S.
motorcyclists is about 45, with an overwhelming number of new bike buyers over the age of 50, according to Cycle World magazine.
“Harley-Davidson must overcome hurdles both demographic and social,” Cycle World said in a recent article.
And, of course, there are the sleepers who previously rode but in some cases haven’t thrown a leg over a motorcycle for years.
“It’s a group we are digging into … so we can figure out ways to bring them back into the sport and remind them of why they loved riding,” said Heather Malenshek, vice president of global marketing and brand at Harley-Davidson.
For those folks who take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course to get their license but are on the fence about buying a bike, Harley wants to reach them within six months of completing the class.
It doesn’t mean they can’t be convinced to buy a bike later, but that sixmonth window is the “sweet spot,” Malenshek said.
Harley-Davidson says it’s committed to introducing 100 new motorcycles over the next 10 years, including an electric bike, and that effort will surely bring some sleeping license holders into bike ownership.
Critics say the company hasn’t done enough to keep things interesting.
Tweaking a few things on a motorcycle and calling it a new model doesn’t generate much enthusiasm, said Chaz Hastings, the former owner of Milwaukee Harley-Davidson, a dealership on the city’s north side.
Harley has disappointed its dealers and customers, according to Hastings.
“They’ve become too corporate, in my opinion, and they’ve really lost their magic,” he said.
One of Harley-Davidson’s rivals, Indian Motorcycle Co., is also digging into why the sleepers aren’t taking that next step to become motorcycle owners.
“I think, collectively as an industry, we need to answer that,” said Kevin Reilly, vice president of motorcycle marketing for Indian.
The original Indian Motorcycle Co. went out of business in 1953 and its Indian-head logos became collectors items. Numerous attempts to revive the company failed, but it’s now doing well under Polaris Industries, a $5 billion Medina, Minn., company that also makes all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.
Indian has cruiser and touring bikes that in some cases are less expensive than a HarleyDavidson but appeal to the same type of riders.
The company isn’t shy about marketing its products to Harley enthusiasts, and it’s also in pursuit of the elusive sleepers wherever it can find them.
“We will show up anywhere to talk about motorcycles with anybody,” Reilly said.