Pale Riders

[wiltshire builders]

I'm glad the Beemer and WB can both see it was a question more that we have a large section missing from the biking community and not about lablelling and skin colours. I've got some great mates who are of afro carribean origin partly due to playing army basketball and some from the various units I've worked at. That said the guys I know are over 6ft6 so would look silly cramped on a little sports 1000.

I hope nobody thought it was in anyway being derogatory towards anyones race or skin colour it was a genuine question and observation some people have attempted sensible genuine answers without taking it to heart.


Over in Thailand we saw the school run being done on scooters and yes I guess it is seen as a poor option but thats a 125cc scooter to take a family of 5 on not a powerful 120+ BHP modern motorbike who will do 0-60 in under 3 seconds ..... hardly a poor persons choice , a machine that gets serviced every 4000 miles and 2 tyres cost a fortune to replace and run , we all know how bloody expensive bikes are to run !

Anyway I had no intention of offending anyone in any way shape or form , I was merely making an observation.

It was a good point, well raised. Sorry it didn't get the desired response and we're all left none the wiser. People of colour do not embrace biking in the same way that white western Europeans do. That is a fact. I've been riding for 22 years and only ever known 1 black biker, this isn't a problem, but like Blade Triple I'm interested to know why.

[Mitch9128]

Perhaps another reason is that 'they' (non-white British) don't have the desire to join clubs, go to meetings etc It's always struck me as a very British thing to do?

[6T]

i think bikes in this country have become more of a social and cultural item to us, we dont see them as just a way of getting from a to b. it is interesting that one of hondas main markets is now in asia (low capacity machines)

[Davey]

I have wondered this in the past - at GW's we sold approx 200 bikes a month and in almost 2 years I can only think of a handful that bought bikes.

[Scotty]

If it helps, I was born in Hong Kong and have lived abroad for more than half my life??

And I seem to spend most of my time in the Middle East at the moment

You're missing the point Emlyn, in case you haven't noticed, you's a white boy! : : :

[Nooj]

I know a black guy who rides and I've had a few Asian customers in, they are out there. They are a minority of a minority in this country though, so you won't see many about.

[Morticia]

Or it could be that the weather is so ****. Pretty much every household where I come from owes a bike. Maybe just a moped, but even Nana will use it.

[redken1]

I know I am veering off the subject matter course, but despite the fact that there is approx a 50/50 gender split in the UK population, there is a huge differential in gender ownership of motorcycles. It is beyond my comprehension, but in my view the motorcycle industry has for decades targeted white males. How many blokes did you see wearing thongs, sprawled across the latest metal at last year's bike show? Plenty of sexy women Though!

[BladeTriple]

Ken.... You won't see Kaz and I complaining about the models ;-) we just ignore the skinny bints and look at the bikes ! Dollies never did much for us.... Not athletic enough

[BladeTriple]

Does caked on makeup and Lycra holding in saggy bits with cellulite disguising tights count as sexy these day btw? That's what most of the 'models' at the NEC looked like :