Average age Vincent owner/VOC member - Number Vincents owned.

[Bazlerker]

I believe that many of us are at least middle aged..some of us are close to retirement age, and quite a few of us are retired. Eventually we will sell or pass on our machines to friends or family members..

How can the VOC remain the cornerstone of the Vincent owning community if and when the bulk of the owners do not ride?

How can the VOC Spares Company continue to be an asset to ownership when the next generation of owners might not be riders?

 

[ClassicBiker]

This poll was also done some years ago, on this forum or the old forum I forget which, and at that time the majority of owners were in their retired years. Of the dozen or so members who regularly show up for our monthly section meeting, one member is in his mid 30s, myself at 56, and the remainder are retired 65-85 years old. I am the only member with a school age child (11 going on 12) of the remainder who have children, none are interested in motorcycles what so ever. I'm working on getting mine interested but that is a hard slog. Unlike when I was growing up very few have dirt bikes now and there is nowhere nearby to ride off road. So no interest is developed.

 

[Bazlerker]

Please answer this informal, unsanctioned, poll only if you participated in the “how old are you?“ poll...It doesnt matter if the machine is running, or not, as long as most of the bits are there..

 

[Gary Gittleson]

Doesn't the club have these statistics?

 

[Bazlerker]

Yes, the club has these statistics..I want it to be a public discussion. How do we shape the club so that it continues to be of interest, relevant to the next group of owners? The Club, our fellow members and The Spares Company are the cornerstones of a full and satisfying Vincent ownership..As we pass our machines on to the next caretakers of our beasts we need to do whatever we can to ensure as best we can the continued existence and strength of all of it.

 

[Phil Mahood]

Yes. I agree with ClassicBiker. A show of hands at a recent North American Rally indicated about 75% of those present were of retirement age (65-75). I commend my good friend Bob for highlighting this issue. He has a purpose. There may be a statistical anomaly by surveying here, though. My guess is that Forum users may be scewed to a younger demographic that has adopted technology. There is apparently a large base of Members who have never used email. Ergo, the reluctance to consider electronic publishing of MPH. All that said, lets see what comes up in the survey.

 

[Whiteshadow15]

I know I am in the minority here as I just turned 35 last week. I have been involved with many my age that had ridden since their Teens or early 20’s and not a single one knows anything about Vincent’s. i admit Vincents were nowhere near my radar until a year ago and they have me totally hooked.

Having said that, this forum has been critical to learning. The amount of information technical and otherwise on here is a treasure, I struggled to find much reliable information that was from any other source.

I think the main future struggle will be getting a younger generation to pay Vincent prices. I hardly know a person who has paid more that 10-15US for a bike.

 

[Bazlerker]

Yes. I agree with ClassicBiker. A show of hands at a recent North American Rally indicated about 75% of those present were of retirement age (65-75). I commend my good friend Bob for highlighting this issue. He has a purpose. There may be a statistical anomaly by surveying here, though. My guess is that Forum users may be scewed to a younger demographic that has adopted technology. There is apparently a large base of Members who have never used email. Ergo, the reluctance to consider electronic publishing of MPH. All that said, lets see what comes up in the survey.

The next group of owners will likely be more used to interfacing with technology on every level..The look, the functionality will need to be kept current in order to maintain the connection.

 

[Magnetoman]

I'm in the retired category, but one of my contributions to the future was getting my younger daughter interested in motorcycles. She learned to ride on a Ducati 900, attended two road racing schools, has ridden around 2000 miles on classic bikes, and owns a Gold Star Catalina (although I retain custody of it until I decide to turn it over to her). The Vincent is likely to end up being hers as well. Another contribution was to buy my eight-year old granddaughter (daughter of my other daughter) an electric motorcycle for Christmas, which she took to like a fish to water (but which, sadly for me, she's already outgrown so needs a larger, MUCH more expensive one. Sigh…).

 

[rapide049]

My son is 25 and owns a 1949 Rapide and a 1950 Comet , No Finance , owns them outright ,and He has a couple of Comet engine projects on the go as well , He is keen to learn which is a plus ,He will get my Shadow and My Daughter will get My Rapide and She is always keen to ride on the back , the secret is educate them young