Easy rider baby boomers taking to the highway
Forty years ago it was ‘Easy Rider’ the movie with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson but today in Australia it is Baby Boomer ‘easy rider’ with the Harley Davidson cruiser motorcycle sales jumping by over 25% in the past year.
In 2007 the Harley sales were 7,134 compared with 5,692 in 2006 while the top selling Honda motorcycle sales increased from 30,856 to 32,946 in the same period.
The motorcycle manager for the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Ray Newland, said that the cruiser motorcycles were mainly being bought by baby boomers looking for a fun weekend and holiday diversion. “It’s the people in the 40-plus bracket who have the disposable income – their kids have left home and they’ve taken early retirement. They are taking weekend rides down the Great Ocean Road in Victoria or up into the hills in Adelaide.”
The Ride captain of the Motorcycle Riders Association of South Australia, Jock Rogan, said that most of his club’s new members were over 40 and looking to change their lifestyle. “They are a more mature set – grey nomads looking at motorcycles and trailers rather than the camper van,” he said.
