I’ve no onerous knowledge to show my place. It’s simply an remark and my opinion on what may have had a hand in one in every of America’s most coloured industries to be on the ropes. There are over 45,000 brand-new bikes—sport bikes, cruisers, journey bikes—simply sitting in seller showrooms throughout the U.S. They’ve been there for greater than 200 days, unmoved, unsold, unloved. This isn’t only a market hunch, that is devastating. Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Indian, BMW—they’ve all slashed manufacturing by as much as 25%, hoping to stem the bleeding. Costs have dropped. Reductions are beneficiant. Financing has by no means been extra enticing – 0% in some instances!
And but… no one’s shopping for.
This isn’t simply devastating for the business. That is, for my part, indicative of a cultural disaster. As a result of it’s not scooters and mopeds piling up. It’s not commuter bikes or Gold Wings. It’s the testosterone-fueled machines—the liter sportbikes, the V-twin thumpers, the Dakar-ready beasts designed to go full throttle into the unknown.
So the place are all of the riders?
They’ve vanished. And I believe I do know why.
THE TANK IS EMPTY
Let’s name it what it’s: We’re residing within the age of low testosterone.
And bikes are paying the worth. In 1945, the typical 20-year-old male had double the testosterone of his trendy counterpart. That’s not a typo. Double. During the last 70 years, testosterone ranges in males have been falling off a cliff. It’s not only a drop—it’s a freefall. Fertility charges have tanked. Muscle mass has shrunk. Psychological well being points have exploded. And drive—sexual, bodily, even religious—has been all however extinguished. You see the adverts for ED meds on TV? Most are geared towards a youthful demographic. Why can’t younger guys get it up? You’re all not hooking up with Karen.
It’s not onerous to see how this connects to bikes. Different sometimes male stuff too, however the looming bike market crash is existential. Driving is a bodily act. A dangerous act. A rebellious act. It’s loud, aggressive, primal. It’s a problem. It’s freedom on two wheels. It’s the last word expression of masculine autonomy—quick, uncovered, unapologetic, bordering on obnoxious.
However that sort of factor requires testosterone. Not simply within the blood, however within the mind. It requires the urge to journey. To induce to take dangers. To induce to go quick. To be alone along with your ideas whereas ripping via a canyon with sparks taking pictures out of your knee pucks, or weaving via metropolis visitors at evening, with nothing however a helmet and a heartbeat.
Most younger males at this time don’t have it. Not the urge. Not the hormones. Not the balls. They’re delicate. Unmotivated and intrigued by androgyny. On the present price males are dropping their testosterone, it’s solely matter of time – just some a long time – the place Dylan Mulvaney would be the epitome of masculinity.
THE ENDOCRINE APOCALYPSE
Why are testosterone ranges crashing? As a result of trendy man is being soaked in estrogen. And never from only one supply. It’s an ideal storm of estrogenic air pollution:
- Xenoestrogens in plastics, pesticides, cosmetics, shampoos, conditioners, and deodorants.
- Soy derivatives in processed meals.
- Sedentary life—no bodily problem, no strength-building, no metabolic demand.
- Environmental toxins that disrupt endocrine perform.
- Lack of solar, lack of sleep, lack of intercourse.
After which there’s tradition. A tradition that demonizes masculinity, confuses energy with aggression, and teaches younger males to suppress their instincts. A tradition that rewards passivity, weak point, victimhood. And lets not neglect boys enjoying women sports activities, 400 pronouns, 32 genders and tampon dispensers within the boy’s room.
Add all of it up, and also you’ve acquired a technology of males who can’t develop beards, don’t elevate weights, don’t begin fights, and don’t journey bikes. And once they do get the itch? They’re on Reddit asking if a 650 is “an excessive amount of bike” for somebody who “simply acquired their license and desires one thing chill.” In 1995, that very same child would’ve been drag racing a GSX-R750 via the suburbs with no helmet. I’m not condoning such exercise, but it surely signifies we’ve gone delicate.
THE BIKE AS METAPHOR
The motorbike has at all times been greater than only a machine. It’s an emblem. Of freedom. Of hazard. Of revolt. Of individuality. It’s not simply transport—it’s identification. Suppose James Dean. Steve McQueen. Marlon Brando. Hunter S. Thompson. Sonny Barger. Even Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2.
These weren’t simply riders. They had been icons— male macho icons. And the bike was a part of the parable.
Right now? The parable is dying. It’s onerous to be a lone wolf while you’re residing in mother’s basement, enjoying Name of Responsibility in your third Monster Vitality of the day. It’s onerous to fantasize about open roads while you haven’t even mastered altering a tire. And it’s rattling close to inconceivable to get a thrill out of a throttle when your mind’s been numbed by porn, TikTok, and Uber Eats.
MONEY’S NOT THE ISSUE
Sure, bikes are dearer at this time. Sure, insurance coverage is excessive. Sure, gasoline is an element. However none of that’s new—it’s at all times been that manner. Bikes have at all times been a luxurious. A danger. An indulgence. Right now, you may get large reductions on brand-new fashions. Producers are providing 0% financing, money rebates, and bundle packages. You possibly can stroll right into a showroom with a pulse and stroll out with a Ducati Panigale.
So if it’s not cash, what’s it?
Want. The want to journey has vanished.
That’s not economics. That’s endocrinology.
THE WAR ON MASCULINITY COUNTERS NATURE
Let’s not ignore the social facet of this. The very concept of a bike—energy, velocity, independence, hazard—is taken into account poisonous by many. Dad and mom discourage it. Girlfriends hate it. Society frowns on it.
Younger males have been conditioned to consider that danger is dangerous, that loud is immature, that independence is egocentric, that thrill-seeking is juvenile. They’ve been taught to mix in, comply with guidelines, and be cautious. They’ve been informed that masculinity is an issue to be solved. Effectively guess what? While you neuter masculinity, you kill the motorbike— and the gun, the recent rod, the velocity boat, the snowmobile, and the stud—the type ladies like. Research present over 70% of male attractiveness scores correlate with cues of upper-body energy and leanness. That is instinctual. Such masculine bodily traits point out, to a lady—instinctually— that such a male might be a superb hunter, supplier, protector. vital traits on the subject of propagating the species.
FIX THE MAN, FIX THE MARKET
So what will we do?
Begin with testosterone. Repair the person. The remainder will comply with.
- Elevate heavy weights
- Eat actual meals
- Sleep deeply
- Get solar
- Eradicate seed oils and endocrine disruptors
- Do onerous issues
And most of all—reclaim danger. Purchase the bike. Take the journey.
Scare your self a bit of. Bleed a bit of. Stay a bit of. As a result of this life isn’t meant to be protected. It’s meant to be ridden extensive open. And if we don’t convey again the person, the parable, the throttle-twisting dangerous ass that made bikes cool within the first place… Then the entire business dies.
Which is 100% precisely what’s taking place proper now….
