The U.S. Motorcycle Market

Motorcycle Industry Research and Statistics

More than a million motorcycles were sold in the United States in 2007. Statistics, sales figures, trends, size and volume of the motorcycle, scooter and ATV market are provided below. Updates for the year 2008 are included at the end of this article.

U.S. Motorcycle Market

The U.S. motorcycle market is worth $14.6 billion and is expected to reach  $21 billion by 2011. (1) 

 

Motorcycle Sales

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, 1.11 million motorcycles were sold in the United States in 2007, down from 1.19 million in 2006. (2) 
 

U.S. Motorcycle Sales, 1992 - 2008

 ATV photo by Martin Barber - CC-BY

 WebBikeWorld provides a graph   showing U.S. motorcycle sales figures from 1992 to 2008.  These are gross numbers, including motorcycles (street bike, dual-sport and off-road) and scooters. 

ATV Sales

Sales of ATVs have declined. 759,000 ATVs were sold in 2007 down from 912,000 in 2004.(3)

Scooter Sales

 131,000 new scooters were sold in the U.S. in 2007.
   70,000 new scooters were sold in the U.S. in 2002.
   42,000 new scooters were sold in the United States in 2000. (4) 

Motorcycle Registrations

6,634,506 motorcycles were registered in the United States in 2006. This figure does not include publicly owned vehicles. It represents only private and commercial registrations. (5)
 

Motorcycle Registrations by State

Download registration numbers in an  Excel spreadsheet or a PDF document.

Motorcycle Market Share 

Motorcycles
BMW R 26, 1959   
(Photo by Celesteh - CC-BY)
Harley-Davidson 28%
Honda 25%
Yamaha 17%
Suzuki 13%
Kawasaki 11%
KTM  2%
BMW 1%
Triumph 1%
Ducati 1%

 

ATVs 
Honda 30%
Yamaha 20%
Polaris 20%
Suzuki 11%
Kawasaki 9%
Arctic Cat 7%
BRP 3% (6) 


Demographics of a New Bike Rider 

Age                                                               Gender
20 years and younger     1%                      Male           90%
21-25                                7%                      Female      10%
26-30                                9%
31-40                              22%
41-50                              30%
51-60                              23%
61-70                                7%
71 and older                     1% 

Marital Status
Married                                65%
Single (never married)       17%
Widowed                               2%
Divorced/separated           16% (7)


Additional  Motorcycle Statistics


Motorcycle Industry Fee-based reports
  • This report provides 2007 year-end market size data, with 2008 estimates, 5 years of historical data and five-year forecasts.
My motorcycles research on "Google Answers"  

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Updates

  • Sales of cruisers, sport bikes, tourers and off-highway or dirt models are all down in 2008 compared with last year.
  • Scooters and dual sports bikes have seen 50% and 30% gains, respectively.
  • According to preliminary results of the Motorcycle Industry Council's 2008 owner survey 12.6% of motorcyclists and scooterists are now women, a 29% increase from 2003. (8)


Scooter Sales 2008 

Due to increased fuel prices, people are now buying scooter as an alternative transportation vehicle instead of as a recreational product. A scooter gets between 60 and 100 miles per gallon.  According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, scooter sales were up 66% in the first half of 2008.  Yamaha had a 99.8% increase in U.S. scooter sales from September 2007 through July 2008 over the same period in 2007. (9)
 

U.S. Motorcycle Sales 2008 

--------------------------
Dual Sport          45,250
Off Road           146,779
Street Bikes       611,133
Scooters            76,748
Total              879,910
--------------------------
Source: webBikeWorld Blog ( Jan 30, 2009)

 

e-bikes
According to the 2009 edition of Electric Bike Worldwide Reports, in  2008 American consumers bought 170,000 e-bikes, with an estimated 200,000 set to move this year. (10) 

Highlights of the 2008 MIC Motorcycle/ATV Owner Survey
  • "Since 2003, the number of motorcycles owned and used in America grew 19 percent to approximately 10.4 million."
  •  "Female ownership of motorcycles crossed the 10-percent mark, increasing from 9.6 percent in 2003 up to 12.3 percent in 2008. Younger generations have even more female riders. Some 15 percent of Gen X motorcycle owners are women, and for Gen Y, it's 14 percent. " 
  • "The median household income of motorcycle owners exceeds that of the average American. Two-wheel households average $59,290 while the U.S. average is $50,233." 
  • "Of all motorcycles in use in 2008, 46 percent were purchased new, up 7 percent since 2003." (11)

References
  1. State-of-the-Cruiser Address Optimism Gets a Caution
    Motorcycle.com, Apr. 28, 2008
  2. Honda to end US motorcycle production, shift work to Japan plant
    International Herald Tribune: February 27, 2008
  3. ATV accidents killed more than 100 kids in '06 Most fatalities tied to vehicles going too fast, riders not wearing helmets
    MSNBC, Feb. 14, 2008
  4. Mileage increases appeal of scooters
    Poughkeepsie Journal, August 16, 2008
  5. STATE MOTOR-VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS - 2006
    United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration
  6. Honda maintains top position
    Powersports Business, Market Data Book 2007
  7. An in-depth study on the new bike buyer
    Powersports Business, Market Data Book 2007
  8. Women drive increase in sales of motorcycles, survey shows
    LA Times - November 20, 2008
  9. Scooter sales skyrocket 66%
    CNN Money
  10. Riders of electric bicycles plug in and pedal
    TwinCities.com  
  11. Motorcycling in America Goes Mainstream (May 18, 2009)
    Motorcycle Industry Council 

Comments


Murry Shohat

Congratulations, Bronze award

Dear Bobbie7 --

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Last edited Oct 15, 2009 5:26 PM
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David Sarokin

Great Article

What a terrific set of stats! Funny to learn that it's the over-40 crowd that dominates the new bikers market. I guess they're the ones who can afford it. No surprise that it's 90% men, though. Nice work.

Last edited Jan 11, 2009 8:31 AM
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Roger Browne

A very sound piece of research

A very sound piece of research. Bobbie7 knows how to locate facts and to distil them into a useful article. Good references.

Last edited Jan 11, 2009 8:31 AM
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Bobbie7
Bobbie7
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