Recent research into motorcycle culture — November 2026
A South African film festival, English transport plans, Italian Futurism, vintage MX tees and Rome’s custom show: this month’s reading.
Culture, Events, Research
Culture
Motorcycle culture — events, scenes, criticism.
Sales are up in the EU! How will the US fare?
ACEM’s figures for January to September 2026 show motorcycle registrations in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK up 14.6%, and its Secretary General links the growth to economic pressures and congestion. The US faces the same pressures, but its older, leisure-oriented market needs changes to tax, protective gear, rider training and helmet law before small two-wheelers become daily transport.
Culture
Trust, Automation and the End of the Gear Shift
Automated transmissions from Honda, BMW and Yamaha ask riders to trust the machine with a task they once performed themselves. Research on trust in automation suggests that change may be preparing riders for electric motorcycles, which have no gearbox at all.
Culture, Events, Research
Recent research into motorcycle culture — October 2026
October 2026 motorcycle culture roundup: Eric Hendrikx’s Motorcycle Life, a photo study of the Grampian Motorcycle Club, and European Bike Week.
Culture
Electric Motorcycles: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up
Every technology that a major manufacturer would need to build a viable, extended range electric motorcycle already exists, just not at the price point that makes it a realistic commercial possibility.
Culture
The Trusted Object
From the rein to the blind person’s cane to the tactile vests worn by military pilots: a history of trusting the world through an object, and what it means for the electric motorcycle.
Culture, Motorcycle Safety, Research
Has Motorcycling Lost Its Cool? Sales, Regulation, and the Subcultural Problem, May 2026
May 2026: motorcycle sales in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union are contracting unevenly. Royal Enfield is the conspicuous exception. The deeper problem is cultural — an ageing rider base, a federation of demographically narrowing sub-tribes (Maffesoli’s neo-tribalism), and a regulatory environment in Europe that is tightening while the United States continues to do almost nothing.
Culture, Events, Research
Recent research into motorcycle culture — March 2026
Three for March 2026: Daytona Bike Week’s record-breaking 33rd edition, The Vintagent on Wendy Pojmann’s USA/Italy motorcycle book, and IJMS’s 2026 call for papers.
Culture, Research
Recent research into motorcycle culture — February 2026
One central piece this month: Steven Burr’s IJMS essay on the motorcycle as aesthetic and ontological vehicle, working through Keats, Heidegger and Pirsig.
Culture, Research
Recent research into motorcycle culture — January 2026
Three from IJMS Vol 22’s January launch: Wragg on European biker comics, Hoiland on The Bikeriders, and Stanley & Bridge on UK transport policy.