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.