American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 218 September 2017 | страница 4

“A more conceptually open approach to
motorcycle customization” – exactly!
he quote is from Bob Kay who, in his role as the “Custom Culture”
Director for the MIC, is hosting a series of round table and panel
discussions at some of the new generation of custom shows in the
United States – specifically it is from a report that Kay prepared
recently, following a round table and panel discussion at the Revival Cycles’
Handbuilt Show at Austin, Texas, in April.
The quote goes on to say: “Celebrating diversity in contemporary expression, combining
form and function with multiple style cues. ‘Custom Culture’ expands the traditional
view of V-twin custom trends to include multiple brand and engine configurations for
new interpretations.”
The purpose of the paper he wrote was, if possible, to offer up a definition of what
exactly “Custom Culture” is in the changing landscape of new generation entrants to
custom bike building and the dramatic changes we have seen in the bikes being
customized.
The purpose of the round table and panel discussions that
Bob has been hosting is to give the “New Gen” a forum in
which they can share their views with likeminded souls, and
have those views heard by the wider custom motorcycle
community of which they are now an important part.
As initiatives go, it is incredibly important, and the prospects
that it represents for feeding near market intel into an
industry event such as AIMExpo and an industry association
such as the MIC, is fundamental to helping the “New Gen”
shape their own businesses as their initial youth customer base ages, and fundamental
for the wider custom industry to understand who their next chrome mirror, cam or custom
bike sale may be coming from.
hen the AMD World Championship program started to morph away from the
orthodox roots that had birthed it, in particular when the meaning of what was
at the time the first “Freestyle Class” concept became apparent, the inappropriate nature
of custom show orthodoxy in the ‘noughties’ was laid bare for all to see as the force of
design and engineering conservatism that it was.
The “Freestyle” concept provided an evolutionary platform for the emergence of board
trackers and ‘Retro’ in general, and as it took hold across the show scene, the stage was
set for evolution to become revolution with the proliferation of platforms being
customized. The downturn burned away the previous assumptions of what a custom
bike could and should be, and laid down bare fertile new soil for the assumption,
preconception and structure-free market that Millennials now embrace.
They may well be a “lost generation” as far as the cash registers of the established
custom parts and accessory market is concerned, but the incredibly good news about
the revolution is that personal expression through the form and function of customized
motorcycles (and therefore the future of the concept itself) has been rescued and moved
on for generations of post-Boomer consumers to embrace and enjoy.
Without the evolution (some would say destruction) of the old orthodoxies, there never
could have been a new and relevant shape to the market.
In my dialogs with Bob Kay, one big topic has been the emergence of a legally enshrined
“Right to Modify” in Europe, and the absence of any such legal entitlement in the United
T
States. Bob told me recently that the panel discussion opportunities have started to
“give the emerging young American builders and other influential players in the
American custom scene an opportunity for the participants” and that “the quality of
the discussions and the sincerity of their intentions bear a remarkable resemblance to
where the Boomer driven market itself got started.”
his year Bob was asked to give a presentation to the MIC’s Aftermarket committee
about “what I had learned from these meetings, my research on the evolving custom
bike scene and its influence on the overall motorcycle market.” The custom scene is alive,
and with the likes of Garage Brewed, Mama Tried, Hand Built, The One, Born Free and
others, it has a structure and a voice.
“Yes, it has evolved. Entry into this scene is no longer limited to V-twin enthusiasts, and
it is more closely aligned with younger generation riders - Millennials and younger, who
are primed to grow into the largest demographic opportunity for motorcycling. Thes