Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com
Given the continued dreary state of the economy and ominous stories in the motorcycle press about aging Baby Boomers on the verge of giving up riding, you’d think that “the numbers” would show a major decline in the popularity of motorycling. That’s certainly not the case here in Connecticut.
The number of registered motorcycles at the end of 2010 was 93,860, a decrease of only 402 from a year earlier. By comparison, there were only 59,077 registered motorcycles in the state a decade ago. The number of enrollees in the Connecticut Rider Education Program courses last year totaled 4,888, a drop of 76 students from 2009.
The bike manufacturers are starting to realize that Baby Boomers will eventually have to be replaced and are slowly coming out with new small, entry-level models, which might attract some younger newcomers to the recreation. 
Meanwhile, state law now requires that any newbie must take a CONREP (or similar) course to get an “M” endorsement, which may boost enrollment.
The uncertain economy remains a question mark, but rising gas prices and perhaps new product and some pent-up demand may help dealers this year, and put even more riders on our roads.
