from USA Today: Motorcycle sales last year jumped to their highest level since 1979, the Motorcycle Industy Council says.
Pushed by an increase in female riders and the broadening appeal of motor scooters and other small, less-expensive two-wheelers, sales rose 4.7% to top 1 million for the second-consecutive year, according to MIC.
The average age of motorcyclists rose to 41 in 2003, the latest available data, from 32 in 1990. Most were married. A third were college graduates, nearly double the 1990 number. Baby boomers “drive the market,” says Larry Little, publisher of Cycle World magazine.
Top brands in 2003, the latest available market-share data, according to the MIC: Honda, with 27.4% of sales; Harley-Davidson, 23.7%; Yamaha, 17.4%; Suzuki, 10.8%; and Kawasaki, 8.7%.
Scooters such as Vespa and Aprilia, popular on campuses and in some urban areas, accounted for 5% of motorcycle sales last year.
