The Death of Motorheads
Do self-driving cars signal the end of motorcycle riders?
Are we the last generation of motorcycle riders?
I am a motorhead. Negotiating traffic, riding across highways, and exploring new sights on my motorcycle, a regular week for me.
I have been advised to drive a car, but somehow it never gelled with me. Although I am highly respectful of the advances in motorcars, I still prefer the freedom of the two-wheeler.
I have travelled great distances on my motorcycle. I have seen a lot of road; good, bad, and none. I have been off-roading enough to realise it is not my cup of tea. Crazy enough, I have counted studs, nuts and bolts of my motorcycle and am quite sure of what function each cog and gear of the machinery performs.
But I have never felt such connection with a car, even though everyone around me seems to extol its virtues. I see roads getting modified every day to accommodate the rising number of cars and motorcycles getting pushed to the wayside.
My predisposition with motorcycles goes deeper than convenience and fashion. As any seasoned rider will tell you, I don’t really know why I ride as much as I do. I have been doing it ever since I first rode one, and never questioned myself.
I grew up watching motorcycles. I have seen how it is a symbol of pride for the elder ones and a fashion statement for the young. I have obtained counsel from veterans, nurtured the enthusiasm of novices, and witnessed the bravado of posers. My riding mettle has been tested against nightfall, thunderstorms, combination of both, seasoned with breakdowns.
I don’t talk much about my riding experiences, because there isn’t much to say (but I sure seem to write about it if this post is any proof). I prefer the silence of the highway and channel it wherever I am.
I have known individuals passionate about cars too. But I always dial it down and say that being inside a car is just like watching more TV. I have met drivers who look at the recent invention of self-driving vehicles derisively — a derision I fully understand but don’t sympathise with.
I am witnessing the steady decline of motorcycle riding as an art, recently. There is much enthusiasm around motorcycles even now, but there seems to be a fundamental shift in riding preferences. Calculated rides, guided tours, and timed group rides have become ubiquitous amongst the urban crowd. Rarely do I spot people who ride merely for the sake of riding.
I have had the privilege of meeting several riders much better than I. Our mutual respect and understanding comes from the fact that none of them got sucked into the glam aspect; brands, bravado, and bullshit. If you are a long-distance rider yourself, you will understand exactly what I mean.
But now, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between motorcycles and people. A lot of people I have met have no idea how to ride a motorcycle and exhibit little to no inclination to learn either. Highly respectful of others’ preferences, I cannot help but wonder what will happen to the generation of motorheads.
I witness all around me the enthusiasm shift from gears, shafts, and steel to sensors, connectivity, and digital displays; the very nature of transportation evolving. I see an entire generation of people that view motorcycles as bulky contraptions which cannot be lugged everywhere.
I suppose motorcycle companies too are partly to blame. Keeping high price-points, and not improving features while the motorcar industry evolved, would not have won them any brownie points. But I digress.
It is not so much as millennials detesting motorcycles that worries me. I couldn’t care less who rides or doesn’t. It is neither the motorcycle companies’ reluctance to cater to newer audiences, no. What worries me more is the way road transportation is evolving.
As regular motorcars are getting upgraded to self-driving cars, and as they are slowly being inducted into the mainstream traffic flow, slowly and steadily, roads are evolving to accommodate this rising trend.
As I observe day-by-day, I see more and more cars on the road, and motorcycles getting pushed to the wayside. Toll plazas on highways have a small opening enough for a bicycle to pass and you’re expected to ride your hulk of a machine through it. Cars occupy both the slow lanes and fast lanes, and given the lack of discipline in rural areas, the problem for motorcycles is far more acute. And this is only the beginning.
When I look at the future of transportation, an ecosystem dominated by self-driving vehicles, I worry evermore about the future of motorcycles. Creation of grids, lanes, by-lanes, and the steady move towards an obstacle-free road are at an all-time high. A lot is said about the safety offered by self-driving cars. The margin for error is low, and while successful tests have yet to be carried out in places like India, I believe it is only a matter of time before we see autonomous vehicles making steady inroads. And I am all for road safety.
What I am not for is the phasing out of self-operated vehicles this might bring about. As irrational as it sounds, I believe the road ecosystem is steadily moving towards restricting self-operated vehicles. My irrational fear can be expressed in two ways:
First, if self-driving cars become the norm, it is likely that a portion of the roads will be mandatorily dedicated to self-driving cars. With self-operated vehicles like motorcycles being restricted to small lanes, will there be any space left for motorcycles or self-operated vehicles in the future? I don’t know, but it sure seems to be going that way.
And while I don’t intend to take on the world’s problems on my shoulders I cannot help but wonder, won’t lawmakers be under pressure to come up with policies that minimise death on the road? While the decreased mortality is laudable, will this result in an ecosystem that is geared towards phasing out self-operated vehicles due to the higher margin of error?
Second, a curious afterthought about the insurance industry. If the act of driving is no longer performed by human beings, this will signal a fundamental shift in insurance premiums. If anything, it will make the premiums skyrocket for self-operated vehicles, more so if it’s a motorcycle. Am I the only one to smell a deterrent in this?
I don’t want to see a day where regulation becomes stifling for riders. But it seems that if riders don’t kill themselves by not wearing adequate safety, regulation itself will kill off motorcycles in the future. Will we see a generation of autonomous motorcycles? Difficult to say, but I will be glad to witness a future where both coexist.
I am curious to see how the future of transportation evolves across the world. While my enthusiasm for tech-driven transportation is high, my apprehension for the loss of motorcycle riding is higher.
And so do my many thoughts coalesce as I thunder down the road on my cruiser. Perhaps I should have tackled some other notion as I get flashed by a bunch of kids on crotch bikes booing me as they overtake me. And I realise that it is only a matter of time before we see the decline of hardcore riders who channel their inner philosopher every time they touch the highway.
A few kilometers further, another cruiser gives me a nod and I respond in kind. That guy looks old, or maybe it’s just me getting older that’s making everything look older. Perhaps he too has realised the futility of our endeavours?
But I shall ride on, and try to detach myself from the goings-on. Far as the world is concerned, I am still a motorhead. No longer a savant but merely a dinosaur witnessing the meteor strike. And the demise of the most exquisite art of commuting.
