The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider

Aside from electrification (government conspiracy!), the second-most divisive topic in the world of motorcycling—at least in the decadent West—is the Chinese question. "Over my dead body will I ever ride a Chinese motorcycle!" write the aggrieved. (Curiously, the respondents who threaten to do so never carry through with their promise and offer-up a cadaver to demonstrate their seriousness.) But, just a second, haven't we heard this before? Didn't everyone say this about Japanese motorcycles in the mid-'60s? Remember "Jap-scrap" anyone? All it took for Americans to forget Pearl Harbor, it turned out, was a stunner like the CB750. At the heart of the issue is this question: is it reasonable to boycott the products of a country because of an objection to their political system? Especially when boycotting Chinese products is impossible? Is an American who refuses to ride a Chinese motorcycle because of an aversion to communism the equivalent to a European who withdraws a deposit on a Road Glide because of his distaste for Mr. Trump? Industry analyst Michael Uhlarik floats above the fray and proposes a radically different approach: what if a motorcycle, asks Mr. Uhlarik, is just a motorcycle?
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On episode 135 of The Lowdown Radio Show, Motorcycle Global’s Michael Uhlarik reports live off the floor at EICMA, the mind-bendingly huge motorcycle industry show held in Milan, Italy. It’s important to understand that for Michael, EICMA is Christmas, the Easter Bunny, his birthday (at least before they began piling up) and his first kiss all rolled into one. You can tell how much it means to him by the way he dresses for it, like a middle-school vice-principal from Rhode Island. Michael gives us a perspective from a true industry insider. Meaning that he gets down on his hands and knees to let us know where the money is spent on a motorcycle and where a manufacturer tightened the purse strings. And wouldn’t you know that one of the bikes Michael scrutinizes is Harley’s new Sprint 440. And, please, please, watch the video version of the show—to listen only to the audio would be like dropping acid while blindfolded at a Phish show. So sit back and let a sleep-deprived, macchiato-fueled Michael Uhlarik take us on a trip.
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The Dealership Dilemma! Your local motorcycle shop is struggling because they don't understand customers

Have you ever been in a motorcycle dealership and felt that your head was about to explode? Not from the prices—that’s another conversation—but because the store was jammed to the gills with so many helmets and jackets and bikes and tins of chain lube, that not only couldn’t you find what you were looking for, but you’d forgotten what you were looking for? That’s what’s in store on this, episode 134 of the Lowdown Radio Show. Our guest, Jennifer Robison, casts an unflinching eye onto motorcycle dealerships. Did you know, according to Jennifer, that customers decide in under eight seconds whether a store is worth their time. Her job, as a dealership strategist, is to make every second count.
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On the Lowdown Radio Show episode 133, editor Zac Kurylyk joins Neil Graham for a preview of some of what’s in store at the upcoming EICMA show in Milan. Royal Enfield will be there with a big dirt bike, Harley-Davidson imprint Livewire will reveal the cryptically-named Dust Spur (which makes us think of good old Clint and those wonderful spaghetti westerns), and KTM returns to the show after a few tough years with a parallel-twin 990 Adventure. Yes, a parallel-twin. Ducati has a Multistrada Gran Turismo with a wet bar, BMW, with the M 1300 GS, figures out how to make an expensive bike even more expensive, and Honda makes a four-banger 500 inspired by the 1990s. But without 1990s graphics. Mercifully. This, and more, this week on the show.
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Motorcycle Global’s Michael Uhlarik joins us to talk focus groups. A group of people assembled to opine on anything from snack bars to topless bars to sissy bars. In this particular case, Michael’s client wanted to find out what non-motorcycling citizens under the age of 30 in five American states thought about motorcycling. Why should we care? Well, for one, this was once motorcycling’s main demographic, and if manufacturers don’t soon learn how to engage them, it’ll be awfully hard for those companies to survive. And you’d think, given that the price of everything has skyrocketed, that inexpensive two-wheeled transportation would have a golden opportunity for growth. But if that’s to be the case, there’s work to be done. This week Michael Uhlarik on the shocking views young Americans have on motorcyclists and motorcycling.

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