TRIUMPH STREET TWIN

QUESTIONS I GET (ALONG with “how do I get your job?”, answer “you don’t want it”) is “why do motorcycles have more and more electronics and other complications?” Actually, that’s not what they really ask. What they say is, “why do bikes have all this crap on them?”

There are several reasons, including taking advantage of improving technology, but the one that concerns us here is “because then the manufacturers can charge more”. That is not as cynical as it sounds. Costs go up all the time, shareholders want better returns and you can’t just keep jacking up prices without a defensible reason. But there are only three ways of making more money: build bikes more cheaply, charge more