Human nature is what it is, whether we’re talking about the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century or putting an awkward ATV tire on a Triumph Speed Triple. Trends run until they reach such extremes that they collapse under the weight of their own absurdity.
I can only hope that the trend of painting new motorcycles gray is about to reach that inevitable collapse. Make it soon, please.
BMW paid a lot of attention to the styling of its R nineT Scrambler but painted the tank gray, just as it did with the subsequent R nineT Pure. Photo by Kevin Wing.
White, black, gray, and silver have always dominated in the car world, and gray is the one that has grown in recent years. According to the giant paint company PPG, 22 percent of the new cars in North America were gray in 2021, making gray almost as popular as perennial favorite white, which came in at 24 percent. Since another 18 percent were black and 12 percent were silver, in the car world we might as well still be living in the era of black-and-white TV, not the supposed cusp of the metaverse. Gray has also surged in popularity among custom car builders.
The entire Yamaha MT line, from the MT-03 to this MT-10, gets gray tanks this year. Yamaha mixes it up with brightly colored wheels, but gray will have its day. Yamaha photo.
Unfortunately, the motorcycle world is copying this bland trend. Historically, motorcycles have tended to be more colorful than cars. Black has always been a common motorcycle color, but now, everyone’s offering more white and gray, too. Given how invisible I am on a motorcycle to most drivers on the road, do I really want to ride something the color of asphalt?
Historically, sport bikes were painted the brightest colors, but even this Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is available in gray now. At least it gets a few splashes of color, which is the same approach Triumph is taking with some of its motorcycles. Kawasaki photo.
Just look at the 2022 Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST below. You can get one in black. Or you can get this one that looks like it’s primered and ready to go to the paint room. Harley-Davidson calls it “Gunship Gray” and charges you an extra $575 for it. Surely a trend must be nearly played out when we’ve reached the stage of gullibility where we pay extra for paint that looks like it hasn’t yet been painted.
You’ll pay extra for this “Gunship Gray” color on your Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST. Harley-Davidson designers admit they’re watching the trends in the custom car world. You’ll see lots of new cars right now painted in shades similar to this one. Harley-Davidson photo.
I don’t know if the rise of grayness is a reflection of the social mood or merely an inevitable rotation through the palette of available colors, but I hope the motorcycle industry soon emerges from the blahs and realizes that “Fifty Shades of Grey” was a novel, not a textbook on motorcycle styling.
Even the humble Honda Super Cub, the best selling motorcycle model of all time, has jumped on the gray bandwagon. Honda photo.
I always thought there were two kinds of motorcycle buyers traditionalists who wanted black and the others who wanted bright colors. Gray doesnt do anything for me. White meh.