IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 17, 2006 - Motorcycle and scooter sales keep growing, having just posted the 13th consecutive year of rising U.S. numbers. According to Motorcycle Industry Council statistics, sales of all types of two-wheelers jumped to 1,116,000 in 2005. That's a 5 percent increase over 2004 figures.

Motorcycle and scooter sales topped the one-million level for the third straight year, high marks last seen during the 1970s. While 2005 sales started flat, during one of the worst winters on record, the industry rebounded in summer and fall. Among 12 leading brands, sales of on-highway models for the third quarter of last year shot up 16 percent compared to the same period in 2004. And between July and September, scooter sales among these brands climbed an impressive 65 percent.

"Motorcycles and scooters have become far more mainstream, both an accepted form of transportation and recreation, and regarded as cool machines to own and collect," said Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Industry Council. "We don't know from any formal study that $3 for a gallon of gas helped boost sales, but dealerships have been answering lots of mileage-related questions, and better fuel economy gives people yet another reason to buy and ride."

The MIC lists 1973 as the zenith for annual motorcycle sales, when Americans bought more than 1.5 million bikes. Sales for 1979 topped the one-million mark, then cooled in the 1980s and early 1990s. Motorcycling began its 13 years of increasing success back in 1993, with sales growing every year since then.

1992 - 278,000
1993 - 293,000
1994 - 306,000
1995 - 309,000
1996 - 330,000
1997 - 356,000
1998 - 432,000
1999 - 546,000
2000 - 710,000
2001 - 850,000
2002 - 936,000
2003 - 1,001,000
2004 - 1,063,000
2005 - 1,116,000

U.S. New Unit Motorcycle Sales. Source: Motorcycle Industry Council

Discover Today's Motorcycling® at www.motorcycles.org is the communications service bureau of the Motorcycle Industry Council and a source of information about motorcycling to the media and the general public. The MIC, located in Irvine, Calif., is a not-for-profit national trade association representing manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, scooters, motorcycle parts and accessories, and members of allied trades.