1. Maybe
2. Yes
1: Despite the popularity of these motorbicycles and the shear number of people who say they want one - until you can just walk into Walmart and buy one complete and ready to ride I doubt the numbers will suddenly surge. While there will always be those that are willing to put some personal effort into attaining something they desire, the "do it yourself" aspect deters most - our instant satisfaction, disposable culture is apparent in almost every facet of today's commercial life.
While everywhere I go I get those that admire my MB and would like one themselves, their first question betrays them. "Where can I buy one?" they ask and the light in their eyes lessens when I say "It starts as a kit, here's where you can get one." The conversation's tone changes from desire to envy - from excitement to respect, the mere mention of building something just enough to dampen their enthusiasm every time.
Overlooking the inherent problems, were I to build these bikes and sell them for less than $500 complete I'm sure they would be popular, there's been quite a few interested, even insistent in attempting to purchase my bike. Yet the idea of a personal investment of time and effort - actually picking up what few tools you would need to build even such a simple machine stops most in their tracks.
Of all those I've talked to and after all the information I've handed out, despite my reassurances regarding the ease of build and it's inexpensiveness - one, that's right -
one 11yo boy actually bought a kit and built it. I'm not sure you guys realize just how much of an aberration you really are, building something yourself, for yourself. The treehouse/go kart childhoods are a thing of the past - long live Xbox!
2: There is no rhyme or reason to restrictions and regulations, it's about control and revenue. More laws = more of both, you'll not see a lessening of such a lucrative method - any opportunity to restrict and penalize will be seized at it's earliest opportunity.
Every year more and more petty laws are written, more officers are hired to enforce them, their quotas increased accordingly. It's how their annual budget increase is justified. In just the past few years I've watched as we went from the standard increase in weekend road patrols in the interest of safety, to roadblocks during those hours - to random roadblocks at any time, any day of the week. The resultant increase in citations justifies their actions, a self perpetuating cycle of over-enforcement resulting in more "crime" thus needing more officers and equipment, resulting in more citations... ad infinitum.
Do you really think they would
lessen their control? Overlook an opportunity to justify their inflated budget? All they need is an excuse - some kid gets hurt, some rabid "interest group" deems our bikes a hazard to the children and it's over.
It's not the individual officers of course - it's the policy makers, each and every one seeks to leave their mark, to find some loophole forgotten and to prove their importance by touting it a threat to national security, that our young are in imminent peril, or even just a potential degradation of property values.
Do I sound cynical? Perhaps. Look around and get back to me on that one
/rant
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