The MDA was founded, as I personally see it, as a forum where the professionals and interested amateurs dedicated to this amazing and esoteric job could discuss and share ideas about the industry, problems we all face and then to speak with a united voice where needed.  I never thought that the MDA ought to border on the territory of a union, but rather a society of professionals, not unlike Engineering or Architectural Societies and Guilds that have existed for centuries ensuring that standards can be met, that industrial policies are unified, but also simply to promote the profession.

Motorcycle Design has been living through a renaissance of late, spurred on by sales records, new interest in motorcycles as alternate transportation solutions, concerns about the environment, costs, and perhaps most of the emergence of motorcycling as a socially acceptable, even desirable behavior.  Thanks in large part to popular shows like Orange County Chopper and Biker Buildoff, the standardization (at least in Europe) of licensing laws, successful cross branding and extensive coverage by media savvy brands like Ducati, BMW and Triumph, it is cool to ride even if you are not a hard core biker. The positive end result for all of us is an ever widening audience demanding new models and a greater choice of motorcycle and scooter types to play with, and as designers we have stepped up to the plate, if the rapidly expanding catalogue of bikes for sale everywhere is anything to go by. 

My concern, for the MDA, is this.  The Association has experienced growth and considerable international exposure since its birth, culminating in the show season of 2003, which many members agree was the apogee of MDA events.  Major Japanese factories Honda and Yamaha made considerable efforts at their own expense to promote design and support the MDA, membership was rising sharply, and it seemed that the motorcycle press was keen on hearing from MDA sources and to promote our annual Design Awards.  But since then, there has been a steady decline in energy, a loss of inertia, and even it must be said, a blatant lack of participation from the membership itself. 

One explanation is that we as designers find ourselves too busy in this boom period to participate.  But I refuse to accept that, as something as simple as casting your vote on the MDA Design Awards takes a few minutes and is in our own best interests.  No one is that busy, and the pathetic turn out in last years voting made it clear that the problem lay elsewhere. 

MDA reform is a topic that has been around for a while, and President Glynn Kerr has made a Herculean effort to maintain this site, the Association and keep everyone informed to that end through email.  By and large, it seems that there is little actual interest in the membership in discussing possible solutions, or participating in the voting process, and no one seems interested in paying dues, as was the case and I feel, ought to be again.  Yet every member wants to benefit from the Awards, publicity, internet footprint, and to indulge in the Annual Meeting at the shows.  This is both unrealistic, unfair to the Executive and volunteers who invest considerable time without compensation, and to be perfectly frank, smacks of amateur. 

Either we are a genuine industrial association with credibility and a stamp of authority, or we are just a bunch of enthusiasts with a common job.  I for one, many other members, and particularly the factories are uninterested in being part of a rag-tag that meets for a beer swilling party once a year, and will likely pull out support if a more serious effort is not made, and soon. 

To that end, I have taken on the task of organizing the Annual Design Awards for this year, with the intention of rediscovering some of that lost energy.  Together with Glynn and some volunteers, we plan at making a stab at getting the MDA’s design profile back, and at the same time encouraging the membership to participate more actively.  How successful we can be at achieving this goal depends of reciprocal efforts from you. 

I believe that our industry needs an MDA, and I also still think that the MDA is a strong, recognized instrument.  Lets see how far we can take it.

- Michael Uhlarik is Principal of Type U Motorcycle Design S.r.l www.type-u.com

Michael Uhlarik