Montana Leads U.S. in Motorcycle Ownership

VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM VRUM.

The way South Park hilariously — and offensively — pegs Harley riders as annoying jerks is brilliant. Since I can't repeat the word South Park uses in the episode, let's just call them 'jerks' here.

Motorcycle Ownership by State: How Montana Ranks

Maptitude, a mapping and GPS software website, posted a study on motorcycle ownership by state that I discovered through the Montana Reddit page. Montanans took an interest in it because it turned out that Montana was ranked first in registered motorcycles per 1,000 population.

"For National Motorcycle Ride Day (Second Saturday in October) we mapped IIHS motorcycle ownership data. Nationwide, there are 25.5 on-road motorcycles registered per 1,000 population." - Maptitutde

©Caliper. Maptitude^® mapping software.

Almost 62 motorcycles are registered per 1,000 people in Montana. With all the beautiful terrain to cruise through on your bike, should it come as a surprise that Montanans love their motorcycles? Yes and no.

There is a caveat, however, as pointed out by a couple of Redditors.

"Our permanent registration option, and the LLC loophole really skew the numbers. We have high value vehicles registered in Montana that have never been on Montana roads," said Redditor KJHagen.

I can't find any numbers on how many out-of-staters have a vehicle registered in Montana, but the Montana Motor Vehicle Division states that an owner can get permanent registration if a light vehicle is 11 years old or more.