Suzuki - How times have changed

exsuzukidealer 5/21/2012 4:32pm
5/21/2012 4:32pm
Suzuki builds great products, the corp office comes up short on marketing the brand mostly due to a budget of a local taco stand. its been like this for years its too bad for the dealer network since suzuki never steps up there marketing. after JS's win i doubt you'll even see many ads pumping up the bike and dealers
look out below
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look out below 5/21/2012 4:33pm
5/21/2012 4:33pm
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
exsuzukidealer 5/21/2012 4:40pm
5/21/2012 4:40pm
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
look out below wrote:
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
A good local dealer makes a huge difference, the dealer must have passion for the sport since racers never pay anything close to retail and rarely makes a profit form a motoheads. its a saturated market even now a days with 50% of dealers gone
mjskier
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mjskier 5/22/2012 10:35am
5/22/2012 10:35am
slipdog wrote:
Gott'a be in it to win it! I'm not bagging on his skills, just that he won 2 races and the OP called him a winner...
Gott'a be in it to win it!

I'm not bagging on his skills, just that he won 2 races and the OP called him a winner. McGrath won a lot more than Alessi, but he was a loser...

I disagree with those statments, that's all.
I see what you mean.
The problem with the winning machines (McGrath, James...) is a season where they don't dominate is a losing season.

The Shop

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slowvet
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slowvet 5/22/2012 10:53am
5/22/2012 10:53am
TeamGreen wrote:
Suzuki seems to be relearning the U.S. market... They have, by far, the best financing/offers out there on ANY 2012; but, that wasn't the case for...
Suzuki seems to be relearning the U.S. market...

They have, by far, the best financing/offers out there on ANY 2012; but, that wasn't the case for the last few years.
I keep telling my wife that. She still says no.
Travis_Hudson
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Travis_Hudson 5/22/2012 12:27pm
5/22/2012 12:27pm
I don't think that when you are winning it guarantee's bike sales, i remember when carmichael was killing it on that 01' kx250 i had one,...but i was one of the few at the track at the time? Honda will always sell ton's of crf450's even when a certain year is no good [09] Its name recognition.....just my 2 cents.
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FIREfish148 5/22/2012 12:34pm
5/22/2012 12:34pm
I like the suzuki front fender way more than yamaha and ktm's. Honda front fender=best. Kawi and suzuki= tie
petrie141
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petrie141 5/22/2012 12:39pm
5/22/2012 12:39pm
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
I've wondered the same thing myself. I enjoy checking out everyone's bike on the trails/track and I can't remember the last time I've seen more than 2 Suzukis in one day. A few of the shop guys around here say that now-a-days you're basically just splitting hairs between manufacturers which makes me think I should be seeing a good mix of colors out there riding. At hangtown, 3 of the top 5 finishers were riding yellow. I wonder what's holding them back?

zookie
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zookie 5/22/2012 6:16pm
5/22/2012 6:16pm
petrie141 wrote:
I've wondered the same thing myself. I enjoy checking out everyone's bike on the trails/track and I can't remember the last time I've seen more than...
I've wondered the same thing myself. I enjoy checking out everyone's bike on the trails/track and I can't remember the last time I've seen more than 2 Suzukis in one day. A few of the shop guys around here say that now-a-days you're basically just splitting hairs between manufacturers which makes me think I should be seeing a good mix of colors out there riding. At hangtown, 3 of the top 5 finishers were riding yellow. I wonder what's holding them back?

Simple, to the typical motocross consumer a Suzuki is boring. There are no gimmicks.

Yamaha- backward engine! WOOO!
Kawasaki- Strange forks, two injectors ($$), launch control
Honda- People get boners for Honda for no apparent reason but the Hondas are light and have a funny exhaust.
KTM- Electric start and a steel frame (not gimmicks, I actually think these are awesome).

Bottom line is that Suzuki makes a bike that works very well but has no gimmicks. It should be no surprise that my 10 year old RM125 and RM250 feel as modern as any new bike on the market with respect to the handling, suspension, and ergos. Boring yes, effective yes, desirable...maybe not.
Crush
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Crush 5/22/2012 7:12pm
5/22/2012 7:12pm
My Bro has a 2010 RMZ450... Best bike i've ever ridden... frickin amazing..
Spahnzuki
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Spahnzuki 5/22/2012 7:32pm
5/22/2012 7:32pm
'99 RM250

'05 RMZ 450...Suzuki rocks!
Sonny_Solar
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Sonny_Solar 5/22/2012 7:35pm
5/22/2012 7:35pm
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
Definatly has to do with what shops carry around you.. My closest shop is Honda and Kawasaki, Next closest is just honda, next just yamaha, THEN there is a suzuki and yamaha dealer but its way out of the way ad barely has deals.. Next new bike I buy will most likely be the new rmz450.. Hopefully with stewart winning they will sell enough to mark the price down a little and negotiate a little better!
kevin204
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kevin204 5/22/2012 8:33pm
5/22/2012 8:33pm
I've owned many bikes, nothing has ever felt as right as my RMZ450. I feel like a champion on this thing, a spode on anything else.
Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 5/23/2012 4:54am
5/23/2012 4:54am
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
look out below wrote:
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
exsuzukidealer wrote:
A good local dealer makes a huge difference, the dealer must have passion for the sport since racers never pay anything close to retail and rarely...
A good local dealer makes a huge difference, the dealer must have passion for the sport since racers never pay anything close to retail and rarely makes a profit form a motoheads. its a saturated market even now a days with 50% of dealers gone
You guys hit the nail on the head. A good dealer makes a big difference. Especially with novice riders looking for advice from the dealer. They're more open minded about which bike to buy.
I've seen more than a few guys choose the Suz over a Kaw just because of the great financing offer.

My brother is a Suz/Kaw/Polaris dealer here in Southern IN, He's been Suz since 74 and Kaw since 93. So he's a little more biased/loyal to Suz.. He rides and races himself.
I ride a new 12 KXF 250, but he sells RMZ's about 8 to 1 over Kaw. At our local race Sunday it was loaded with zooks.
The guys I know that ride yellow really seem to like them.
BobbyM
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BobbyM 5/23/2012 6:54am
5/23/2012 6:54am
burn1986 wrote:
Isn't it funny how not too long ago Suzuki was the losing brand - LaRocco 96-98 (I think), McGrath (97), Windham (01-02). Now, it seems to...
Isn't it funny how not too long ago Suzuki was the losing brand - LaRocco 96-98 (I think), McGrath (97), Windham (01-02). Now, it seems to be the winning brand - Carmichael, Reed, Alessi, Dungey, and now Stewart.
"Now"?
burn1986
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burn1986 5/23/2012 7:09am
5/23/2012 7:09am Edited Date/Time 5/23/2012 8:16am
Yeah. Chad and Dungey had some of their best seasons on the Suzuki, and James has gotten out of a lucrative contract to ride it. Alessi chose to ride it again, since one of his most successful seasons was on it. Even though RC won on it, I think most people thought it was RC's ability rather than the bike. But now the bike seems to be a big contributor.
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GrapeApe 5/23/2012 8:02am
5/23/2012 8:02am
I'm surprised the color yellow is being brought up as a negative by so many. I have never owned a Suzuki in 33 years of riding, but I have always admired their looks. I like the old yellow and blue better than the current yellow and red, but I dig the yellow.
MattyVicious 5/23/2012 10:35am
5/23/2012 10:35am
burn1986 wrote:
Isn't it funny how not too long ago Suzuki was the losing brand - LaRocco 96-98 (I think), McGrath (97), Windham (01-02). Now, it seems to...
Isn't it funny how not too long ago Suzuki was the losing brand - LaRocco 96-98 (I think), McGrath (97), Windham (01-02). Now, it seems to be the winning brand - Carmichael, Reed, Alessi, Dungey, and now Stewart.
ALessi?. Haha.

Pit Row

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burn1986
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burn1986 5/23/2012 11:39am
5/23/2012 11:39am
Ish wrote:
I can't stand yellow.. If I found a black one for a good price I would ride/buy it.
Hallzilla wrote:
.... and move to Lake Elsinore rockin my Metal Mulisha tank top.
That cracks me up! Cool
rmgsxr
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rmgsxr 5/23/2012 1:48pm
5/23/2012 1:48pm
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
look out below wrote:
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
Wink
goonrider
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goonrider 5/23/2012 3:04pm
5/23/2012 3:04pm
The color yellow is not appealing to men.

I know they do not want to lose their brand identity but they need to offer the MX line of RMZ's in the same color scheme as their GSX-R's. White, blue and bright red.

Suzuki tried it a few years ago (2005?) when they went to white plastics for the quad team an then yellow body panels on Spies and Yates bikes. The yellow street bike looked bad but the white plastics on the quads looked great. Pastrana even went to white plastics on his Supermoto bike but it didn't pass whatever test they were doing.

Just sell yellow and white RMZ's and watch the sales of the white bike surpass the yellow ones.
Motocross
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Motocross 5/23/2012 4:21pm
5/23/2012 4:21pm
Moto_Geek wrote:
Color preference and branding I bet has alot to do with it. They are big in the quad market.
They sold the quads for 4 years, won three championships and then everyone copied their front end and lowered subframe just to compete with Suzuki. I think the issue is partially branding but also they don't update their bikes to much.
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captmoto 5/23/2012 5:15pm
5/23/2012 5:15pm
I bought a used CR250 based on dealer support/accessability. I have a really good Yamaha Shop in town and a Honda/Kawi/Yamaha dealer about 20 minutes away. Both support a spring dealer series here in SoCal. The closest Suzuki dealer is 20-25 minutes and doesn't support much in the moto world. I really wanted a YZ but there wasn't much available when cash was burning a hole in my pocket. I was a Suzuki guy in the late 70's and then in 89 but had a really good dealer. I would love to be on a Suzuki again but not enough dealer support in my area.
SLAPAHO
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SLAPAHO 5/23/2012 7:12pm
5/23/2012 7:12pm
i love the yellow...........and there are plenty of zooks at any track you go to in socal.

cant think of anyone i know that bought their bike because of the color, wtf.
chump6784
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chump6784 5/23/2012 7:39pm
5/23/2012 7:39pm
SLAPAHO wrote:
i love the yellow...........and there are plenty of zooks at any track you go to in socal. cant think of anyone i know that bought their...
i love the yellow...........and there are plenty of zooks at any track you go to in socal.

cant think of anyone i know that bought their bike because of the color, wtf.
I would have a hard time buying a yamaha because of the boring dark blue they come in. I could buy a white one though. Any sort of machine you buy, bike, car, wife etc has to be visually appealing. I love the yellow of Suzuki's, two of them sitting in my garage with fresh graphics, polished pipes etc looks awesome. The daughters blue peewee 50 gets pushed to the back so it doesn't wreck the look
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TeamGreen 5/23/2012 7:42pm
5/23/2012 7:42pm
goonrider wrote:
The color yellow is not appealing to men. I know they do not want to lose their brand identity but they need to offer the MX...
The color yellow is not appealing to men.

I know they do not want to lose their brand identity but they need to offer the MX line of RMZ's in the same color scheme as their GSX-R's. White, blue and bright red.

Suzuki tried it a few years ago (2005?) when they went to white plastics for the quad team an then yellow body panels on Spies and Yates bikes. The yellow street bike looked bad but the white plastics on the quads looked great. Pastrana even went to white plastics on his Supermoto bike but it didn't pass whatever test they were doing.

Just sell yellow and white RMZ's and watch the sales of the white bike surpass the yellow ones.
I dunno...

I put a guy w/ only one foot on a Yosh-Suzuki in 2010 & he got a Silver Medal on it.

Oh, &...It was Very Yellow...&...

It looked damn good.
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TDeath21 5/23/2012 8:56pm
5/23/2012 8:56pm
So Stewart won one race and it's now the winning brand? The winning brand cost Dungey a championship last year, so maybe they're just hiring/finding the right riders now?
Predator
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Predator 5/24/2012 5:17am
5/24/2012 5:17am
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
look out below wrote:
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
rmgsxr wrote:
Wink
I live in Houston and we have plenty of zook dealers... so to me that arguement is not really valid. And to be honest I don't think the color is a good arguement either (even tho i hate yellow). All I can tell you is I've been racing for 5 years and have been riding a lot longer than that and around houston you hardly ever see zooks. All you see is red, blue, green and orange. Actually a LOT of orange... On any given wkd I can count the number of zooks on 2 or 3 fingers so what gives? Like I said if the zooks were that good how come I don't see more of them. Hell I know a lot of people that ride and race around the houston area and have only had one friend that I can think of that actually rides a zook. Not hatin on the zooks at all... it was just a logical question as to why I don't see more of them.
TerryK
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TerryK 5/24/2012 5:42am
5/24/2012 5:42am
Predator wrote:
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo...
Yet nobody buys them... I RARELY EVER see a zook out at my local tracks. I've always wondered why that is... if the bike is sooo good then why don't people buy them?
look out below wrote:
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
Exactly. We don't see many Suzukis or Hondas here, but a lot of Yamaha and especially KTM and Kawasaki. The lines are full of them and this is simply because the dealer that takes care of the racers is a KTM/Kaw dealer. All the staff races or rides. They understand, they care and it shows in their sales and customer commitments.
TerryK
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TerryK 5/24/2012 5:44am
5/24/2012 5:44am
look out below wrote:
That must be all in your local dealerships in that region. We have tons of yellow at our races due to a good local dealer.
rmgsxr wrote:
Wink
Predator wrote:
I live in Houston and we have plenty of zook dealers... so to me that arguement is not really valid. And to be honest I don't...
I live in Houston and we have plenty of zook dealers... so to me that arguement is not really valid. And to be honest I don't think the color is a good arguement either (even tho i hate yellow). All I can tell you is I've been racing for 5 years and have been riding a lot longer than that and around houston you hardly ever see zooks. All you see is red, blue, green and orange. Actually a LOT of orange... On any given wkd I can count the number of zooks on 2 or 3 fingers so what gives? Like I said if the zooks were that good how come I don't see more of them. Hell I know a lot of people that ride and race around the houston area and have only had one friend that I can think of that actually rides a zook. Not hatin on the zooks at all... it was just a logical question as to why I don't see more of them.
Im betting this is because of Suzukis lack of marketing support for their dealers.

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