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Its been the Big four for years, and if you look at Europe there are so many brands , a lot dont make it, but there are so many. Youd think a new Japanese motorcycle could really make some waves. Why doesnt one of the big four spin off a dirt bike only brand?
Why aren’t there new American brands?
Cost of manufacturing
There is literally no new brands.
They are existing manufacturers moving into mx/sx
Triumph and beta are both over 100 years old.
Well, on the one hand you have Japanese auto makers that are transitioning more and more towards EV’s every year (which is something this demographic hates with a passion.) On the other, you have a saturated market for Japanese dirt bike OEM’s, with very little room for competition against the engineering capabilities of Honda, Yamaha, and Kawi. Suzuki has been in this market for many years, and with their resources appears to barely be hanging on to their market share at this point. The world is moving away from internal combustion engines, it’s only a matter of time. Japanese vehicle manufacturers are very much showing they agree with that theory. Honda has had electric bikes in the works for some time now. So to sum it up, a demographic within a minuscule consumer market that is very resistant to change, and that is already saturated and dominated by behemoth corporations. That’s why there aren’t more.
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Hard to get into an established market unless you've got some game changing innovation or can manufacture for alot cheaper. That's probably why there are alot of small companies trying to get a foothold in the electric bike movement.
All of the other brands produce dirtbikes as a segment. They're probably not profitable from a startup perspective. Things are expensive these days and barriers to entry in leisure markets are a deterrent, especially with a risk aversion in japanese business culture.
Toyota dirtbike dropping soon
A lot of current brands have a ton of brand loyalty, so you don't just need a better product, you need cultural influence too. Humans are creature of habit. Once we've gone through the gold rush phase it's hard to break through.
Also ROI will be terrible because you'd be starting from scratch and not utilising current infrastructure and computing power.
In Japan the Yakuza dictates who makes what and when... or lose a finger.
A couple of years ago I took my CRF and put Acura stickers on it and painted it white.
It felt just like a Honda, lost the front in corners.
Next year there will be a new Thai motorcycle in the 250s.
Why would anyone want to invest billions to lose millions?
Why do you think there should be new Japanese brands? What the big 4 offer is very very good. No tiny tech advancements change the big picture of what is available and supported right now. If it ain't broke - don't fix it.
I strongly disagree the world is moving away from ICE engines- voluntarily or enthusiastically from natural inertia. We are being threatened and scared with false predictions of Armageddon around the next corner (while the goalposts are continually moved with each expired prediction) if we don't move away from the most efficient and cost effective way to power our civilization. The forces pushing it are NOT doing so for altruistic or valid scientific reasons. They can pry my 2-strokes from between my cold dead legs.
Be careful what you wish for.
Plenty of new brands from China.
The Japanese brands feel like they already all have enough (or maybe too many) dealerships. One of the primary motivations for a one brand to buy another and sell virtually the same product under another brand name is to skirt state laws that prevent an OEM from setting up a new dealership within X number of miles of an existing dealership. As an OEM, if you are selling the same product under multiple brand names, it allows you the ability to set up multiple dealerships in the same market area. If your TMK dealer isn’t performing up to your standards, you can drop a new Ask-Ask dealer right down the road to put pressure on the existing store and grab more market share.
Will it come with a Thai stick kick stand?
Triumph 😝
btw.....many manufacturer in Europe u mean the 3 different colored Pira bikes 🙄
Pit Row
Sir, I said the world is moving away from ICE vehicles. I didn’t say anything else that you said. That’s simply the narrative being pushed by the industry that manufactures ICE vehicles. I didn’t say the reason why, whether or not I like it, I want it to happen, etc.
Got it. Notice I didn't make any comments about you personally- sorry if you took it that way. I was presenting the counterpoint to the narrative the world is moving away from ICE- with a little fleshing out of the topic without becoming overtly political here. I feel strongly that narrative should be challenged every time it appears in any arena before it comes true simply by inertia due to constant repetition. Finally, I signed off with a generalized warning about being careful what you (generic you) wish for- again- not directed specifically at you.
Carry on
I’m halfway through engineering school. Anyone wanna start an American off road motorcycle company?
Correct. It’s fear mongering at best and the people that buy into it are utterly uninformed. The earth does to itself more “damage and repair” in a day than any and all human population does in 10 years.
Back to topic. If you are talking Japanese off road vehicles specifically, I would think the niche is entirely too small these days. Most kids and young adults spend their days inside “gaming” vs doing outside activities.
I would imagine the advent of the E-Bikes will introduce some new players. Whole industry changing dynamics, similar to 4strokes( I think Cannondale and Buell), will allow others to step in and try to make a splash.
I think he meant
Beta
Sherco
Rieju
TM
And maybe a couple others I can’t think of.
Pretty sure both Cannondale and ATK were absorbed by Polaris years ago. Buell also changed hands?
Beta is still family owned by founders and not part of any other conglomerate. The others, maybe not so much?
Not entirely sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China?
I'll add Fantic.
I've seen the Rieju brand in the European Super Enduro series.
Good question to ask the guys at Hodaka, Bridgestone, and Marusho.
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