Is Prado hurting Kawasaki Sales?

Nah. His issues even to the lay person in the sport aren't the bike itself like the issues the 97 CR250, 09 CRF450 OR 1st years  of the reversed 2010 YZ450F. Its a great bike.

Seems to be more of a user error issue then bike issue. Bike works great for every single other person riding it 

Not even close to true.

They wouldn’t/couldnt make it work for Weimer, Reed, Tomac, Anderson and more.

Kawasaki hurt their own sales by making two stroke noises but no bikes.

I’d say if Prado leaves the team without any success and does well again elsewhere, and/ or Sexton also comes in and performs below par, than yeah it may hurt sales, but not yet would be my guess.

Nobody cares what Prada says or does…

I would say so.  The phrase “win on Sunday sell on Monday” has been around for a long time.  Not only is Prado not winning, he’s blaming his lack of success on the bike.  How could that not hurt sales?

It’s not helping 

Not yet I don't think. Didnt seem to affect GasGas sales when he did the same in 2022
If he switches to KTM and suddenly starts winning then yes I guess it doesn't look good for Kawi.

Hurting, no idea. He certainly is not helping though.

Not trying to play devils advocate but is it a bike or management issue. 

It sure sounds like the team/management have bent over backwards to fix the bike for him.

I don't think so but it doesn't help the public opinion of those who ride & race.

He's supposed to make the bike look cool, which he does until he quits.  Then he doesn't look so cool anymore...

Neither. The guy riding the bike just gives up, anyone who’s still trying to argue this is blind or just really loves Georgy boy. 

I was a fan of the kids up til the last month or so, when it became apparent he was pouting. 

I hope Kawi had a performance clause in his contract. 

Imagine an athlete in any other sport basically quitting mid race.  

Reminds of a few scenes in the movie (Slap shot).   

It isn't the bike that is slowing down during the motos. I have heard about quality of hardware and plastics, no map switch and the small air filter. That has kept me away from Kawi more than Fraudos performance.

Nope. I’m in Kawi dealers across the Midwest every day and a fraction of them even know who he is. 

We have to remember this board is for hyper fans. The average dirt bike rider doesn’t even watch the races. 

So Tomacs titles/Wins and Anderson winning 7 rounds in SX and almost the title his first year there what are those?

What if this entire ordeal is a planned execution on Kawi by KTM. Prado is taking the fall and will run back to the KTM group after he's destroyed Kawi from the inside LOL. Obviously im joking but this has been a really weird deal for sure. Can't wait for 26 and all the changes gonna be great.

I doubt that he has affected the existing customer base much, but he has done nothing to expand it any. Which is what manufacturers want, increased market share.

Just flip the coin and look at Sexton and Ktm year one. Did it hurt sales? I don’t think so, the difference is in the constant effort to get the bike in the window. But in the end, the bikes are slightly unique and have pluses and minuses to each manufacturer

Not at all.  The Kawi has a strong reputation as an awesome bike for amateur and Vet racers.  People love the chassis and the handling and the smooth power is a bonus for most.  That being said, I doubt Kawi will be releasing an SR edition with Prado's number on it.... lol

I think there is 2 sides to it. If you’re highly connected and educated about the sport and bikes themselves. Then you would know that a KX450 isn’t a horrible bike. 

But if you’re just some guy who barely knows anything but just sees prado doing bad you’re saying “hell na” 

In fact I’ve heard a couple people around my age make comments like “I’ll never get a Kawi, just look at prado” 

And then in my mind I’m like “ and that’s exactly how I know, you know nothing about motorcycles” lol

So to answer the question, I do think it’s probably hurting their sales and DEFINITELY their marketing. But not as much as we probably think 

It’s absolutely affecting sales. Maybe not by a lot, but 100% is affecting sales. 

Think you have cash in hand ready to buy a new bike right now, are you going to go get the bike that is being completely bashed right now? Even if you know it’s all on prado, you still have something in the back of your mind now wondering if it is to some extent the bike. 

Everyone is praising Yamahas and their success and look how many people are buying Yamahas now. How could you think what has been happening with Prado isn’t affecting sales at kawi at all?  Is it going to tank them, no, but for sure affecting sales. 

I agree 100%

Also i think they are losing in sales not because people think it is bad bike, but because people wants(dreaming)to be like their idols, so lot of guys wants to be like Lawrences or Deegans or Tomacs and wants bike color their idol is riding...so in my opinion, Prado is losing fans means Kawi will sell less bikes, but not that much.

I couldn't say how conscious it was, but we still have Geico insurance probably because of Kevin Windham.

I think vital mx and motocross action has more impact on bike sales. If ML rides all the 450s in stock form and can say that one is better, that's a lot better comparison than Tomac vs Prado on factory bikes 

If Prado is hurting them, Mitchell Harrison sure as hell is helping