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I don't think OP is talking about commuter bikes in third world countries, I think he's referring to the off-road segment. As you can see on your chart, motorcycle sales in N. America and Europe were down 7.4% and 3.1% respectively. Their sales in those markets are so low it's hard to imagine they are still falling, but they are.
Suzuki used to be a force in every discipline of off-road racing, both amateur and pro, and their sales were right up there with the other Japanese manufacturers. Now, a couple of decades later, they have pulled out of all off-road racing disciplines worldwide with the exception of one private supercross team that cobbled together a bike with remnants of Yosh and JGR and other ghosts of Suzuki's past. They also shuttered their R&D departments worldwide. Their sales of RMZ's plummeted to the point they could struggle to meet homologation requirements. There was a dealer that posted the off-road sales numbers on Vital a couple of years ago and it was eye-opening (I'll try to find it).
As someone that is pulling for Suzuki regain their former off-road glory, I think it's fair to say something here in our little corner went "wrong".
The Yamaha dominates short course racing but, is geared too tall for east coast trails and people burn up clutches. And there's no room in the transmission case to change the primary ratio
Pro racing isn't just about selling bikes, it's about brand awareness. Suzuki has a rich racing history established as far back as the late 60s. Some could argue Roger Decoster's and Barry Sheen's accomplishments on the brand are still very famous. Suzuki is a international, multi-billion dollar, big picture company they have their championships. When they need more I assume they will go after them. Just because they didn't win any last year doesn't mean Joel Robert, Mark Barnett's, and Kenny Jr.'s are forgotten.
This.
Black ink is always the goal of a Corporation. Not untested "updates" to keep the sheep happy and sway opinions in the annual/pointless "shoot-outs".
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Having a 10 year old bike that’s still competitive at the top level isn’t really going wrong.
I would agree with you if there wasn't a new DRZ400 just released with gimmicky updates to keep the sheep happy.
Do you have any idea how long the former platform was ran unchanged? Or how big of marketshare the DRZ has in the DualSport segment worldwide?
Id speculate it is THE biggest selling dual sport of all time globally and that heavy tank is almost indestructable. A decision to put a new face on a platform that popular and dominating isnt "keeping sheep happy", its sound business sense.
The Zook guys know exactly what they are doing.
Their sales are down in declining markets, but up overall because they are targeting growing markets. That just sounds like good business.
Suzuki is doing just fine. I think they do let the models have their run for a long time, but it’s nice because that model gets so much aftermarket development for what works and what doesn’t.
I don’t like when there are big changes after only 2 years of making a bike model. I say give every model at least 3 years. 4 is perfect.
I’m ready to see some RMZ 250s out there again. Bar X Suzuki had the sickest bikes.
This product that is incredibly popular needs to be completely changed or our business wont survive!
Hahahaha
The DRZ400 was changed because the old model didn't meet the new Euro 7 emissions standards and could no longer be sold as of 2025
I agree their overall world wide business is doing just fine. Again, I think the OP is referring to "our little corner" not cars or outboards or commuter bikes throughout Asia. Their off-road sales are completely tanked, but the die hard Suzuki guys seem to think this makes them successful and even smart. lol
I hope Suzuki jumps back in the sport at some point, we need more yellow out there.
Selling more motorcycles, does make them successful and even smart. That said, as a dirtbike enthusiast, I would love to see them pouring tons of money into our segment, even if it possibly would not be smart or successful.
There are a lot of Suzuki cars in Mexico. The dirt bike market is flooded with manufacturers now and actual places to ride are drying up, if you were CEO what would you do?
Where did you hear this, I just got handed my Yamaha order form and they want us to take more SXS's than ever. Kawasaki does kill it with the Mule line up. Sport SxS, not so much, We'll see what the new H2 does. If it can hang with a Can Am X3 there may be hope.
Motocross is a dying sport
Maybe you should tell Triumph, Beta, and Ducati that motocross is dying.
Put an electric start on that damn 450 and I’d have one. I’ve always loved zooks! I’ve been spoiled since owning my 19 kawi with the magic button. No way I’ll ever go back to being hot and tired after falling over in lap 3 of practice in the stupidest turn ever and kicking a bike again. Too old/slow for that nonsense anymore 🤣
Pit Row
Triump has trans issues thats going to sink their ass.beta? Beta who? (benny bloss who?), Ducati? Exciting but did nothing in theIr Usa Cairoli trip here, went out to Elis farm supposedly and he chose Ktm for some reason....
There are Zero dirtbikes in kids garages just for the fuck of it, no one goes home and rides their dirtbike for fun down the street or in the empty lot down the streets, it's over for motorcycle sales here.
Thats my reasoning, flawed or not.
You forgot to add, throwing said Modelo bottles all over the along with dirty diapers and taco wrappers all while flying another countries flag but you get the picture you’ve been to the desert before
I haven't checked in to this too verify, but I heard after the tsunami and the fukushima reactor incident Suzuki realized how vulnerable they were. Ever since, they've diverted resources to building a new factory up in a mountain side. Seems a but far fetched with how long ago that was though.
Now do Subaru in World Rally racing...
(Staying open is more important than staying relevant.)
Better tell Surron that kids aren't riding after school anymore, their entire business model is based on that demographic.
Maybe sample areas outside of your retirement community before you determine the state of the entire country?
At the time, Suzuki told us why they did what they did. They chose to not chase the fickle North American market because the product demands change so quickly and the incentives that they had to give to keep competitive were all very costly. They instead re focused on the emerging markets in Southeast Asia and have done well. They have slowly started making new models for the US market and now updating the RM line makes sense in their timeline.
They basically did the opposite of what PMG did. You be the judge of how that worked out 15 years later.
Here are a few insights, from a former employee:
-Suzuki DID build a side x side. I've seen it. They just never released it because Yamaha was getting sued for the Rhino. After that storm blew over, Suzuki decided not to enter the market when everyone else doubled down, and, in my opinion, missed out immensely on the opportunity to sell SxS models.
-Suzuki's motorcycle division is a small part of their overall business now. Their portfolio includes cars, marine engines, motorized wheelchairs, and electronics as well. As far as I know, they are tooling up for all kinds of other growth. The MX portion of their motorcycle business is a small subdivision of an already small division of that company.
-Suzuki has clearly allocated development funds to other endeavors. They have a bottom line to maintain, and they themselves are best qualified to say how they should achieve it. Let's face it; racing motocross is not a money-making scenario for any manufacturer. It does serve as a branding exercise, though, and the results are clear to me: MX buyers aren't very interested in a brand that doesn't update their bikes and participate as a factory. That leads to fewer sales, confirming what Suzuki believes. Namely, that spending time and money in the MX scene is a waste. They further draw down their investments, which further alienates the buyers. It's a vicious cycle.
Yamaha is only dropping one model of their sxs, the rest will still be available.
Didnt know that, good info right there. Thanks.
I know where I live a ton of kids have Surron’s and such and any empty wooded area they make jumps and trails. But most just do wheelies on the street. Not really dirt bikes but maybe some of them will get into it later when older.
That's not the conclusion I came to when I saw something about it on on social media and made a judgement without doing any further investigation. 😆
It’ll be interesting to see what they replace it with. The green H2 is a big step forward for the Japanese, I’d love to see Yamaha get into that market. Whenever I can’t ride a bike anymore, I’m getting a sport SxS, right now the H2 shows a lot of promise. We already have a KRX 4 seat for the wife and kids, it’s built way better than the Polaris/CanAm cars mostly of our friends have, but the KRX is just slow. Great handling and suspension, reliability is best on the market..
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