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They are good bikes and motors respond well to work on them ... mind you so do others
As long as they want. They still sell bikes. They are a bargain.
I heard from RacerX Preseason Show they are going to update the bikes..
Around 94kg
It is obvious what Suzuki's strategy is as far as racing bikes when they won the MotoGP championship and quit shortly thereafter. It is strictly for brand recognition, promoting the name. They still get a lot of mileage off Robert, Decoster, Sheene, Mamola, Barnett and the likes, they don't need to go racing or build race bikes for the purpose they need them for. Suzuki's recent "update" of the GSXR1000 and the DRZ400 shows pretty much what the motocross machines will likely get. That the current RMZ still works or is a good bike, is up to the purchaser to decide for him/herself, that the machine is exactly like an 8-year-old used one cannot help sales.
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If they do not care about MX, why do they fund a factory team every year?
Yep, MX sales are basically a rounding error on Suzuki's balance sheet. They are a freaking huge company and it's not just cars, I'm sure they sell many multiples more outboard engines than MX bikes.
Probably less than the Ducati
I may not have the years correct but they’re close. 2008 was a new engine and fuel injection.
2018 this engine package got changes.
Not to mention the complete overhaul of the entire bike in 2018.
We talking about a yz250 not Rmz lol
Just engine. KTM says their engine is 26.9kg (59lbs).
I believe you are mistaken as to how much input Suzuki puts into the Pipe's family effort. I believe Suzuki contributes more than they used to, perhaps they pay the riders salaries and such, but I think if the Pipe's family switched brands, Suzuki would not be racing in the USA. In other words, Suzuki has no AMA racing effort in the USA without Pipes. This is pretty much proven when BarX switched to Yamaha resulting in no more Suzukis racing 250s in the states, and also by Suzuki having no MX racing effort anywhere else in the world. Maybe the MXGP effort comes to fruition, but judging by the brands effort in MotoGP, I would not count on their commitment to MXGP as solid or long term. Suzuki sells millions of cars all over the world in places that do not care about AMA MX/SX, that is their bread and butter.
I believe many people have no idea how small of a market and how little profit MX bikes are for the bigger Japanese companies, and how volatile of a market. We are genuinely lucky they participate at all.
Longer than KTM and company.
Right, Kawasaki out there building helicopters and submarines and shit, they just have enough scrap metal on the floor after they do that to put together a kx450 lol
If making motocross bikes is a charity then why did we see Beta, Triumph, and Ducati join the market recently?
Because as a motorcycle only company, you have to produce and sell motorcycles....as much as you can.
Please look over your question, the answer is logical and obvious. Not only do Beta, Triumph, and Ducati benefit from the brand awareness brought by racing, they are indeed trying to grow their brands - which only sell motorcycles - quite unlike any of the Japanese firms. None of the firms you mention sell 100,000 bikes globally, Beta much fewer, selling a couple thousand dirt bikes could help and may bring more street bike customers too. Nobody states making MX bikes is charity, but when you sell millions of cars a few thousand dirt bikes is no big deal, surely you see the logic. The brand awareness brought by the race teams may be worth more to Japanese makers than the profit from sales of the MX bikes. My turn to ask a question, how many RMZs do you think Suzuki sell in the USA anyway?
I agree with your assertion that racing presence has a value beyond direct dirtbike sales profit.
But if that's the case, why do you think "We are genuinely lucky they participate at all." ?
How many RMZ's are sold in the US? I don't know, the model run isn't over yet, so it seems too early to speculate.
Pit Row
That might be true for Beta, but
Triumph is owned by Bloor Holdings (Huge conglomerate in Oil/Gas, Construction, Chemical, etc.)
Ducati is owned by Volkswagon
It is conventional wisdom Ducati and Triumph have owners, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha do not besides shareholders. If you believe the Japanese manufacturers make big money on and depend upon MX bike sales, if you think Suzuki's bean counters are sweating RMZ sales.I cannot reason with your logic, believe as you wish.
It's interesting to hear you say that we're lucky to have manufactures involved (implying it doesn't provide enough value to their business),
but also the value they receive transcends motorcycle sales profit.
Can both of those things be true?
Because ff it's a consistent loss, why do they keep coming back? If it's not a consistent loss, then why are we lucky to have them?
For triumph and Ducati I’m assuming to invest in an overall younger crowd now so that when the motocross bikes turn into a dual sport, on road bike or whatever other motorcycles they make the buy a Ducati or triumph. Beta is obvious. I guess kinda why Harley bought Stacyc
From memory on the 450:
Suzuki 247 -250 lbs,
Honda 244 - 249
Yamaha 242
Kawi 248
KTM 220 -225
Husky 225+
Not sure how accurate but think these are close.
I believe 3stroke wants you to state they are planning on mx bikes being the backbone of their business.
We are lucky that they believe MX/SX builds brand awareness and they want to be involved is my point, obviously Suzuki doesn't feel that way with MXGP, WSBK, or MotoGP. It is actually quite simple. It is hard to understand your point, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki sell millions of cars, lawnmowers, outboards, musical instruments, military equipment, many, many things. Your point is MX bikes are a big deal to them profit wise? A money maker?
If they receive brand awareness how is that doing a favor to SX/MX? Seems very transactional, like other advertisements.
I never said the big 4 has a primary profit incentive in dirtbikes.
Simply trying to understand how you rationalize the inconsistencies you've stated.
When the big four decide SX/MX is not good for their brand image, like Toyota, Wrangler, Coors, and other sponsors have they will leave this sport. Like Suzuki did with MXGP, MotoGP, and WSBK. Considering the injuries associated with their products in this sport it could happen understandably among other reasons. That is why we are lucky to have these multi billion dollar international companies in this sport. You may not have noticed but all the teams complain about lack of outside sponsors, Club MX recently lost theirs, and situations like that killed Geico and Gibbs. I believe we are lucky the Japanese factories are involved in AMA MX/SX, you really don't have to agree or understand. Actually besides the Japanese makers and energy drink makers seem to be the biggest supporters.
Suzuki isn't going anywhere. Give it enough time and Suzuki will be the best bike again without even major changes to their platform. It's better than people realize or perhaps care to acknowledge.. It's a dang good bike and it would have all the hype if they simply bumped power slightly in their 250 and added e-start.
Suzuki could probably give away every bike they make and barely notice it on the final balance sheet.
I believe that the Suzuki motocross effort in the US is funded by Suzuki USA and not Suzuki Global.
As the US distributor of Suzuki motorcycles, Atv and boat motors , they promote only the products that they sell in the US. Suzuki Global may make some contribution to cooperative advertising, but since they no longer sell automobiles in the United States I doubt it's very much.
Suzuki USA has a relatively small number of products to sell so the RMZ sales would count considerably more to them.
The Global management might not view investing in new motocross models and promoting racing as a profitable endeavor.
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