Kawasaki #1 Selling Motorcycle Brand In America...

All because of Prado!

I posted this in the 2 stroke thread where people were essentially calling them a dead company with terrible marketing. 

Ninja 650

It would be nice if they could sort out the ZX6R issues so I can actually trust this bike on the track. 

You're on the George program.

Going from my own parts movement observations this year Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki have increased surpassing KTM/HUS/GAS

I think you meant the EX500, ZX6 and then the EX650, but all of them sell very well.

Good bikes without the all the high end suspension and exotic metals (ZX6 not so much), that look great, run great and are affordable as well as being easy to finance.     

I feel like I've heard of that recipe suggested somewhere else.   😄      

I have the 2013 never been a problem.  Did the new ones have a stop sale that was fixed?

They do call them all Ninja, including the 650.  US anyway.

Been selling for a big dealer for a few years. Kawi just has a business model to cut everyone down. Watch the moto bikes and sxs market always has a huge incentive/rebate going on even with current bikes. Crazy how many people buy kawi over the other big brands on my floor just based off pricing.

The 2024/2025 Kawi deals at $5499/$5999 aaaaaalmost had me pulling the trigger on a new bike, and I'm not a guy that buys new bikes...

This has to be cheaper than the Suzuki's at this point right?

Yeah I don't think I've seen anyone have blowouts like Kawi does. They do not mess around. 

mid-size street bikes have been their strength

My last 450 was a KX for this reason. It was even cheaper than the Suzuki. The resale of the KX is horrible in my area, only downside. 

I'm surprised BMW is that high. Don't they have a very limited product family? I just think of adventure bikes and sport bikes.

Its hard to beat the value you get from the KX at these prices. I paid $4k more for my 2025 350sxf than someone I know paid for a 2026 KX450. That is a hell of a lot of money to save on a brand new bike. 

You do get killed on the resale but its a decent trade off to save on a new one. 

Boomers currently hold something like 50% of the nation's personal wealth.  BMW will be in trouble as that generation becomes too old to cosplay as an adventure rider on their trips to costco.

Kinda telling, aka sad, when Indian with a one trick pony product lineup who was recently divested by Polaris to a Private Equity firm is outselling Suzuki who "sells" a full range of products.

Resale of any dirt bike (RVs and boats too) is horrible at the moment.  Too many Covid buyers that thought it was a good idea at the time and realized they don’t have time to use them now that they’re back in the office.

On top of that, you have to be able to come up with the cash to buy.  Not many lenders are keen on financing a used bike for 60 months.

I suppose the good news is that if you paid thousands less to begin with, it makes it easier to stomach the loss when you sell it.

2013 - 2023 were good. 2024 on is when they made changes to meet Euro 5 standards. Two recalls for crank bearing seizure, two half-assed fixes from Kawi so far. 

Only in the last decade have I gotten into kawi... have 4 (various off and on road) in my garage rn... and bought my first ever suzi this year (drz4s)... 

How are you liking the 4S?

KTM will take a long time to attempt to recover their tarnished reputation. Sales don’t lie.

The two biggest drops are Harley and KTM, so I think that's saying more about what that middleaged demographic is feeling economically.  

I have hear  Kawasaki sell just as many full size two strokeMX bikes as Honda and Suzuki combined.

The only recall I am aware of on 24-25 bikes is 25 only, potential improper heat treatment of crank primary gear. Pop a new gear on and go.

The next generation will just take their place. Do you think the demographic that buys Ducati, Triumph, and other Euro brands are much different? Aging mxers and off-roaders turn into ADV riders and will need bikes to hit up Starbucks. Also, you might be surprised at how well BMW sport bikes sell. 

I poked around/did a few searches on dirt bike sales in US 2025 .  Didn’t come up with any numbers.  Also didn’t spend much time.  Only thing I came up with was one article I glanced at stated Honda had the most dirt bike sales, but no numbers.  Not sure that’s correct or not.  In my neck of the woods I see lots of orange bikes.  See a bunch of green bikes too.

I would have bet my wifes life that Kawi was way behind honda and yamaha in sales. I find this difficult to believe.