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Yes, side by sides are the biggest seller in dealerships, but before that, ATV's also outsold motocross bikes. There are very few, if any, dealerships who can honestly tell you that they make their bones solely on new motocross bike sales. Dealerships thrive on the accessories they sell along with the new ATV, street and side-by-side they sell.
Maybe your local dealer is struggling, but nationally, dealerships are growing and improving.
Ducati, one of the most expensive street brands sold, just announced
and BMW motorcycles, another of the most expensive brands, just announced
The japanese OEM's have yet to release year end numbers, but each quarter showed stronger sales, again, may not be at pre-bubble burst numbers, but they are improving.
So, get off the economy thing, at least as it pertains to motorcycles.
Fact is, none or very few of you here know the realities of being part of a team, the expenses necessary and why some of these teams are going away, maybe it's as simple as market over-saturation, the industry can only support so much, and that's not a bad economy thing, that's a business and math thing.
Motocross is not as big as some of you seem to think
Our BMW,Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and KTM sales are up still climbing. Kawi is doing great too. Suzuki and Yamaha down,
ATV sales are in the SHITTER, high end stuff is selling stronger than ever, low end stuff like japanese cruisers or "heatscore" stuff like 1000cc sport bikes are in the shitter too....
but with the advent of new digital technology you could have the main sponsor names hovering over the riders when shown on tv. superimposed on the screen with scrolling sponsors. not all the time but a good part.
and how many user names do u use again?
The Shop
The one where nobody makes any money?
Bike sales aren't "wayyyyyyy down"
http://world.honda.com/investors/library/quarter/2011/FY12-4Q-Quarter-F…
Motorcycle Sales - North America - HONDA ONLY
Annual Sales
2010 - 45,000 units
2011 - 38,000 units
2012 - 53,000 units
Now, is up to 53,000 units from 38,000 units an increase, yes or no?
You figure out the percentage.
Yes, some dealers have closed, but so have many other businesses over the last few years. Yes, the economy has gone through a bad time, but as I said is coming back and the sales figures in this industry proves it. Some of the most exclusive and most expensive brands had record breaking years in 2012. A 21% increase in Ducati sales is a HUGE number.
Now, that said, the low turn out at tracks is easy to explain and has been discussed on here many times over the years and can simply be boiled down to riding time vs value. People don't want to pay a minimum of $100 between gate fees, sign up, gas and all the other things to ride for a total of an hour, if that. This problem is not new and has been going on for years as rider/racer attendance has diminished. I remember back in the 70's when 125 Novice was a full 40 rider gate, every other class was 20-30 riders or more. That also the economy? Before I started my business, I worked at a track in Ft Lauderdale, Pepsi/Air Dania, we had the same problem then and that's 11 years ago, more people would turn out to practice than actually race. Racers were a fraction to the numbers we got for practice days/nights....fraction!
It's a byproduct of today's instant gratification and ADHD-like society that doesn't want to sit around and wait. They want the most bang for the buck, and it's hard for some promoters to provide that.
Seriously, I'm sorry if you don't like the facts, but you can't argue the numbers.
(EDIT: By the way, a lot of dealers are closing because of competition from internet retailers and an inability to compete with them. Maintaining a brick and mortar compared to a low cost web presence and the ability to offer lower costs, and in many instance better service, is hard to do. Many dealers are dying because they can't compete, not because the industry is dead)
I really don't get why the TV package won't scroll a list of sponsors when they show a rider as they are focusing on him..be it on the podium or on the track.
I'm not going to argue it, you believe what you want, I know what I read and what the industry writings from Dealernews, Powersports Business and more have to say.
Again, sorry if you don't like it or agree, but facts are facts and you can't argue the math.
FlaRider's Motocross is not as big as some of you seem to think is spot on. People continue to miss it is all about marketing the sport to new audiences, On a related point, how smart was Brian Deegan to leave professional MX and do the Metal Mulisha deal? While the whole MM deal is not my thing since I'm way beyond that age group from a marketing standpoint Deegan's a genius.
Deegan's reaped the rewards for thinking outside the box.
You need to separate the Motocross section of the motorcycle industry from the other sections like street, ATV, Harley, etc. I have friends in the industry who work for distributors and some that work for moto only companies. Both tell me that the moto business is struggling but the distributor guys say their business as a whole is pretty good.
As to the future of the sport. I hope I am wrong, but I really don't see it surviving in the long run. Many reasons for this.
1. The cost of bikes, $8,000-9,000 for something you know you are going to crash, and which needs lots of expensive maintenance.
2. Most kids now live in cities where there is no place to ride. Hence no interest in dirt bikes as they grow up.
3. The cost of insurance for tracks means that they must charge high entry fees.
I no longer race, but what used to be my favorite track to race at, now is almost exclusively a practice track. It is about a three hour drive from my house, and I would have zero interest in driving that far just to practice.
Pit Row
Usually you'll see total street numbers, then total off-road numbers, but that will include bikes and ATV's (including side by sides).
No one breaks it out from there that I know of, between bikes, ATV and side by sides....all are classified as "off road"
Honda motorcycle sales up 5.7 percent in fiscal Q3
January 31, 2013
Honda Motor Co. reported a 5.7 percent increase in worldwide motorcycle sales (including ATVs) in fiscal Q3 with 3.5 million units sold.
Sales in North America were up 29.2 percent to 62,000 units. The company attributed the increase to the positive impact of the CRF110F, CRF250L and NC700X introductions in the U.S., as well as a rise in sales of the CBR250R. However, sales of the Four Trax Foreman and Rancher decreased in the quarter. Asia was the only other region to see an increase in motorcycle sales, up 8.1 percent to 3.2 million units over the year-ago quarter.
Overall the company had a successful quarter, with net sales up 24.9 percent to ¥2.4 trillion. Operating income was up 197.8 percent to ¥131.9 billion, and net income attributable to Honda Motor Co. up 62.5 percent to ¥77.4 billion.
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