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Only $10 for all 2024 SX, MX, and SMX series (regularly $30).
They spent over 20 million in R&D.
True that’s from scratch, but even $10 mil to R&D an all new model is a large per unit cost.
Easy to see why Suzuki can’t develop new RMZ’s.
Cost too much.
The Shop
Total initial cost to design, buy tooling, buy materials, buy assembly equipment, robots, people, etc... we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars easily.
For example, KTM might buy crankcase castings, but machine them themselves. Or they might buy pre-cut/pre-bent frame tubing and then weld and powder coat themselves (I doubt that one's true, but they're sure as hell not extruding their own steel tubing).
And then TM will look to machine ignition covers from solid aluminium, rather than cast from magnesium like the bigger companies do. Maybe the cost of tooling up a casting for a run of only ~100 parts is more expensive than just CNCing from billet.
An important thing to remember about Yamaha/Honda/KTM buying from suppliers is that the engineering departments will (should) specify every dimension, tolerance, finish, material, etc. for the supplier, and they'll have a quality department to make sure that the product they receive is what they specified. So the quality of the parts on your bike is still "Honda" quality or "KTM" quality, i.e. the bike manufacturer is responsible to you for the quality of the product they sell, regardless of where they bought it from.
Interesting side note: It looks like Yamaha tracks the part production process using their part number structure. So 33D-XXXXX-XX-XX might be a post-machining in house aluminium casting. 17D-XXXXX-XX-XX might be a raw in house casting. Maybe purchased parts are 9XXXX-XXXXX-XX. I don't know about any other manufacture part numbers as I've only owned Yamahas since 2006...
http://www.seedealercost.com/products/category-models/index/id/48/produ…
Because the manufacturers have so many skus they need to maintain for decades of models, they cannot maintain them all in house. The capital costs would drive the part prices sky high. At some point in the product lifecycle of a bike (let's say a 2008 crf450) , the manufacturer reaches a pre set time or profit indicator, they will sell the dies, tooling, etc needed to make non standard parts for that model to third parties.
Also, your position about the third party tooling makes sense. Honda just would have to stock them, not manufacture them. Honda certainly is NOT making $$$ "hand over fist" on 05'-07' CR125R cylinder heads!
Pit Row
Carry on.
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