Posts
444
Joined
2/22/2014
Location
Warwick, NY
US
Edited Date/Time
5/15/2022 1:00pm
On Monday's MotoGp test day, the team was gathered and given the news that they will no longer be participating in the world championship after this season. This will be the 2nd time they pulled out of MotoGp. Shame.
I bet they could easily make serious coin if they brought the 125 and 250 smokers back in a aluminum chassis .
The official statement from Suzuki has not yet been released as the rights holder, Dorna has a say in this and holds the contract stating Suzuki participating in the series for 5yrs. Don't have the date Suzuki signed it.
More info available on crash.net and Gpone.com
I bet they could easily make serious coin if they brought the 125 and 250 smokers back in a aluminum chassis .
The official statement from Suzuki has not yet been released as the rights holder, Dorna has a say in this and holds the contract stating Suzuki participating in the series for 5yrs. Don't have the date Suzuki signed it.
More info available on crash.net and Gpone.com
The Shop
It's not like Suzuki didn't produce the baddest 05' RM250 in history.
A few years ago, I worked for Suzuki. Not a Suzuki dealership, mind you, Suzuki America. The distributor for Suzuki Motor Corporation in the USA.
At the time, we sold something like 1,500 RM-Z450s and 1,000 RM-Z250s. My guess is that they sell even fewer right now. More importantly, Suzuki would likely sell even fewer 125/250 platform models, but let's stretch and say the number is equal to the 4-strokes; 1,500 250s and 1,000 125s.
Now, I don't know the profit margin that Suzuki Motor Corporation enjoys when they sell their bikes to the US distributor, but I would guess that it's around $1,000 - $2,000 on a motocross bike. (Maybe less.) But let's assume it's $2 grand. We're assuming a much higher profit and many more units than what I suspect is the case. The overall gross profit from one year of 125/250 sales would therefore be $5 Million. (2,500 units @ $2,000 each.) If they were to sell tons of 2-strokes and somehow managed to TRIPLE the sales of the 4-strokes, the profit would still be $15M.
Keep in mind that this is for a company which does something like $70B in annual sales - gross revenue 5,000 times more than the highest crazy estimate we just calculated.
While $5 million in profit is nothing to sneeze at, the gain or loss of such an amount would definitely not be the reason to start or discontinue a MotoGP team. Saving money may be the reason behind the discontinuation of the team, but it is more likely that Suzuki feels the return on their MotoGP investment isn't worthwhile.
They won the championship in 2020 which you would think put them as regular podium contenders.
As for a aluminum frame 2 stroke line. No doubt they would help prop up the bottom line. And being it done by some already, they surely would have geometry numbers to work with.
Being the RMZs are still kickstart I myself would not blink about the starting issue.
Regardless, it's a bad situation for them.
But you have the inside scoop and your #s are probably right in ballpark if not spot on.
There's a guy on here with the actual numbers, and he said RMZ sales fell something like 50% from 2020 to 2021. Hopefully he'll chime in here and correct me if I'm wrong.
Some people overestimate the dirt bike market so much, it's funny. Motocross is mostly a marketing tool for the Japanese brands. Honda makes way more money selling Super Cub 110s than CRFs.
Suzuki unexpectedly pulled out from MOTOGP (500cc at the time) at the end of 1983, after winning the title the year before.
They also quit motocross racing at the same time.
Pit Row
Maybe they produced 5000 units in 2018 without installed graphics and sell them with BNG each year until they’re gone.
I mean, they're all competing to be the same basic bike, good at convincing website/mag test riders (former/almost pros) that they're the best. Is there something you need that isn't provided by Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM, GasGas, Husqvarna, and the upcoming Triumph, Sherco, TM? (Am I missing any?!)
Rather than have 8+ brands diluting the resources, how about only 4 brands that have more money to develop BETTER MX bikes? Suzuki obviously didn't have the money to get their RMZs right. The only appeal is their discount price.
The only thing keeping so many brands going is tribalism. There, I said it.
If Suzuki drops their MX line, it's probably good for riders.
Everyone seems to forget that motorcycles are not Suzuki’s main commodity and that we often see them scale back on them when their auto lines need cash flow for continued growth.
(They're probably good enough for 85% of riders, bone stock, but magazine test riders, ya know)
I own a 20’ rmz so I know it’s a great bike, better fit and finish then my ktm’s. Bought my 20’ 250sx new, it leaked coolant and oil day 1, forks also had no assembly lube in the aer air chamber and would bind(also from day one)
It amazes me that people rush out to buy new ktm’s when they need more $ to work for the average rider then say a rmz would. That’s coming from a guy who has 3 ktm’s currently.
It’s ok tho Schwartz will again beat star 250’s on his rmz this summer and I’m sure Mumford will probably have his best results ever on one. Oh yea another ironic thing that antsie guys results have been worse since getting off one.
Post a reply to: Suzuki finances reason for unexpected MotoGp termination