What are all these brands seeing in the sport now?

I have 3 assumptions, and they are just my oppinion of why they may be,

1. There’s no hiding from the fact that electric is coming, mx is the only forms of motorcycling where range isn’t really an issue so it’s a great way to develop electric tech in the harshest of applications before the need for longer range on roads

2. From a marketing perspective how many cool mx vids go Viral, Moto videos, media and content is impressive and cool to watch even if you’re not in Moto so to get your brand circulating quickly on the internet, particularly with how much the sport is growing has to be opening some eyes,

wsx, Indian sx, smx, and also gypsy tales and all these other podcasts and content creators popping up are all helping to give the sport way more exposure and get more eyes on the sport and these brands want in before it blows up 

3. These predominantly road motorcycle brands are likely looking towards the KTM group and wondering how in such a short period of time they got bikes to run up at the front of the grid in Moto gp, is data they have from off-road helping them, non of these other teams will have access to that data as they don’t run off road bikes, perhaps it doesn’t, but in my ignorant thought process you’d likely learn a lot more about suspension and it’s data with suspension that compresses and rebounds to the extent and mx or off-road bike does, I know they’re different disciplines and requiring different things but KTM group have data to compare, others simply don’t 

just my 2 cents 

Funny you started this post. I had the same thought enter my head when I saw beta was coming out with an mx model now too. First Stark comes out with an electric bike now we have Ducati and Triumph trying to compete in motocross/supercross! I thought our sport was pretty small/insignificant in the grand scheme of sports. Where the hell is all this money and attention coming from? I thought if anything we’d be LOSING brands over the next 5 years (sorry Suzuki.)

I believe it’s a basis of competition, as with what Cliffy said, you have the KTM group coming into MotoGP and has become a top team in a matter of a few years. In turn it’s most likely pissing off the high ups of Ducati, now they want to give KTM a run for their money in the off-road world. Beta is a different story, they’ve wanted to go Moto for a while, I believe they’re just now coming around now due to them being a smaller company and taking more time to develop a bike.

The Japanese brands had a monopoly on mx sales for a long time and maybe got a bit complacent. KTM came along with innovation, investment etc and became the biggest name in mx and off-road after being almost bankrupt a decade earlier. They committed to the sport and it paid them back.

They've used that income from off-road to springboard into the road market and then into motogp. Maybe there's a bigger income from off-road than people realise? Spares are constantly being bought as the bikes take a hammering ( for example; imagine the rise in spares orders after every extreme enduro). Road bikes don't need anything like the upkeep that off road bikes do; a lot of road riders get their bikes out on dry days and don't actually clock up much wear and tear. Also, the age demographic of road riders is getting older and sales are falling every year.

Also, I'm guessing an MXGP or SX team can be run and financed for a fraction of the cost of a motoGP team, but a winning off road team will sell a lot of bikes for that smaller investment. Those bikes will then help sell a LOT of spare parts.

MX is a relatively young person sport. With sport bike sales falling and probably aging demographics elsewhere they want to capture the young audience who will identify with their brand throughout life. Building a dirtbike ain't rocket science either.

I don't get it. The pie isn't that big.

what really surprises me is the absent of a american made brand.......being one of the biggest market in the world, and a very patriotic one...... its for me surprising that usa doesnt have its own brand of dirt bikes......

This is from 2010 https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2010/12/23/motorcycle-buyers-average-a… and I expect this has only got worse. Add in decline in Sports Bike sales and you can see why companies like Ducati are trying to diversify and appeal tio a younger audience.  I suspect it's less about the number of bikes they can sell in the actual dirt bike scene, but overall brand perception. Offers chances to make more marketing material too.

Triumph and Ducati can probably build these kind of bikes in their sleep so their breakeven point is probably very achievable. 

Multi billion dollar corporations like Honda and Yamaha don't build and race dirt bikes for the tiny profit they make from the number they sell. Although it would seem when you see the cost of dirt bikes compared to street bikes it appears dirt bikes would be more profitable per unit, the amount they sell just isn't big for them. They do it for brand awareness, and brand image. Racing dirt bikes sells Ridgelines, snowblowers, pianos, and generators. And one would think brands like Triumph and Ducati are not entering this market to lose. You want to believe Triumph and Ducati see the relative lack of innovation amongst the Japanese makers and see the KTM groups explosive growth and exposure by racing and want some. Not all the current makers of dirt bikes will survive the next five years, and most probably it will be Japanese makers dropping out. And one can not forget these bikes may be stepping stones for a Dakar effort.

Alta was an American brand, before another American brand, Harley Davidson invested, then divested in them!

Triumph execs explained it a bit during their initial launch announcement. They want to attract younger riders to their brand as they’ve mostly been popular with the older generation. Ducati wants to do the same. 

Both should have come out with E-mx bikes also. I dont think there is enough ICE years left for all these brands to kill development cost. 

I can certainly see that being the case, I ride dual sport and ADV bikes and the Triumph crowd is certainly older. I can see a similar reason for Beta to enter MX as well not only to expand but to also get a younger demographic. I go the these dual sport rides where the average age is probably 55 and there is a ton of Betas. Go to a local Sprint enduro where average age is probably 30 and there is hardly any. 

I have a different thought on why other brands are popping up and other countries are getting in the mix for motocross and off-road etc.

The uptick in popularity in my simple mind is cost.  Off-road dirt bikes prices have escalated like everything else.  But compared to other hobbies it’s cheap.  A new bass boat is 100k.  I’d guess a wake board boat is the same or more.  4-5 year old used saltwater flats fishing boats popular on the Texas coast run 60k ish.  With rust on the trailer to boot.  Hunting cost have sky rocketed, 30k for a SxS is not uncommon.  An upper end rifle scope is 1500 to 2500 bucks.  Fuel cost to drive half way across the bid state of Texas to hunt is serious money to some.  I dabbled in SCCA racing 25 years ago.  I bet it cost 3-4 times as much to race in lower class like Spec Mazda than motocross.  To race a late model at a local short track motor alone is 15k minimum.  

It boils down to this, dirt bikes are still a lower cost option than some other outdoor activities.  I’ll throw modestly out the window. I’ve done well in life but I’m not going to drop a 100k on a new bass boat or 30k on a dangerous game hunt to Africa.  I can spring for 10k for a new dirt bike.

Dirt bikes are still one of the cheaper games in town.  Manufacturers, race promoters see this. 

Maybe these companies saw the sales spike during COVID and want in on the action. That would seem pretty short sighted though.

That doesn't matter if you can steal someone else's slice. 

All the talk and speculation of Suzuki getting out of the MX market is going to resonate much more poignantly with three more competitors pushing development. 

Edited for clarity.

Husky and Gasgas were already brands before KTM that made plenty of dirt bikes. They were not as prominent, but they were certainly established.

It just comes down to market trends and consumer demand. In the early 90's to 2000's, a lot of guys had a crotch rocket or street bike sitting in their garage. You just don't really see that anymore. Triumph and Ducati both had a lot of models sitting at my local shop untouched, to the point where the prices were slashed way below msrp or maybe sent back to factory when they couldn't sell. Every enduro/mx bike was sold year over year. Consumer tastes are just changing and it could be social media and now more people know about off road riding? But practically speaking, who has $15-20k to spend on a street bike they will hardly ever ride, and definitely not be able to ride safely with the current dynamic of drug addicts and phone users out on the roadways. 

I think its probably a mix of things. When the Japanese bikes first came out , they were looked at like the chinese bikes are now. But the manufacturing methods are better all around these days and I think that China can build some competitive bikes. They have become great at making stuff , but a lot are copies of other brands. So now brands with established names, can get into the off road market for the cost of R&D and have china build most of the parts for their bikes. 

The amount of data collected by everybody, must also be showing that people are more open to buying new products from established brands. And like another post said, Dirt bikes are  cheaper than a lot of other forms of recreation even as expensive as they are. 

Also a great way to test out electric motors and components, and spread out the cost of manufacturing. They might be building the gas bikes to establish a foothold while they work on the electric bikes. As well as be able to be a part of the rule making that shapes the electric classes of the future. Getting a window into the future by being a part of that Rule making process. Especially if  motors and other parts will be shared across multiple platforms. They might have even been prototyping  an electric alongside the gas bike. 

They can use the same motors and controls on a wide range of off road and street motorcycles. Right now You have to develop an engine and 1000's of parts for that engine for each class of MX bike , and also each street motorcycle has a much more specific engine. With electric You could use a single  motor across multiple different platforms and make adjustments at the controler. Adding or removing battery capacity to get to the "class" of power output. 

  As well as giving them a way to get some younger riders , some great cross promotion. It is one of the great things about electric that I have been saying for years now.  All of a sudden You go from having to develop an engine and chassis to bring out a new model or go into a new segment, to developing a chassis and using a motor from one of the other bikes You make. And there is a lot less R&D to do. So Your cost to do it comes down.  And it also makes the other bikes You build cost less by building more of the same exact parts before needing a new mold or new tooling.  

Exactly this. I spent a few years doing a lot of commuting on a ktm690. Great on gas and pretty fun to get around traffic. But you can't even ride it comfortably in winter and then the exact dynamic you said, always being hyper aware and also terrified of someone pulling out from nowhere. After so many close calls and so many elderly or distracted drivers not seeing me, i ended up selling the bike. Sad about it because i miss my 690, but i always had this feeling deep down i would end up as road kill or an amputee at the hands of the type dirt bag / degenerate i despise. Own a ktm 500 now and its really much more rewarding and worthwhile to just ride mostly off road. Not worth the risk riding street bikes imo after doing it frequently for several years

No where to race.

Everyone, including KTM was waiting for the big response from the Japanese to counter KTM. That never really happened. I mean they did go to E-start but never a 350 and letting the 2 stroke go and no big push into cross-country market. I think they are trying to take some of KTM's business and smell blood in the water with the Japanese and off-road. Pretty sure you will see 350's from them, and for sure cross country bikes and GNCC participation at some point. I don't think most people have their head around just how dominate KTM has become in competition bike sales. They own as of the 3rd quarter of 23, 53% of the US market in that category. 

Found any info about E-MX bike?

Nothing much on any of these yet that I can find.

Access to your customers at like age 3, brand loyalty from that age is huge by the time they get to street bikes 

In addition to all of the above, Europe is full of many small, niche type manufacturers you've never even heard of, creating a whole different market.