New motorcycle sales dropping - dealers shutting.

[pressbrake1]

Everything is too expensive now
Cars n bikes are in ratio with house prices.

In 2014 I bought a brand new zx10r for £9500

One is now £17500 and my one still had full electronics so yes there will be improvements but essentially the same beast

 

[pressbrake1]

Cfmoto 4k for an adventure bike

Voge 3.5k for a 350 adventure
Their big adventure bike 7k with luggage

Chinese have it



Yup I agree.



However secondhand I bought a r1200gs full luggage 2.7k I've been to Poland and back. Will be headed to Northern Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium in September

That's value that's hard to beat

As far as motorcyclists go you’re super young!

 

[8ob]

A while back a friend of mine ran a motorcycle messenger service in London with about twenty motorcycles/riders, the digital age ate away at the business until he was down to being a one man band. He now runs a pub.

Bob

 

[Norsk]

My mate owns a dealership back home in NZ. He sells KTM,CF Moto,Can Am and skido.

The Can Am side by sides and quads are his core business, because of the Ag sector. However CF Moto is rapidly gaining on that as people realise how good they are. He cant keep the CF Moto 450 Adventure bike in the shop,so strong is the demand.

I agree that the price of new bikes is rediculous from the Jap and Euro brands.

 

[redlig]

Now if Honda were to fit an engine and wheels to an Iphone


Bob

They already have ,along with BMW et. al. they are called Adventure Bikes.

 

[Migmac]

Jeez, I haven’t bought a bike in the last twenty years. The last one was 3K, can’t see me ever buying another.

 

[redlig]

Just checked the list of direct Honda m/c dealers 70 . When I joined as a teck rep I had 140 to (try) to keep an eye on / help and there were 7 of us.

As long as they keep paying my Pension.............

 

[Rannsachair]

You may need a translator, though seems some cheap deals. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CKFeeu6Fd/

 

[Domdom]

"If you're of an English persuasion..sorry"

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

"in a struggling toy shop for old people". Reason being there was nobody young in or around the dealership at the time I was there.

I am on the young side for forum members (although am rapidly approaching middle age), I think there's two major reasons.

Firstly,
Economics, young people really don't have a lot of disposable income (especially compared to their parents at a similar age), and with UK weather a motorbike is always going to be a fair weather toy unless you're a bit gone in the head very committed.

Add to that the increased risk of theft, the additional setup cost compared to a car (multiple sets of riding gear etc.) and the fact that bikes are no cheaper to buy (or lease) than new cars but deprecate much faster... It's extremely hard to justify it on a limited budget.

The only young people I see getting on two wheels now are teenagers who live rurally, where the year of additional freedom if you get a scooter at 16 is worth it.


Safety,
Despite spending many a happy hour riding motorbikes when I lived in Africa in my late teens (I in fact got my Ugandan motorcycle license before I got a UK car license) I wouldn't dream of riding a bike here...

The roads are incredibly congested, drivers have terrible awareness of bikes, and it adds up to being disproportionately dangerous (compared to say a jaunt to Basra, Tripoli, or Kinshasa which is a risk level I am happy with), because you can't easily control the risk that other drivers present to you.

My friend who lives in NZ feels the same when she's back, despite the fact she rides an Enduro bike to get round her farm day in day out (and is ten times the rider I will ever be) wouldn't think of having a bike in the UK.

If we had more available off-road trail riding, I might be tempted, but (legal) trails are pretty scant on the ground to justify a toy like that.

I think that for an older generation who got bitten by the bug when the risk level was less acute (same risk of serious injuries or death, but much less likely to be inflicted on you by circumstances out of your control), it's easy to rationalise this element and keep riding, just like I keep smoking...

But if you're not already hooked, it's a huge disincentive.

 

[Dozzer]

Bill who used to own the Honda dealership in Chelmsford gave a good explanation of why Honda are going down the tubes.
He had been a dealer for over 20 years, but about 7-8 years ago the 50cc & 125 learner bikes started to be made in China.
He had some in the showroom that started showing signs of rust on the frame and fairing brackets, wheels that showed corrosion spoke to Honda UK and they didn't seem to care he moved over to Suzuki as the quality was better!!
The larger Honda rage is a joke. was part of a focus group being surveyed by Honda on the new VFR,everybody asked for a light weight 1000cc V4 Sports tourer with a minimum of 200 mile range, ideally sports bias.
So what did they give us, a 1200cc whale, with **** pore power to weight, and from the only person i know that bought one, less then 120 miles range if ridden decently.
So you cant blame anyone buying a started bike buying a cheap Chinese bike, when that's all have the know makes are anyway.

make bikes people want, then maybe we will buy them, i have been looking for a new bike and most are crap. over stylised with poor build quality.
My VFR now has 72k on the clock, but looking at most of the new stuff it will be lucky to make half that, my CBR1000 and ZX10 both had over 80k when i sold them. modern bike now are just toys.

 

[pedrobedro]

I sold my 900 Hornet about 6 years ago as it was getting too much for me, weight and speed and I've looked at smaller bikes thinking I might like something just to run about on. I like the look of the Indian built Triumph Speed 400 and the price is not that scary.

 

[Dozzer]

Everything is too expensive now
Cars n bikes are in ratio with house prices.

In 2014 I bought a brand new zx10r for £9500

One is now £17500 and my one still had full electronics so yes there will be improvements but essentially the same beast

I had the OLD ZX10 nothing like the newer sports focused one, but was a tank, road up to Manchester in one sitting. with a quick splash & dash. could ride that all day no problems.

 

[Domdom]

I still miss a couple of my bikes from my youth. But only as toys, for the odd day when it's possible to put on proper motorcycling gear without roasting to death. 34 degrees here today, so not a biking day. Plenty of scooters around though, t-shirts, flip-flops, shorts. Not for me, I see tarmac as being a bit more abrasive than skin.

But classic bikes are a fortune now. When did they get like that? €22k for a Honda CBX. Like really? Or how about 9 grand for a Norton Commando 850? Or 8.5k for an old Matchless G80. The world's gone mad.

 

[mtt.tr]

As far as motorcyclists go you’re super young!

True, it's a shame.

As soon as I could have a motorbike I did, in that time I've had 40.

They are the one thing that's remained in my life consistently



To be honest the entire culture is pretty much on its ass, bikers don't even acknowledge one another. A lot of people only talk specs not rides they've been on really they are willy extension.



In regards the Voge 300 rally i'm actually very tempted will fit what i want well, 70% dirt 30% road, I would then work work out riding and camping the TET trails, need to workout an EU passport so i dont have to be so limited in time

 

[Robbie260]

I am on the young side for forum members (although am rapidly approaching middle age), I think there's two major reasons.

Firstly,
Economics, young people really don't have a lot of disposable income (especially compared to their parents at a similar age), and with UK weather a motorbike is always going to be a fair weather toy unless you're a bit gone in the head very committed.

Add to that the increased risk of theft, the additional setup cost compared to a car (multiple sets of riding gear etc.) and the fact that bikes are no cheaper to buy (or lease) than new cars but deprecate much faster... It's extremely hard to justify it on a limited budget.

The only young people I see getting on two wheels now are teenagers who live rurally, where the year of additional freedom if you get a scooter at 16 is worth it.


Safety,
Despite spending many a happy hour riding motorbikes when I lived in Africa in my late teens (I in fact got my Ugandan motorcycle license before I got a UK car license) I wouldn't dream of riding a bike here...

The roads are incredibly congested, drivers have terrible awareness of bikes, and it adds up to being disproportionately dangerous (compared to say a jaunt to Basra, Tripoli, or Kinshasa which is a risk level I am happy with), because you can't easily control the risk that other drivers present to you.

My friend who lives in NZ feels the same when she's back, despite the fact she rides an Enduro bike to get round her farm day in day out (and is ten times the rider I will ever be) wouldn't think of having a bike in the UK.

If we had more available off-road trail riding, I might be tempted, but (legal) trails are pretty scant on the ground to justify a toy like that.

I think that for an older generation who got bitten by the bug when the risk level was less acute (same risk of serious injuries or death, but much less likely to be inflicted on you by circumstances out of your control), it's easy to rationalise this element and keep riding, just like I keep smoking...

But if you're not already hooked, it's a huge disincentive.

Basically money is the exact reason I have always put it off. Now just turned 30 hopefully having my license will have changed by next year.

 

[Rannsachair]

I am on the young side for forum members (although am rapidly approaching middle age), I think there's two major reasons.

Firstly,
Economics, young people really don't have a lot of disposable income (especially compared to their parents at a similar age), and with UK weather a motorbike is always going to be a fair weather toy unless you're a bit gone in the head very committed.

Add to that the increased risk of theft, the additional setup cost compared to a car (multiple sets of riding gear etc.) and the fact that bikes are no cheaper to buy (or lease) than new cars but deprecate much faster... It's extremely hard to justify it on a limited budget.

The only young people I see getting on two wheels now are teenagers who live rurally, where the year of additional freedom if you get a scooter at 16 is worth it.


Safety,
Despite spending many a happy hour riding motorbikes when I lived in Africa in my late teens (I in fact got my Ugandan motorcycle license before I got a UK car license) I wouldn't dream of riding a bike here...

The roads are incredibly congested, drivers have terrible awareness of bikes, and it adds up to being disproportionately dangerous (compared to say a jaunt to Basra, Tripoli, or Kinshasa which is a risk level I am happy with), because you can't easily control the risk that other drivers present to you.

My friend who lives in NZ feels the same when she's back, despite the fact she rides an Enduro bike to get round her farm day in day out (and is ten times the rider I will ever be) wouldn't think of having a bike in the UK.

If we had more available off-road trail riding, I might be tempted, but (legal) trails are pretty scant on the ground to justify a toy like that.

I think that for an older generation who got bitten by the bug when the risk level was less acute (same risk of serious injuries or death, but much less likely to be inflicted on you by circumstances out of your control), it's easy to rationalise this element and keep riding, just like I keep smoking...

But if you're not already hooked, it's a huge disincentive.

Much as I agree with what you say, I have found most bikers a friendly bunch, happy to chat and the common interest transcends politics, religion etc. I have been riding bikes for 46 years now, were my main transport until I was 28 and in the last 10 years I have done more miles on bikes than in my car. If I see a biker broken down I always stop and offer help, as I have done since my youth. My dad was a motorcyclist as were both grandfathers, I was brought up with bikes, it gets in your blood.

Living on the West coast of Scotland, traffic density outwith the tourists routes is low and for me the extra visibility on a bike over most makes me feel more in control, I would hate to live in a city with heavy traffic. Some pics I posted yesterday: of a traffic jam:

and our busy roads:

Meant to add that I mainly by my bikes privately bar one BMW from the dealer in 2000. The R1200R i have is in excellent condition and cost just over £4k 3 years ago, so not too expensive. Helps if you do all your own maintenance and repairs.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Much as I agree with what you say, I have found most bikers a friendly bunch, happy to chat and the common interest transcends politics, religion etc. I have been riding bikes for 46 years now, were my main transport until I was 28 and in the last 10 years I have done more miles on bikes than in my car. If I see a biker broken down I always stop and offer help, as I have done since my youth. My dad was a motorcyclist as were both grandfathers, I was brought up with bikes, it gets in your blood.

Living on the West coast of Scotland, traffic density outwith the tourists routes is low and for me the extra visibility on a bike over most makes me feel more in control, I would hate to live in a city with heavy traffic. Some pics I posted yesterday: of a traffic jam:View attachment 507286
and our busy roads:
View attachment 507287

View attachment 507288

Living the dream there!

Although I note that you're showcasing unusually clement weather for the west coast...

I would have thought being a committed year round biker in that part of the world was only open to half-man half-frog hybrids, with the way the rain comes in when it does.

I think if you do live in a more remote part of the country it does change the risk element positively, unfortunately the same economic drivers that keep young people from buying bikes, also drag them to big cities to find work.

(I would have loved to settle down in Wales, or Aberdeenshire permanently when I was younger, but I had to move away to follow the available jobs).

 

[Rannsachair]

Living the dream there!

Although I note that you're showcasing unusually clement weather for the west coast...

I would have thought being a committed year round biker in that part of the world was only open to half-man half-frog hybrids, with the way the rain comes in when it does.

I think if you do live in a more remote part of the country it does change the risk element positively, unfortunately the same economic drivers that keep young people from buying bikes, also drag them to big cities to find work.

(I would have loved to settle down in Wales, or Aberdeenshire permanently when I was younger, but I had to move away to follow the available jobs).

Aye we get the odd shower.
VMCC run from Dunstaffnage:

Pouring trip to Arran last month:

We do get mild winters:

 

[jmp49]

Ive had bikes since I was 16 and worked in bike shops when a teen, now mid fifties, still got 8 in the shed (sp370, xt500, xl600, two kawasaki turbo's, gpz1100, bimota yb8 and my gpz11 dragbike) and ride mostly when its not tourist season with parisians driving like dicks everywhere, the rural routes and nationals are quiet and great and more pleasant than the autoroutes. But I've never owned a new bike, and I only ever bought one secondhand from a dealership, private sales yes, lots and lots of different bikes over the years. Working on them and improving them is a lot of why I have them, its how I get my zen along with various landrovers and hotrods.
The few times I've wandered into main dealers I've been completely put off even the idea by the attitude of people in there and the secondhand one I only went in for some oil for my sp400 because it was near my unit and it was lurking and I had to walk past it to get the spares place, and the idea of shelling out 20k today for a new thing covered in plastic seems alien.
The cbx costing 20k, if I had a big pot of spare money I'd be tempted if it was a really really nice one, but a martin framed cbx is my dream unicorn bike. The thing is they're never going to make more of them and the longer you put it off, the more expensive they get. What's happened is the people who these appeal to have got older and have more money than me it seems, and are willing to splash it out. I cant even find a wrecked one or even a engine to ressurect in my budget!

My lad's on about taking his full bike test, he had a dt50 at 15 over here and ran round on it for a few years before taking his car test like a lot of youth do. Now he's at uni/appreticeship in metrology so involved with a lot of mechanical minded people and on about a gsxr or something with direct access so probably I'll have to end up working on a newer bike sooner or later fixing it because pretty sure he wont be wandering into a bike shop and taking out finance for the latest shiny either...