Love the British approach to Vehicles

[DirtFlier]

I agree about the RE Bullet being an anachronism but it sold well in India for a long, long time unfortunately didn't do much for sales here. One could call it RE's cash cow in India. Recently their CEO said that RE would introduce several new models each year and I suspect many of those are NOT for the US market.

Many years ago I rode a Kawasaki W650 at a demo ride and was impressed because it didn't feel "vintage" and everything worked fine. The latest incantation of the "W" series model has an 800 cc engine and from all I've read, it also picked up a lot of unwanted vibration. I've seen and felt the same thing happen to lots of models in the past: Honda CB400 to CB450, Suzuki GS400 to GS450, etc. Just punching out the cylinders doesn't always make for a happy change.

Norton has been up-and-down perhaps more times than Indian so who knows if they'll survive? And I wonder how the modern company called Indian is doing these days since I see so few of those bikes on the road. Indian is aimed at the Harley crowd so it'll take some doing to overcome multiple generations of brand loyalty.

 

[mikesim]

Yup! Everything I've read about Indian sez they are doing well and cleaning Harley's clock, but you couldn't prove it by me as I have seen very few on the hoof. To me, their marketing plan is quite similar to the MoCo with a tad more innovation. The FT and Scout are their only departures.

Mike

 

[Warren]

While Indian has been doing well as measured in sales growth they started from zero. Their annual sales in units is a fraction of what Harley sells even in this horrible economy. Fortunately for Indian they have a large parent behind them that is not depending on motorcycle sales unlike Harley.

 

[Reniram]

Alas , we are all getting old and I am not sure about the new generation having the same enthusiasm I had when I was young..so all the new motorcycles seem so big and overweight to me..That is the reason I just parted with my 2011 NT and picked up a Honda CB 500 X...I discovered I am not riding the longer trips like I used to and the little Honda is more than capable.It will be interesting to follow the industry in the future to see how it all ends up.

 

[mikesim]

While Indian has been doing well as measured in sales growth they started from zero. Their annual sales in units is a fraction of what Harley sells even in this horrible economy. Fortunately for Indian they have a large parent behind them that is not depending on motorcycle sales unlike Harley.

Yup, Polaris has the cash, but after a fairly long run they bailed on Victory. I would hate to see them same thing happen to Indian. Surprisingly, the Victory's that are showing up on Craig's list still have a rather high asking price. It won't be long before Polaris ceases to support them parts wise. There isn't a huge salvage inventory so the Victory owners will soon be up a creek when it comes to replacement parts especially without much aftermarket support either. I would hesitate considering a Victory purchase for that very reason.

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

I don't see a lot of Indians, but I have seen quite a few. Several of the Scouts and one or two of their new big baggers, the Challenger (?). They look really good.

 

[DirtFlier]

Phil said: "I don't see a lot of Indians but I have seen quite a few." Huh?

At this point, one of my Japanese-Honda pals would ask: "What mean?"

 

[Warren]

We talk like the lack of motorcycle sales is a new problem. In the US motorcycle sales peaked in 2005 at 1.1 million units sold. Before Covid 19 tore our economy a new one we were averaging less than 1/2 that for the last few years. Frankly I just think this is the new normal and the shrinking motorcycle sales in the US will continue until its finds some equilibrium. There aren't any new riders coming to save the day.

 

[Reniram]

You have to really want a motorcycle these days..Very nice automobiles can be had for the same or less money than a bunch of the bikes offered out there..but...my local dealers have had a really good run this year and there are a lot of empty spaces on the showroom floor..inventory is low..same on used bikes too....

 

[mikesim]

You have to really want a motorcycle these days..Very nice automobiles can be had for the same or less money than a bunch of the bikes offered out there..but...my local dealers have had a really good run this year and there are a lot of empty spaces on the showroom floor..inventory is low..same on used bikes too....

I was up in Iowa last month for a VJMC rally. It was hosted by Nishna Valley Cycles a Honda/Yamaha/KTM dealer and they were having a good year so far. I saw a lot of bikes that were unrelated to our rally running around so it appears to still be agood market locally. The Brit bike dealer in Marne Triumph/Royal Enfield was also having a very good year.

Mike

 

[Frosty]

Overheard the Triumph/Husqvarna sales manager say their new inventory has never been so low. Service appointments are out 3 weeks.

 

[DirtFlier]

Most or all of the factories were closed for 2+ months so I can understand how dealer inventory would be low. And even now, factories are observing covid-19 protocols so production is limited.

On the good side, I suppose some (?) people bought new motorcycles during the lockdown as "escape-the-house vehicles." We'll have to see how the annual sales numbers look in Dec 2020 but my guess is that sales will still be on the decline as it has for the past 5-6 years.

Most of us oldsters who lived and rode in the 70s, experienced the golden days for motorcycle sales in the US.

 

[Reniram]

[QUOTE="DirtFlier, post: 174711,
Most of us oldsters who lived and rode in the 70s
[/QUOTE] For some reason I found that funny

 

[mikesim]

[QUOTE="DirtFlier, post: 174711,
Most of us oldsters who lived and rode in the 70s

For some reason I found that funny
[/QUOTE]

Being an oldster ain't funny. It's more a matter of endurance...

:ROFLMAO:

Mike

 

[ARKNT]

My local dealer stated he has had a very good year. The showroom had a lot of room also.
I would think this a shorter term thing but time will tell.

Brad

 

[DirtFlier]

...and it takes a certain degree of stubbornness to make it to "oldster" category. A lot of high school pals departed long ago so they lacked the correct level of stubbornness.

Me, I'm sticking around until I get every last penny of SS that is my due!

 

[RedLdr1]

And in metro Atlanta Triumph has virtually disappeared...again. There is only one dealer in North Georgia now and there used to be about a dozen. In fairness one large chain accounted for about half the Triumph dealers. The one still selling doesn't have a lot of new, current model year inventory.

 

[DirtFlier]

What models of RE have suffered "dropped valves"?

 

[Phil Tarman]

What models of RE have suffered "dropped valves"?

I'm interested in the answer to this question, too. From what I've been hearing, I had thought that they'd made great strides in quality/reliability issues.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Sounds like he'd be a pretty reliable source. I hadn't heard that and it it is true, it's too bad.