Thursday, January 23, 2014

IS THE MOTORCYCLE BUSINESS THE BEST ITS EVER BEEN?

No. There is no doubt that the motorcycle business is doing better than it has in a long time, but it is a mere shadow of what it was in the early 70s. In the early days of motocross, the manufacturers sold almost ten times more motorcycles than they do today. For example. Hodaka sold 10,000 units in a single years (and that was of 100cc trail bikes). Honda sold 94,000 Z50s in one year back in the good old days. Honda was close to selling one million motorcycles a year back in the 70s. Not today. Business is good, but not anywhere near as good as when Gary Jones, Marty Tripes, Marty Smith, Bard Lackey, Roger DeCoster and Mark Blackwell raced.
It should be noted that ATVs have drained off a large number of entry-level motorcycle sales. ATV sales are close to 400,000 units a year. Back in the 70s, there were no ATV sales. 

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