CREDIT CRISIS POLL: Will motorcycle sales be hurt?

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Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:41 pm

CREDIT CRISIS POLL: Will motorcycle sales be hurt?

Q. Will motorcycle sales be hurt?. GM, Chrysler, Ford, Honda and Toyota (amoung many others) car sales have dropped significantly in 2008 and are not expected to recover anytime soon. Do you thinkmotorcycle sales be hurt as much, not at all or slowing car sales will actually help increase motorcycle sales?

With the world now in credit crisis mode, the stock markets bearish and oil and gas prices uncertain as jobs what will the future hold? I thought it would be interesting to have a poll based on your current thoughts and plans for the future.

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

Mike

Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:45 pm

This is a quite interesting question as I believe motorcycle sales will increase due to their fuel efficient nature, low insurance costs, low maintainance costs and lower cost to purchase. Even with gear thrown into the price, a rider will save a lot of money using a motorcycle more often than driving a car. Owning a motorcycle over a car will save even more.

But this all depends of course on finance. Used motorcycle sales should increase much greater than new motorcycle sales IMO as money tightens.

Mike

Tennif Shoe · Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:14 pm

there was no option of being affected the same

Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:54 pm

Tennif Shoe wrote:there was no option of being affected the same

Good point. I've added that option to the poll.

Mike

Tennif Shoe · Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:53 pm

I want to revote,--------------- note to self there is no emoticon for crying :lolsign:

Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:14 am

Tennif Shoe wrote: I want to revote,--------------- note to self there is no emoticon for crying

Mike quickly steps in and says, here you go:

Merry Christmas

Mike

flynrider · #7 Unread post by **flynrider** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:33 am

Historically, motorcycle sales have suffered during an economic slowdown, at least in the U.S. Bikes are considered to be more like recreational items here.

I bought my first bike during the last major economic crunch in 1980 when fuel prices were also pushing record highs. The difference back then was that interest rates were hovering around 20% (for folks with good credit), but the results were similar to what we're seeing today. A tight credit market tends to negatively affect motorcycle sales. I remember in the early 80s when you could walk into a dealer and find two and three year old models still on the showroom floor.

I agree that motorcycles tend to be a better deal with regards to fuel and insurance costs, but the opposite side of coin is that most people are not going to have a motorcycle as their sole mode of transportation. Given that, it becomes more difficult to own and maintain both a cage and a motorcycle in tough economic times.

jstark47 · #8 Unread post by **jstark47** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:28 am

Sales are suffering right now. USA sales results were in the January 09 issue of Motorcycle Consumer News which came yesterday. BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, KTM, Piaggio (Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, etc), Suzuki, and Triumph are down in the USA in 2008. Buell, Kawasaki, Victory, and Yamaha were up. Grand total across all manufacturers is a 6% drop from 2007 in the USA.

#9 Unread post by **sv-wolf** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:52 am

I voted that bikes will suffer more than cars, on the grounds that for many people they are optional extras, but there is no way of telling really.

Car sales boomed right the way through the Great Crash of the 1930s and power consumption went through the roof. Explain that!

I don't know a lot about this (does anybody?), but I do know that some parts of the economy do very well out of a recession and it's not always easy to predict which sectors will be affected.