US Motorcycle importers need to wake up and smell the coffee

Why is it that you can't get any of the really decent motorbikes here in America. It seems that the standard response from the corporate stuffed shirts is "model X won't sell well in America."
Bollocks.
I'm talking of course about dualsports bikes. Honda need to start selling the Varadero and the Transalp, but they believe there's no market for them. They won't even sell the CBF1000 - a semi-naked sports bike. Same story with Yamaha - they don't sell the TDM900 here.
The problem is that their argument just doesn't wash. Suzuki sell bucketloads of the V-Strom, as do BMW with the R1150GS, R1200GS and F850. Same with KTM with their Adventure, and Triumph with their Tiger. Aprilia aren't doing a bad job with their Caponord either. All of these are dualsports and all sell here in America.
So why do Yamaha and Honda so pig-headedly stick to their faulty argument that dualsports bikes won't sell? Come on guys - give people more choice than uninsurable crotch rockets and unusable cruisers. Give us some decent damn motorbikes !

Comments

Mark N. said…
KTM isn't completely without blame. The bike I desire the most is one that KTM won't bring to the states - SuperDuke 990. Same engine as the Adventure 990, but will they bring it? No. Would they sell it? Ask Aprillia if they sell the Tuono or Triumph with the Speed Trip.
09:51
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The non-separation of the LDS church and Utah state.

Look - I understand that mormons think gays are somehow evil, subhumans. I understand that the LDS won't tolerate gays, doesn't like them and thus won't marry them. But for local government to overturn a supreme court ruling about gay marriage is taking it too far. This is religious persecution on a par with the dark ages. The church doesn't like gays, so it leans on its members in government to do everything possible to prevent them from having the basic rights afforded other couples who want to marry. In other words, the LDS church is forcing it's (wrong) opinion about the LGBT community on everyone, via state and local laws that it has had passed and enforced on its behalf. Why should non-religious people be forced to abide by the opinion of a religious cult that they have no affiliation with? Apart from anything else, the uber-conservatives in this state are always the first ones to bitch when something even slightly unconstitutional happens, yet here they are r...
Read more

Employees don't want much

I'm sitting looking at my company's internal 'learning' system this morning - hundreds of online courses that are available to all employees, some of which we're mandated to take. I'm not sure why the rest of them exist. We certainly don't have time to do any of the courses, and for the average employee, they hold no relevance to what we do, or want to do in our day-to-day jobs. I for one just want to be assigned tasks, and then be left alone. I don't need to do hazardous material training - my job doesn't involve hazardous materials. I don't need micromanagement. I don't need all the various efficiency and ethics courses that are available because I have common sense. I don't need to be instructed how to use the email system, nor how 'just in time' manufacturing is good for the company (it has no bearing on our division). Ok I understand all of this is corporate C-Y-A but so many of these things are just inconsequential to us. On...
Read more