I read the article in Bike mag which argues that jap bikes R still cheaper than Italian/ european equivalent.And how in real terms prices are similar to 10 yrs ago....
which is all Ok till you realise that in 2006 a new import FZ-1 could be had for £5995 OTR ! Today they are £10k....
me, I just think bike market is chasing the available cash...which is better off middle aged blokes and older who do have £15k to spend on a toy!There is no surprise to me that the bike market i sshifting away from sports to adventure/ touring bikes...its a reflection of the age of the market, and the sort of bikes they want. Compare development of the BMW 6 cyl giant tourer to the effort put into the S1000RR...itself a very similar copy of the 2005 GSXR1000 with a few bits added .The 1600 is a completely new bike.Completely diffrent budgets.If BMW were not going WSB ...I do wonder if they would have bothered at all ??
myself I think its self destructive pricing , as there is a dwindling market. IMO bike manufacturers need to focus on reviving a mass market, and creating a cheap form of transport for younger riders. Oddly , it could be Honda who do just that with their innovative 700 cc bike range. Very economical quasi bikes which could be good fun to ride at a price which wont break the bank.I still think we need 500cc or less bikes which are cheap to run, fun to ride,and have genuine entry level prices...create a stepping stone market to bigger bikes.Other than scooters there is precious little out there . The street triple IMO was the right idea, but now thats getting well over £6k new....just need to do something about the £4k new price mark...in 10 yrs time, many of todays older generation bikers will be hanging up their boots for good...if the market is not revived , there wont be much of one to share out by then.
