17-07-12, 11:54 PM
Quote:I wonder if some of us live in the past a bit, when looking at bike prices. They aren't a cheap alternative to a car like they were up until the '80s/90s
Prices ain't as bad as some seem to make out. We just had it so good through the 00's
At the start of the 90's things weren't too bad, but then the Yen started rising rapidly as the Japanese economy overcooked.
In 95 I bought an 18mnth old CBR600, 3000 miles on the clock, mint condition for 4800 from the dealer. I sold it 18mnths later after adding 10,000 miles to it for 4600 privately. Prices were rising. I toyed with buying a new VFR750 but at just short of 9 grand I decided biking was getting too expensive. I also remember being one of only a handful of folks who regularly parked a bike in the bike park at work, today you have to be in early to get a space.
Not long after that the Yen started to collapse. Importers decided to protect their dealers by maintaining the prices. If you reduce prices sharply those many dealers that have a substantial used stock could go under. But holding firm proved to be a bad move, the grey importers took over, and eventually the main importers had to slash their prices after dealer after dealer was going under as nobody wanted their new stock never mind the used stuff, the grey boys were opening showrooms left right and centre.
So 1999 I bagged a brand new Fazer 600 for 4600 quid. One friend who bought an official Firestorm for just under 9 grand in 97 was well pissed off when a couple of years later they were selling for just over 6 grand.
From then on we had it real good, the pound was strong and the yen weak, that was until the collapse of the pound a few years ago. But in real terms bikes are currently cheaper than they were in the mid to late 90's, just we've got used to bargain prices.
Japan meanwhile struggles to try and weaken it's currency against now weak western currencies. There's no sign at the moment of bargain prices returning.