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Team-BHP Support ![]() | ![]() Quote:
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Why so? Am disappointed with this, especially since sales of expensive / luxury cars is at an all-time high. Is it because: • The bikes from a segment below have gotten really good? Similar to how we saw C2 sedans murder D1 sedans? • The small segment of the market that wanted big bikes already bought them? • The 'big bike' craze has cooled down? • No new & interesting launches? • Any price hikes (although IIRC prices actually came down recently)? • The pre-owned market is flooded with almost-new big bikes? | ||
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BHPian | ![]() Quote:
On the other hand, lower segment bikes have become better with times as well. You do have bikes like the Yamaha R3, which are darn competent and also priced lower. KTM has already been eating into 500cc+ segment sales at some point or the other, so I don't think I need to mention that. Bikes like the Harley Davidson Street 750 have gotten more expensive with time. Additionally, these are bare bones bikes at the bottom end of the market. Its snob value that drives them. Shelling out close to 6 or 7 big ones only for snob value won't make sense for many either. Not to forget, the maintenance and upkeep will be much more as well. Kawasaki seems to be doing well though. Aggressively priced products and Japanese reliability surely goes their way. The Ninja 650, the Versys 650 are both good examples here. Not to forget the Z650 as well. On the other hand, GST doesn't seem to have affected superbikes much. It's only about 3% give or take. Didn't see a ripple effect amongst any of the bike manufacturers like we did with the car makers. Last edited by vishy76 : 23rd March 2018 at 17:42. | |
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BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Delhi
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A SIAM number study over the last couple of years makes the reason very clear. REASON: De-growth of the two significant 500 Plus cc models that contributed to the initial growth hype. 1. Royal Enfield - Continental GT (Currently Discontinued. 0 Numbers for the last few months) 2. Harley Davidson 750 (Street and Street Rod) - Currently settling to 150 per month from the initial 250-300 per month. These two models have affected the sales numbers since both of them contributed majorly to the sales numbers in the 500 cc plus segment when they were launched couple of years back. Rest of the brands show positive growth and the above two models being the reason for the de-growth of the 500 cc plus segment. Last edited by payeng : 23rd March 2018 at 17:50. | |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() Join Date: May 2007 Location: bangalore
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| ![]() Money is the only requirement to buy luxury cars. To buy a powerful bike, you need money, youth, skill, desire to flirt with danger and permission from parents. |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calcutta
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() Join Date: May 2007 Location: bangalore
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Team-BHP Support ![]() | ![]() We can always pin the blame on demonetization and GST ![]() Since the absolute numbers are small (around 5000 units per year), there is bound to be blips like this. It is not indicative of a major trend. That is - when the market size is small, one hot model launch could change the numbers drastically for that year. Seeing something like this is not unusual - FY16: 5000 units FY17: 6000 units FY18: 4000 units FY19: 4800 units FY20: 8900 units and so on. Last edited by SmartCat : 23rd March 2018 at 20:02. |
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BHPian Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: -
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| ![]() Not to mention the kind of power you get in 15-20 lakhs motorcycles is comparable to cars worth 3 crores+ (supercars). Most people (in India) don’t need that kind of power. I’ve ridden many superbikes, yet my all time favourite is the Duke 390 as I can control every bit of it’s power unlike the 200 BHP superbikes on which acing it’s full power range is not humanly possible. Last edited by The Brutailer : 23rd March 2018 at 21:12. |
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Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Chennai
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| ![]() This might be a reason too, most litre class bike can hit 150 on first gear, no fun in not revving 99% of the time! |
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BHPian | ![]() Apart from the above shared factors by BHPians which I totally agree with, I will share somewhat of a different opinion. Based on what I have seen and analysed with my own eyes, the masses (mostly the working class between 25-40 age group) who were primarily motorcycle enthusiasts at one point of time have now moved on to 4 wheelers. Reason? Increasing traffic mishaps of two wheelers, the safety of being in a "cabin" of a car etc. Apart from that, the interesting and fun to drive cars that are launched every now and then are also playing their own role in eating the big bike sells. The youth that wanted a Harley a few years back has now bought a Baleno RS or a Figo Sports because the car allows him to do the same journey more comfortably, can have the same fun (in a driver's way) and he can carry 3 more friends of his in the back seat. Last edited by Tanveer02 : 23rd March 2018 at 22:24. |
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BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Cochin
Posts: 307
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On a note true to the thread Probably due to a lack on unexciting bikes in the market today. The only thing I had considered was a Triumph, but that ST is kinda overpriced for what it offers. The Harleys,No. The Kawa No. If only the Z900 RS was priced sensibly. Sigh. | |
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Senior - BHPian | ![]() To make someone plonk that sort of money on a motorcycle (which is against a conservative family's code of conduct) the motorcycle needs to look and feel 'special' but unfortunately no matter how good and capable the big bikes are, they somehow seem to miss out on the soulful feel. HD Street 750 was never really a true Harley, and is not dated too. HD Street Rod 750 is really good looking, but the heat it produces rivals few ovens and barbecue grills! Hyosung's 650cc offering have long been forgotten Honda's CB650F, though a really well-rounded package, is a little overpriced Triumph's Bonnie range is a brilliant bike which again is out of reach for many who really desire it - a 600cc Bonnie at around 5L will really see lot of takers IMHO. Kawasaki has a really good lineup of 650s, but somehow that special feel is missing. Royal Enfield's Continental GT 535 has been laid to rest, and the upcoming new twin cylinder motorcycles don't look special either! And with the extremely competent (and growing) 300+cc bikes are making these bigger engined bikes seem unnecessary. Duke's 390 twins offer all the performance one might possibly exploit on our roads, Yamaha's R3 is a decent Ninja 650 / CB650F alternative, Benelli's TNT300 even mimics an inline-4's much sought after exhaust note! So one really has to come up with lots of excuses to convince the mind to invest in one of these 500+cc machines. |
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BHPian Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Kolkata
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| ![]() I have a duke 390 that I enjoyed thoroughly during my stay in Siliguri before relocating back to Kolkata recently . It so happened that I made a mini fortune from trading/gambling cryptocurrencies and had enough to spare for an upgrade to a Ducati Monster or a Triumph street triple - in fact a motorcycle upgrade was the prime motivation behind trading cryptos and my wallpaper is still a Monster 797 . Test rode the striple as well as the iron 883 of a friend before I realised that I can barely maintain 30kmph average riding the duke within Kolkata so except for pure snob value , these motorcycles are an upgrade only on paper while being much heavier and difficult to control in traffic ( the Harley especially was a torture - the owner makes it a point to wake up at 6am just to ride his motorcycle !!! ) . Not all of us have the time or energy to crawl through 20km of city traffic for 100 or 200km of highway ride just to enjoy these machines , point being there are very few places where these bikes can be enjoyed thoroughly - Siliguri is a great example based on my experience . Places like Kolkata or Delhi ? one needs to be a hardcore enthusiast to ride one during summer . With car's , you don't have the same dilemma . Even if your BMW 5-Series is crawling at the same speed as a Dzire , you are at least a lot more comfortable. Last edited by GTO : 29th March 2018 at 17:53. Reason: Typo |
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BHPian Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Mumbai
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It's a more like, what the heck, I have the money for it and I want that one, so I'll get it because, boy oh boy, it looks fabulous, so what if it fries my thighs to work everyday. I have a superbike man! That said, I think you're used to the lighter Duke and so are feeling the HD to be heavier, which it is a bit, actually. Why don't you try a Sports Tourer like the Honda CBR650f or the naked CB650 or Ninja 650, or then the new Ninja 400? Best of both worlds. They'll be smooth, pack a punch, won't fry your legs in traffic, can do track days quite well(if you do that), have a blast on highways, give good FE and be a pretty decent daily driver too. The world over bigger bike riders are switching over to these smart boys. | |
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