- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
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- Location
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- First Name
- Scott
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- Friday
Howdy,
So I was sitting around in one my favorite hangouts reading the latest issue of MCN and their "State of the Industry" report. It hit me that the Japanese manufacturers are really clueless or just not motivated when it comes to selling bikes here in the states. According to the article, this is the marketshare breakdown for 2002:
Honda 28.7%
Harley 25.1 %
Yamaha 18.3%
Suzuki 11.5%
Kawasaki 9.9%
KTM 1.8%
BMW 1.6%
Triumph .7%
Ducati .7%
Buell .7%
Indian .4%
Polaris/Victory .4%
Aprillia .2%
You can see that after the top 5, everyone else is barely even a drop in the bucket.
The industry average growth dropped from 19.6% for 2000-2001 to only 7.4% for 2001-2002. However, Harley specifically went from 13.7% to 15.8%. In a time when most everyone else, including Honda, is scurrying to figureout what to do, Harley is still selling more and more bikes. Like Microslop, even though the product is not the most technically advanced product on the market, they understand that with good marketing they can overcome their product's weaknesses.
Think how often you have seen a commercial on any channel other than SpeedTV for a motorcycle other than Harley. How often has the Discovery or History channel done a show about Japanese bikes? How often have you seen a commercial for a product that is non motorcycle related and seen a V-Rod quite conspicuously placed in it? We've got Harley F-150's even. These guys understand that to really capture market share and to ensure future buyers, they have to get total penetration into people's psyches.
Harley is about more than the machine between the rider's legs. There is the whole mystique and culture. There is the whole phenomenal after market fashion accessory thing. There is the whole custom bike culture where the bikes are built from the frame up. How often do you see that with a sport bike?
The Japanese manufacturers need to invest more into getting their bikes in the eyes of the buying public, and not just those of us that already ride. They should do ads on other channels, place them in non-biker magazines, get them in movies like Triumph and Ducati have been doing, sell clothing and stupid stuff like Harley does. They really need to focus on the US's perception of sport bikes in general. Here, bikes are not viewed like they are in other countries. They should be more active in sponsoring events and programs to increase rider skills and safety awareness. Imagine if Honda were to push the insurance industry to offer significant discounts to riders that complete track days. Or imagine if they put together nationwide riding classes so that they didn't cost several hundred dollars per class!? Imagine if they had a small scale model of the VFR 800, one of the most widely praised bikes they make!!
Really, I just don't understand these manufacturers. Do they really think that simply sponsoring racers and racing events will do it? Racing is simply not a huge deal here in the States like it is in other countries. Do they even have a plan? Why don't they hire me? :P
So I was sitting around in one my favorite hangouts reading the latest issue of MCN and their "State of the Industry" report. It hit me that the Japanese manufacturers are really clueless or just not motivated when it comes to selling bikes here in the states. According to the article, this is the marketshare breakdown for 2002:
Honda 28.7%
Harley 25.1 %
Yamaha 18.3%
Suzuki 11.5%
Kawasaki 9.9%
KTM 1.8%
BMW 1.6%
Triumph .7%
Ducati .7%
Buell .7%
Indian .4%
Polaris/Victory .4%
Aprillia .2%
You can see that after the top 5, everyone else is barely even a drop in the bucket.
The industry average growth dropped from 19.6% for 2000-2001 to only 7.4% for 2001-2002. However, Harley specifically went from 13.7% to 15.8%. In a time when most everyone else, including Honda, is scurrying to figureout what to do, Harley is still selling more and more bikes. Like Microslop, even though the product is not the most technically advanced product on the market, they understand that with good marketing they can overcome their product's weaknesses.
Think how often you have seen a commercial on any channel other than SpeedTV for a motorcycle other than Harley. How often has the Discovery or History channel done a show about Japanese bikes? How often have you seen a commercial for a product that is non motorcycle related and seen a V-Rod quite conspicuously placed in it? We've got Harley F-150's even. These guys understand that to really capture market share and to ensure future buyers, they have to get total penetration into people's psyches.
Harley is about more than the machine between the rider's legs. There is the whole mystique and culture. There is the whole phenomenal after market fashion accessory thing. There is the whole custom bike culture where the bikes are built from the frame up. How often do you see that with a sport bike?
The Japanese manufacturers need to invest more into getting their bikes in the eyes of the buying public, and not just those of us that already ride. They should do ads on other channels, place them in non-biker magazines, get them in movies like Triumph and Ducati have been doing, sell clothing and stupid stuff like Harley does. They really need to focus on the US's perception of sport bikes in general. Here, bikes are not viewed like they are in other countries. They should be more active in sponsoring events and programs to increase rider skills and safety awareness. Imagine if Honda were to push the insurance industry to offer significant discounts to riders that complete track days. Or imagine if they put together nationwide riding classes so that they didn't cost several hundred dollars per class!? Imagine if they had a small scale model of the VFR 800, one of the most widely praised bikes they make!!
Really, I just don't understand these manufacturers. Do they really think that simply sponsoring racers and racing events will do it? Racing is simply not a huge deal here in the States like it is in other countries. Do they even have a plan? Why don't they hire me? :P