Motorcycle Production stopped?

[rajflyboy]

Went to 2 different shops today to look at dual sports.   Not many motorcycles on the floor of either shop.  Salesperson told me production is very slow and that you will not see inventory catch up until April/May at the earliest.

Is this true ?

[Sport-Touring]

[micah2074]

That’s what I was told back in August. Japanese bikes and parts can be hard to come by.
They seem to have a large inventory of euro bikes though.

[rajflyboy]

I haven’t gone to the over engineered German store yet.  Maybe I need to go take a look (and be ready to get the wallet out).  

[micah2074]

I haven’t gone to the over engineered German store yet.  Maybe I need to go take a look (and be ready to get the wallet out).  

There are a couple of Moto Guzzi’s, Triumph’s and Ducati’s I’d buy if I won the lottery. I’ve always been partial to Husqvarna but that fire had died down since I found out they’re more or less made over KTM’s. BMW’s do absolutely nothing for me.

[kyzrex]

Lack of production of assembled bikes because of factory shut downs by suppliers, added to extra high demand by consumers with time and stimulus checks = lack of inventory.  

Not only did the OEMs have factories shut down for a time, but the suppliers of the parts used to build the bikes were also shut down.  

You can blame it on the pandemic and the government mandated shutdowns across the globe.

[rajflyboy]

Thanks for the information K.  I guess my question is...   was this intentional or not ?  I guess we will never know.  

[kyzrex]

Thanks for the information K.  I guess my question is...   was this intentional or not ?  I guess we will never know.  

I’m sure it was nothing intentional.  What reason would there be to limit production on the part of the manufacturer? Every dealer I’ve talked with has had record sales over the last year.  Sales have accelerated every month.  The only thing stopping it from continuing is lack of product to sell. At this point they still don’t even know when they are going to get new 2021 products, or how much they might get.  Hell of a way to run a retail business.

Example....Honda has an major revamping of the NC750X coming out.  But corporate North America says that bike won’t be available in the US until August 2021 at the earliest!  With the factories being shut down in Japan and elsewhere, they haven’t even been able to retool for new models on their regular schedule. They are almost all going to be delayed going into production.  That’s going to result in low inventory at dealerships for some time.  There are almost no “leftover” units sitting in dealerships or warehouses, and dealers are going to have to wait to get the 2021 units too. This is going to result in lack of sales for everyone.  OEMs are not going to get sales from the dealers, they are only getting the orders.  The dealers are not going to have new units to sell, AND they aren’t going to get trade-ins to sell (which are actually much more profitable than new units).  Meanwhile, how many potential new customers are going to find some other form of recreation to spend their money and time on? There really is no advantage to be had by a disruption in the supply chain.  

[Bounce]

Seems to make sense. When no one can go anywhere (and often can't work), why would they buy travel toys? Demand decreases dramatically, production overfills the channel, production reduction is bound to happen. Once demand increases again there will be a lag before production can rubber band back.

[Biking Sailor]

Same with bicycles.

During the last year it seemed there was still a lot of travel being done in my part of the world.

[kver]

Same with bicycles.

During the last year it seemed there was still a lot of travel being done in my part of the world.

The mtn bike market has been CRAZY!!!  My gf's climbing partner got into mtn bikes and I dusted off my 20 yr old bikes to join ... quickly realized that old school tech and old muscles wouldn't cut it trying to keep up with younger riders -- and started looking at new bikes....  

NOTHING available anywhere new -- and -- 5 year old used bike prices at just 10% less than new...  

All due to major supply chain interruptions due to CoVid and tariffs on Chinese goods.   Parts availability went down, then factories shut down because there's no point in running full tilt if you don't have inputs, then infection rates went up and the transportation network went kaput too...   Spooling the system back up takes time.
   

[kyzrex]

Seems to make sense. When no one can go anywhere (and often can't work), why would they buy travel toys? Demand decreases dramatically, production overfills the channel, production reduction is bound to happen. Once demand increases again there will be a lag before production can rubber band back.

Only problem with that scenario is that it’s based on the premise that there has been lack of demand....but the opposite is exactly the case.  The demand for recreational products....motorcycles, campers, boats, camping gear, bicycles, etc.....has gone through the roof to a point where dealers/retailers are sold out!  Even sports such as golf have rarely seen a surge in popularity like they did this past summer.  Despite what may be happening in a few isolated parts of the country, the vast majority of the country has not had long term restrictions placed on travel or on the usage of outdoor recreational areas.

[Bounce]

Only problem with that scenario is that it’s based on the premise that there has been lack of demand....but the opposite is exactly the case.  The demand for recreational products....motorcycles, campers, boats, camping gear, bicycles, etc.....has gone through the roof to a point where dealers/retailers are sold out!  Even sports such as golf have rarely seen a surge in popularity like they did this past summer.  Despite what may be happening in a few isolated parts of the country, the vast majority of the country has not had long term restrictions placed on travel or on the usage of outdoor recreational areas.

Not here. Where are you?  Travel restrictions affect AVERAGE customers - those who do about 1500 miles a year. THOSE massive block of potential buyers walked away from it when jobs were put on hold.