Question are Sports bike sales declining...
Why might this be...
Lucy England
Classic good looks
There is a trend emerging in the world of motorbike sales, Sports bikes, in all their glory, seem to be on the decline sales wise. The interesting question is why is this happening?
It looks as though there could be a combination of factors at play here. One of the main things could be that they are just so expensive, in a world where everything is expensive enough already. Perhaps having to comply with Euro 5 standards has meant that manufacturers are ultimately having to charge customers more and it is just too much for them to remain a viable option for many people. Could the demographic which you might expect to be buying super fast machines, just not be able to afford them in the current times with all the demands on their pockets already? The younger generation of motorcyclists are, maybe, struggling to get bikes and pay the insurance, with the mountain of petrol and other expenses they already have to contend with. If mortgages or rent plus bills and, that ultimate expense, kids, are all factored in, it might seem obvious why very expensive fast machines seem to be in decline, particularly among younger riders.
There seems to be a falling between two stools factor as well. While sports bikes are cool and very fast, a great bike for kudos, how practical for day to day actually are they? Sports Bikes are ergonomically designed for speed and are most comfortable at speed, so if you are commuting to work on your bike but have to stay at 20 or 30 at all times, you might actually just as well buy a cheaper, smaller and more economical motorcycle which is designed to be happy at lower speeds. Hobbling along on a bike designed to be fast, where the road says slow, is just no fun. A machine built for speed is a wonderful thing, but how much speed can you really achieve on modern British roads? There are speed cameras round every corner, or Kojak with a Kodak police speed camera vans where you expect them least, plus noise cameras coming in at a pace.
Apart from the, breaking the law and getting points or banned factor, there is the road surface element to contend with too! Most people would probably agree that the state of British roads is truly atrocious at the moment. There are potholes literally everywhere, which are particularly dangerous for motorcycles, and don’t show any signs of being repaired any time soon. Despite some councils like Hertfordshire trying new innovations like a pothole repair robot which looks something like a distressed 2cv or giant woodlouse, the actual state of our roads is not improving. Even where there aren’t actual massive potholes, the road surface is often in a very rough worn state with ruts and bumps, on their way to being potholes.
We are a small island with a lot of traffic and you might think that the roads would be a priority for the government/councils, in order to keep citizens moving safely and commerce rolling – sadly this doesn’t seem to be the case. This could be a major player in the decline of the Sports Bike – who can actually risk going fast on British roads these days and what is the point of a Sports Bike if not to go fast? If you can’t go fast without getting booked or hitting a terrible pothole, well hey ho you might as well just not bother! In fact it may be that cash strapped councils are using roads to generate income via speeding fines and parking charges, without putting much, if anything, back into them, who can say?
There is also a robust market for modern classics in the UK, so it is possible to pick up a bike from the 80s, 90s or 00s for a snip, relatively speaking, and that can be an economical and fun option. Clearly they are not going to match the speeds and performance of a modern Sports Bike but is that even a realistic goal on our modern road system. Many older generation motorcycles were really superb machines in their day, well engineered and built to last if looked after, plus the insurance is a fraction of the cost. Admittedly old classics don’t have the modern electronics, ABS, maps etc of modern bikes but they are fixable and parts are available for most of them, and maybe they are just more fun to ride, requiring more rider interaction, so the classic route is really not a bad option.
Have you noticed this trend and are you affected by this issue? Are you a Sports Bike owner and love it and find it super practical or just super fun, or have you changed bike due to practicality issues?
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