BMW Motorrad Canada is pleased to announce an expanded motorcycle product lineup for 2011 with the introduction of the all-new, six-cylinder K1600GT and GTL for 2011, along with a significantly upgraded duo of R1200R models, a thoroughly updated G650GS and a new suite of dynamic colour combinations on much of the model range.
China Becomes The World’s Largest Motorcycle Producer
12/12/2010
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China has now taken over Japan as the largest producer of motorcycles in the world. Yearly, 50 million motorcycles are produced worldwide, and China now produces at least 27.5 million of that figure or a little more than 50% of the total world production. China has already taken over the top spot in world automobile production by producing 13,790,994 units in 2009, compared to 7,934,516 from Japan and just 5,711,823 from the U.S., and Germany at 5,209,857 and South Korea at 3,512,916.
Interestingly, some historic American companies like Harley Davidson are moving ahead for plans to produce motorcycles in China, but whether they will be exported to the U.S. or simply sold in this Asian market is not quite known yet. But, given the nature of so much production of goods for sale in the U.S. made in China, the eventual production Of some legendary U.S. brands is probably only a matter of time.
The Chinese city of Chongqing, which has about 10 million in population may not be household name in the U.S. But, this modern city has become China’s motorcycle production center, with more than 10 million motorcycles a year coming out of this city alone. In fact, four of five of the largest Chinese motorcycle brands that produce over 1 million units a year come out of this city. China has more than 130 motorcycle brands.
The biggest issues for China are to produce higher horsepower more powerful and modern motorcycles, as so much of Chinese production has revolved around largely simple one cylinder air cooled models. But, with more and more high tech equipment being produced in China, better motorcycles will be coming from China as this nation seeks to become the largest and most powerful economy in the world.
Chinese motorcycle brands are even beginning to better understand just what Americans really want, and more and more products solely tailored to U.S. buyers such as choppers and trike styles are getting more and more popular as export items due to the popularity of American TV shows such as AMERICAN CHOPPER. What looks like a $100,000 custom bike is suddenly affordable. However, most of these need bigger engines. But, you know that China will improve there in the future.
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China is the new up and coming player both with automobiles and bikes. You can expect horsepower and quality to improve over time, and for one day some Chinese brands to be known for their quality and performance both. Chinese products continue to improve each day.
Bikers get older as first time motorcycle sales decline
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Bikers are getting older and they spend more at a motorcycle dealership they are happy with according to a new study released by J.D. Power and Associates.
Coming from the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Motorcycle Competitive Information Study released recently, not is the average age of a rider getting older, but the number of first time motorcycle buyers continues to decline.
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The average rider’s age increased from 40 to 49 years since 2001, an indication to experts that many owners may soon exit the market. If that wasn’t troubling enough for the struggling two-wheeled industry, the percentage of first-time motorcycle buyers has declined for a second consecutive year.
According to the study, this leaves dealerships and manufacturers more reliant than ever on attracting and retaining new customers. The J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Motorcycle Competitive Information Study also looked at customer satisfaction and found, not surprisingly, a happy customer spends more than those who aren’t.
The study, now in its 13th year, measures owner satisfaction with new motorcycles by examining six major factors of the overall ownership experience: product; build quality; cost of ownership; sales; service; and warranty.
The study identifies a number of areas that most significantly impact the overall motorcycle ownership experience, and the study feels using best practices helping these areas can help manufacturers and their dealers to improve overall satisfaction.
Setting realistic expectations and offering personal service appear to be the key to bikers hearts, and also their wallets.
“In an industry currently confronted with limited consumer spending, it is to the advantage of motorcycle manufacturers and dealerships to identify and implement the best practices that satisfy owners that may lead to higher revenue,” said Dennis Goodman, senior research manager of the powersports practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Slightly more than one-half of motorcycle owners state that their brand missed on two or more best practices, indicating that there is room for improvement across the industry.”
For those dealers and manufacturers firing on all cylinders, owners are more likely to buy the brand again as well as recommend it to a friend. But according the results of the study, there hasn’t been much reason for motorcycle owners to do either.
The study found that quality has declined from 2009, with one-half of all owners report experiencing at least one problem with their motorcycle, with most of the problems being engine related (44%). The problems that seem to bother riders most on a new motorcycle are gearshift problems, clutch chatter and the engine lacking power.
But for those riders who are happy with their dealership, sales volumes and revenue of ancillary goods and services tend to be considerably higher, by an average of $957.
The 2010 U.S. Motorcycle Competitive Information Study includes responses from 8,490 owners who purchased a new 2009 or 2010 model-year on-road or dual-sport motorcycle between September 2009 and May 2010 with the study completed between September and October 2010.
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