Poor bike selection U.S.

[bleedgrn]

Just to stay on the current topic, I did hear that Jeep/Chrysler is going to bring in the Jeep Grand Cherokee with a new Italian Diesel mated to an 8 speed auto. Now this could be a very nice vehicle except for the fact that it will probably nudge $60K. Kind of negates the purchase of a diesel. How about a Hilux or Chev Canyon 4 door with a small diesel that gets low 30mpg U.S. and cost below $30K. Now that is something I could live with. Guess what, you can buy it almost everywhere but the U.S. BTW, my new L2 Glee is starting to grow on me. Once I have it set up the way I want it, will probably be happy with her.

[aterry1067]

Originally Posted by phillipsrog

But here's my take. Japanese bike companies have been like the big U.S. car companies in the 90s. They made their money selling big, expensive SUVs and were fat, rich, happy and content to dominate that market. Then the SUV market crashed.

Japanese bike companies were making money and playing it safe while smaller companies tapped into the adventure market to fill a relatively small niche.

Now the Japanese companies are seeing growth in the adventure bikes while other segments they dominated are flat or in decline. They can either try to rekindle those markets or shift their RD to something that's growing.

.......

I would somewhat agree. And, offer a similarity.

During the auto industry bail out debacle, there was one American car company that stood out....Ford. It seems like Ford seen the crash coming, and began to re-focus on the actual auto, and not relying on the "they've always bought it, they always will" mentality of the buying public. They began to focus (re-focus?) on quality, reliability, and innovation before the others did. I know some will argue, but I seem to remember that the CEO of Ford was begging for money less than the other two.


Apply this to what is happening now in the motorcycle world. One company seems to be standing out....Yamaha. Yamaha seems to be the one Japanese big 4 that are taking the lead with innovation and quality. The S 10 is the first big displacement dual sport(>1000cc) bike that actually has dual sport capability out of the box, and so far the quality has been superb. This seems to be the first Japanese bike that could give the GS a run for it's money, and begin to steer sales away from the Germans. Yes, I am well aware that the V-Strom has been around for a while, but I think most would agree that the V is mostly a road bike, that many owners have outfitted to become off-road capable.

I am trying to be as unbiased as I can. Personally, I've always been a Suzuki fan. And I have two in the garage right now. A DRZ400SM that I am absolutely in love with. This bike makes me giggle like I did in when I was a young schoolboy, launching a Suzuki quad into orbit. I also have a DR650. This is one of the biggest POS's I have owned. Similar technology, similar manufacturing, different outcomes. I feel that the quality control of the 400 compared to the 650 is night and day. Which leads me to believe that the plants in Japan have fallen to the same syndrome as many of the American car companies......it's a (********)....people will buy it.....why do I need to pay attention to quality? But then,, they are two different bikes....so who knows. But to me, Suzuki has let their quality go down in the past few years, and have failed to keep up with technology compared to the current market leaders.

I also have in the stable a BMW RT. When it breaks hard, it will be replaced with a Yamaha Super Tenere or FJR.



And I haven't even talked about the WR250 yet.,,,,,


Just my $0.02

[GrahamD]

Originally Posted by bleedgrn

,,,my new L2 Glee is starting to grow on me.

Just goes to show that Suzuki owners are still secure in their man hood. Good to see they haven't changed.

I hope everyone isn't still arguing. Good name for the new one. No I am not being sarcastic either.

[GrahamD]

Originally Posted by aterry1067

One company seems to be standing out....Yamaha. Yamaha seems to be the one Japanese big 4 that are taking the lead with innovation and quality. The S 10 is the first big displacement dual sport(>1000cc) bike that actually has dual sport capability out of the box, and so far the quality has been superb. This seems to be the first Japanese bike that could give the GS a run for it's money, and begin to steer sales away from the Germans. Yes, I am well aware that the V-Strom has been around for a while, but I think most would agree that the V is mostly a road bike, that many owners have outfitted to become off-road capable.

Yamaha have usually done good, honest, well thought out, slightly portly reliable stuff. Ever since the 70's.(that I can remember)

I have never owned a YAMAHA until recently but they have never gone unnoticed either.

They have always been a bit "out of the box". They get put back in on occasions when something didn't quite work but they seem to pop right out again regularly.

For example...



They also tend to be in a bit of demand from other manufactures for performance engineering on occasion.

Now that might not have been such a great success because they dared charge what it was worth. I mean the cheek!! At the time it was all about power and lap times not touring but it is now fairly collectable.

But on the other hand back in the 70's Suzuki wasn't so afraid either...


I think Suzuki have just fallen into a "cheap trap" lately though. It's hard to do advanced stuff if everyone expects 3/4 the price of everyone else so they have gone for "bang for bucks" load em up and ship them. Good value for the consumer though.

[snakebitten]

Your comments on Ford...........

Wether you have a current Ford product or not, a good friend of mine has been in Ford sales for 15+ years. And as negative as his natural personality is, he flat out claims that he has waited forever for Ford (or anybody) to provide him the lineup they have now. I've never seen him say something like that with such conviction.

Even with a sour economy, he says they run out of cars.

Note: I have bought Trucks from him for years. That has always been what I thought he was. A truck salesman. But not anymore.