The dealer, here, couldn't keep scooters in stock, the demand was so high. Why would this be a surprise? With gas at 4$ a gallon, last year. They are boasting 80 mpg on the Honda Silverwing. Not sure I believe that, but even at 60 mpg, this would be very attractive. At $8,000, it’s a little steep though.
What I am seeing is a lot of the ‘150s’ and some ‘250s’ running around. They are just right for ‘in town’ commuting. I have seen them on the interstate, but not that often. We may be seeing an evolution of motorcycle riding. People who would, normally, never climb on one, have now because of economy (or trying to be more ‘green’).
We looked at scooters a few years ago. Only way this would have worked, is if Mama Bear got one too. She didn’t want too. So, this meant we would need something ‘bigger’. I’ve been all over the world and scooters are very much entrenched in other countries. I can see this happening here.
I’ve been at the dealer when some folks were trying to buy a regular motorcycle, but couldn’t get the loan. Came as a big shock to one guy. The interest is still there, the financing is not.
HD is a good one to watch. All they make (and sell) are street and touring bikes. That is the people they market too – it’s all they’ve got. Honda, on the other hand, has a much larger ‘market’. So it will become – which one do they chop? Kind of like a hot air balloon. The balloon is going down. You can either add more hot air, or start throwing things over the side.
The over all trend is to throw things over the side. This isn’t going to keep the balloon up very long. At some point the pilot will have to jump and the balloon will crash. Adding hot air will keep the balloon up, it does have to land to get fuel, but this is better than crashing and does not require throwing everything over the side.
So what is Honda going to do? They have a lot more ‘bags’ to throw over the side, before they crash. Which ones will it be? Or will they find a way to add more hot air?