[Hardway]

wren on the vtxoa board wrote:

Got the word last night that MMP (Honda's Marysville Motorcycle Plant) is cutting production by 20% and transferring associates to the auto plants in the area. The powers that be said it was due to reduced sales.

For those that don't know, MMP is where they build the VTX, The Goldwing and the 1100 Shadow.
Its kinda sad. Like other folks, I think if Honda had responded to what the market wants, the situation would be different. Unfortunately, the Tourer just ain't it.

Here's my opinion. I don't know about Honda's sport bike or dirt bike competitive situation, but when it comes to the VTX1800 and Goldwing, I'm sure Honda is losing market share to Star, Suzuki, HD and BMW.

VTX, Honda failed to offer a wide rear tire model and an interstate model with hard bags trunk and fairing. Also, a tach and gas gauge should have been standard on all VTX's as the competition has them. Suzuki has sold a lot of M109's (wide tire) and look at all the HD and Star hard bag, trunk and fairing models you see on the road.

Goldwing, forcing the customer to buy an adequate at best navigation system if you want heated grips and seat and/or ABS has discouraged potenital buyers. I was in a local dealer here in town and he had three wings on the floor, two with navigation and one with everything including the airbag. When I asked how the Wing sales were doing, he said, "They have slowed, most customers don't want to be forced to buy the navi system to get the comfort package or ABS." Failure to fix the quick appearing wobble when tires wear has sent a bad image to potential buyers as well. If someone is researching the Wing, the wobble class action suit is no secret. BMW and HD have become viable alternatives to the Wing.

These are just my opinions.

If I owned a motorcycle manufacturing company, I would have employees who did nothing except monitor message boards like this and report back the comments, wishes, desires and complaints about my motorcycles and the competition's motorcycles. In today's business environment, no matter what your product, you have to stay ahead of your competitor and offer what the consumer wants. You can't rest on your past successes and gain or hold market share.

 

[Hal @ Honda Direct Line]

I might agree with you on the VTX comments but the Gold Wings are still on order allocation and I can only order when and what Honda lets me.

 

[AG GL]

Don't know about opinions, but I'll check with my brother on cutbacks- he works at the bike plant.

AG GL

 

[twyn]

At least they are given another job instead of being laid off. There's that bit of sunshine on the cloudy news.

 

[Hardway]

Hal wrote:

I might agree with you on the VTX comments but the Gold Wings are still on order allocation and I can only order when and what Honda lets me.

Based on your reliable knowledge in regards to Goldwing supply, the reduced sales must be attributed to the other Honda models manufactured in Marysville. I wonder why Honda wouldn't take some of the workers bound for transfer and use them to increase Wing production instead of transferring them out. Additional Wing tooling, dye machines and assembly lines would probably have to be added, but if demand isn't being met, I would think this would be a prudent move on Honda's part. I have no manufacturing expertise, but maybe the added expense of turning out more Wings is not worth the investment for Honda because in order for Honda to realize an acceptable return on investment on additional Wing manufacturing equipment, they would over supply the Wing market or have to increase the Wing price too much. Who knows, I sure don't.

 

[Toyo]

They can only build so many in a day. The VTX line may be slowing down, but they surely have to keep the line going until they discontinue the thing. They are not going to add another shift for sure. Maybe the suppliers cant let them build more? Maybe they have it thought out so that they are building only so many a day so they dont have to lay people off for good.

 

[Bulldog]

"No Tires?" Just kidding...LOL

 

[Baby Redwing]

How about supply and demand......If Honda keeps a shortest on goldwings going to the dealer they can keep the price up....People will pay a higher price for a goldwing or any other product just to get it......Just look at the play staton and the emo doll.........

 

[bnordt04]

Honda prides itself on never having laid off workers at the plant. Jobs have been changed but no lay offs.

 

[BlueWing]

The new Connie 14 and the FJR 1300 have and will also cut into Honda sales. Just look at their 4 wheeler is it cutting edge with power? Heck no and the styling is also dated along with the features. They are also made at this same plant. Honda always seems to sit on their butt until they start losing customers and then it updates items for a while to get back on the top of the heap. Just look at their past history for your answers.

 

[mrgl02]

The new Connie 14 and the FJR 1300 have and will also cut into Honda sales. Just look at their 4 wheeler is it cutting edge with power? Heck no and the styling is also dated along with the features. They are also made at this same plant. Honda always seems to sit on their butt until they start losing customers and then it updates items for a while to get back on the top of the heap. Just look at their past history for your answers.

Ummm..... Speaking of the Concours, How many years was it built with no changes???

 

[cosmic_chariot]

It seems what folks have been saying about Honda motorcycle division is becoming reality..
maybe they will realize they have to offer what customers want .. instead
of what they would like to sell.. might be a good idea to change their
attitude on service/warranty problems also..

cosmic

 

[mr.b]

I don't think that Wings are hot sellers this time of year either. Why else would Honda have 3.9% financing for 3 years until 12/31 if they were moving briskly? They certainly don't want to give money away that cheap!!!

 

[Overland1]

"No Tires?" Just kidding...LOL

Hey, I was thinking the same thing. :lol:

 

[LVWolfman]

A downturn is sales isn't too surprising to me.

Contrary to the mostly positive reports on our economy from the press and Washington DC...

The "big three" automakers are hurting big time each with many thousands of unsold cars. A commercial just a few weeks ago for Ford offered all F-150 trucks at $13,000 off list and that EVERYONE qualifies for zero percent 60 month financing. How desperate to they have to be?

One of the financial papers reported just before the election that as it looks now, there is a 50-50 chance of a national recession next year.

Las Vegas is ranked the #2 city in the nation for mortgage foreclosures now. The seller's market is over, there are thousands of homes here (many bought when prices were at their peak) for sale and sitting unsold. In one of the nicer planned communities, Silverado Ranch... almost half of the homes are for sale.

With folks unable to sell their existing homes, new home sales are way down. There are a lot of unfinished developments here in the valley and a number of contractors and home construction workers are out of work. One contractor I know says that the word is that it'll likely be mid-2008 before things pick up again around here. (That's 1.5 years for those who hate math.)

A number of neighborhood sports bars and bar/restaurants are laying off close to 3,000 workers. A slight majority voted in a state smoking ban that bans smoking in any place (amongst others) that has a food handling license. Since the sports bars make most of their money on drinks and gambling and food is just a break-even proposition for many of them and is offered as a 'service' to the patrons, the owners are shutting down the kitchens to cut their losses.

Good news for you tourists though... The big casinos got themselves exempted from the new law, so one can still drink, smoke, gamble and eat at the same time in Sin City if you patronize one of the casinos. That of course is resulting in a lawsuit against the state for unequal application of the law.

Anyway, the economy has certainly been going south here in Nevada and I understand that California isn't doing so hot as well. If the rest of the country is going through this, then the low sales for Honda Motorsports shouldn't be such a big surprise.

Kudos to Honda for moving the workers to other jobs rather than laying them off and adding to the problem.

 

[5Ross]

LVWolfman,

Wouldn't you think that with most of the states now getting gambling laws passed and gambling boats being installed in alot of places this might be hurting the Vegas incomes as well as the overall status of the country. It wasn't all that long ago that if you wanted to gamble you either went to Vegas or Reno? Now anyone with a gambling problem can get their fix at the local Gas&Go....

 

[Verdayne aka Wingnut]

My dealer told me today, that they can't keep new Goldwings on the floor. They've sold 9 in three weeks, have two 07's left, & have ordered 6 more to be delivered before Christmas. I guess it all depends on what part of the country you're at, as to how sales are going. Right now, the sales are brisk in S. E. Illinois.