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Is The Future Smaller?
Blog Date - 17 September 2014
It seems BMW are to work very closely with TVS. TVS? TVS is, among other things, a motorcycle manufacturer in India. They aren't some back street hack either, they make 2 million motorcycles a year! BMW are doing this because they wish to get into the burgeoning sub 500cc class, Triumph has an Indian factory too, to produce it's forthcoming 250cc motorcycles. Why India? Because it's cheap, that's why. Labour is cheap and land is cheap. It's cheaper to make a bike there and crate it to Europe than to pay European wages. There's a whole argument waiting to happen there, but that's for another day.
Why are these manufacturers getting into the small motorcycle market though? BMW, I can't think of anything under 500cc since the old R45 which hailed from the 70's (I'm sure some BMW anorak can correct me there). And Triumph? Since the rebirth back in the 90's there's not been a sub 500cc model in the range. The Japanese 4 have always offered smaller capacity machines, usually learner motorcycles intended to build brand loyalty so that when you pass your test you'll buy the larger models from the same marque. It works too, I've been a Honda fan since my first H100.
We Europeans have been spoiled. We've had the money to buy big lairy motorcycles, put the fuel in them and blast around on them. In the UK at least the licence laws meant you could pass the test on a CG 125 in the morning and be riding a 150mph superbike in the afternoon. Not so simples now is it? Getting a licence for a "big" bike is harder, impossible for the very young. Also we're all (except the elite) having to tighten our belts. I think this is part of the reason the "A2" class is growing with better economy, the licence laws and cheaper insurance.
Speed limits are dropping all the time too and are being more rigidly enforced. If you overtake on the motorway at 140mph you ought to be constantly concerned that any vehicle you pass could be fitted with blue lights, cameras and plain-clothed coppers. Speed cameras abound everywhere. There's speed bumps and traffic calming measures. Even the traffic itself moves slower these days. All this doesn't really lend itself to a 180bhp monster that never legally gets out of first gear.
There's another factor at play, and I wonder if the manufacturers are taking this into account. Female riders. Eeeee, when I were a lad ya bird sat on the back of your bike and did as she was told. Now they're all riding their own motorcycles and loving it! The smaller, lighter and often much nimbler motorcycles in the sub 500 classes can be a perfect match to the typically smaller female frame.
Honda's got the CBR300 and the forthcoming CB300F. Kawasaki has the already very popular Ninja 300. Suzuki has the Inazuma 250 for the disconcerting commuter. Yamaha...well...I think Yamaha may regret not jumping on this bandwagon. There's the re-hashed SR400 which is beautiful and I love it, but they need to pull their finger out. Honly has the 250 Venturer which certainly looks the part. If the Chinese brands start to bring in their already extensive range of 200 to 300cc machines there soon could be a delightful array of smaller motorcycles
I don't think the big bike has had it's day just yet. There's still enough people with enough money and enough ego issues to require the biggest, fastest, most powerful motorcycle available to them. There's people who can still afford the luxurious effortless touring capability of a big tourer or adventure bike. The Harley and associated cruisers are embedded into our American movie culture. I am seeing more and more bikers on smaller bikes now and I don't see them miserably yearning for a larger bike. They're on 2 wheels and that's what really matters.
Think I need to go and have a better look at that Honly Venturer sometime soon :)
Just because it's 250cc doesn't make it dull or boring.
Reader's Comments
John said :-
I'm fairly sure they haven't had their day just yet but I'm already just a little surprised just how few 250ish bikes there are around my area. I got my licence in the early days of DAS.since then I've never wanted to own anything bigger than my current bike, a DL650. In fact, after a while I made my way into 250s just because I didn't need anything bigger. I had two. The Hyosung had an awesome little v twin but a shockingly poor suspension. Still liked it. Bit unreliable. Then I got the Yamaha YBR250. That was a good simple bike but had no Centre stand and also really appalling reliability. Still, I miss that one too. Why then don't I still ride 250s? Well, I ride all year through the countryside to work and back. A 250 should be perfect for that. However, every now and then my wife and I leave the kids with my parents and go off. Sometime for the day. Sometimes for several. I've yet to find a 250 that does that. Still, if I had the money, I'd get a crf250 or similar for the commute and local playing out. Unfortunately I don't have the money. Oh and by the way, my overall running costs for the suzuki DL650 work out pretty much the same as the YBR250. I'm only 5mpg worst off and the insurance is cheeper. Go figure.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Latchy said :-
Big bikes had their day? Never, shall I tell you why, because when I am out on the road I see absolutely huge cars with 2013/2014 number plates that must have cost £25000-£80000 being driven by the 50 plus generation, these are also the same generation that possibly have a £15000 Sunday toy in the garage that might do as much as 500-1000 miles a year and only deliver 30 miles to the gallon. You see that kind of money is just petty cash to them. Even a biker like myself who earn an average wage can trade up every few years and have a nice shiny bigi ish newr bike for just 2 or 3 Grand to keep you up to date and trendy.
My bike averages more than 60mpg but I would still own it if it could only manage 40mpg......it would still be affordable for me.
I think the only way we would all ride or drive a very economical machine is when we absolutely had to, say if fuel was to be rationed out to everyone.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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