The "Niche" bikes. Why don't they sell?

[Dofin]

I buy what makes sense to me, what I use it for, how it feels and ease of maintenance.  Always have.  This V7 will be the LAST new bike I will buy.  I have decided to stay with the three most favorite bikes I have ever owned the last 45 years.  RD400, GT500 and PC800.  They do EVERRYTHING I ever wanted from a motorcycle and more.  I think someday in the not to distant future I most likely wont be allowed to ride those old timers, I will lament at the time but I guess I will still have the V7.

The PC could be called a "Niche" bike.  The RD400/GT500 was actually only made for 2 years, you could argue that the RD350 and T500 were basically the same design, BUT??

It seems to me almost all bikes made now are "niche" bikes.  they come out and then disappear in a few years.  I get what this post was meant to be?  but is a niche bike one that just didn't catch on or a bike that is different, Modus, guzzi bat wing, Chopper like designs? 

[redrider]

I agree Dofin. There have been many bikes that appealed to me over the years but were not accepted by a lot of others and were either discontinued of never produced. I remember when the GB500 was proposed/leaked. I was also working for a Honda dealer at the time and actually considered one. It looked the part but was an absolute slug. All show and no go. The Honda Way. A short time later, the owner traded in a Mille GT. THAT one hit the Buy it Now button for me. It occupies a niche in my garage.

[Huzo]

Ah so we're more similar than not...

... Except for that Norge thing. [emoji28] [emoji13] [emoji28]

Ok young Kev, off you go now and wash that mouth out, "Norge thing" indeed !!! Hmmpfh.

[sidecarnutz]

Anyone here remember the first time you saw what became your favorite bike?

I first saw Moto Guzzi's in Italy while on liberty from my submarine. Police bikes. The cops all carried submachine guns and looked the part. I found that is I was very respectful, they would allow me to study and admire their bikes. A few were 100's but most were the small block models. This was in the mid 80s.
I have always liked different machinery and stayed away from what was popular. For instance, as a teen, I never liked muscle cars. I preferred little revy foreign cars that handled well. In high school my favorite car was a 69 Spitfire.
I loved the Guzzi's architecture. Like a slice off the front of a V8! Shaft drive. After I finally got to ride one, a Cali II, I was very impressed by the on rails handling and the terrific Brembo brakes.
After I came home from the Gulf War, I came across a guy locally on a old 650 Cali. He put me in touch with the local Guzzi owners. For me, the rest is history. 29 Guzzis later......... ;-) I still own #27, Lannis's old Cali III. Still working on attaching the sidecar. I just don't have the energy I had back in my 40's.
Only Urals have affected me the way Guzzi's have. I wouldn't hesitate to grab another one of those either.

[AH Fan]

Motorcycle magazines are part of it, too.  Look at the American offerings.  All of a sudden a 135hp Speed Triple is "old news" against the new KTM 1290 with over 160hp-for a road bike.  Geez.  I'm not telling anybody what to ride but every American bike mag touts the latest and greatest high hp bike as a must have.

I get several European magazines as well and it's a totally different read.  Besides way less emphasis on hp they are much more interested in writing about all the different machines.   For this reader BIKE and MSL are 100x more interesting to read than CycleWorld or Motorcyclist.

Absolutely TRUE ......... Those north American magazines are absolute sh--t compared to the one out of the UK.

 

[Lannis]

For me, the rest is history. 29 Guzzis later......... ;-) I still own #27, Lannis's old Cali III. Still working on attaching the sidecar. I just don't have the energy I had back in my 40's.

And glad I am that you hung in there and fixed that bike back up!   The difference between what I THOUGHT I was buying and what I actually BOUGHT when I got that bike was an almost unbridgeable chasm.

Even after I ripped out about 200 feet of zip cord, duct tape, house wiring nuts, and built in shorts, and Clifford cleaned up some of the rest of it, you still had a bugger of a job to get it on the road .... Hope you have many happy miles on it ....

Lannis

[jas67]

I buy what makes sense to me, what I use it for, how it feels and ease of maintenance.  Always have.  This V7 will be the LAST new bike I will buy.  I have decided to stay with the three most favorite bikes I have ever owned the last 45 years.  RD400, GT500 and PC800.  They do EVERRYTHING I ever wanted from a motorcycle and more.  I think someday in the not to distant future I most likely wont be allowed to ride those old timers, I will lament at the time but I guess I will still have the V7.

Why would you not be allowed to ride the RD400, GT500, or PC800 in the not too distant future?   

[Lannis]

Why would you not be allowed to ride the RD400, GT500, or PC800 in the not too distant future?   

I assume the fear would be that riding these bikes with their primitive pollution controls might be legislated into illegality at some point.

However, I don't think that anyone who has been riding for 45 years will still be around to see that!   I for one don't expect to be ....

Lannis

[Jurgen]

If they sold, they wouldn't be NICHE bikes anymore!

Jurgen

[Huzo]

If they sold, they wouldn't be NICHE bikes anymore!

Jurgen

A bit like what that idiot said in reply #28