The ST market going away? Someone tell BMW

[Perazzimx14]

Great. What info do you have that shows ST sales are declining across the market when major brands are posting increasing salesof STs, other brands are releasing brand new ST models and the pure ADV market appears to be morphing more into STs?   

I have personally had a 66% decline in ST ownership. I had 3 sport tourers and sold 2. On the other hand the fellers I sold them to had a 100% increase in ST ownership. 

[canuguzzi]

I have personally had a 66% decline in ST ownership. I had 3 sport tourers and sold 2. On the other hand the fellers I sold them to had a 100% increase in ST ownership.

And there we have it

One person saw a drop in STs
Two saw increases in STs.

2 to 1 in favor of more STs.

AND: You had higher sales of STs than did the ones buying. Can't argue with facts.

[canuguzzi]

re: The graphs:

From HDs financials:

"Through six months, the company shipped 164,761 motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide, a 4.7 percent decrease compared to the year-ago period. Six-month revenue from motorcycles was down 8.0 percent to $2.56 billion, revenue from parts and accessories decreased 6.2 percent to $440.7 million and revenue from general merchandise increased 2.5 percent to $143.9 million compared to the first six months of 2014. Gross margin through six months was 39.1 percent, and operating margin was 23.0 percent compared to 38.6 percent and 24.1 percent respectively in the year-ago period."

Using the numbers of bikes sold worldwide, it isn't hard to determine that the estimates in the graphs appear to be off by some margin.

BMW also reports sales.

Lets see if Honda and the others do as well.

[Rox]

I think Piaggio is merely changing Guzzi's image from a well rounded Italian motorcycle company to the retro sector of Piaggio. It seems that if Piaggio thinks if you want modern sport or sport touring from them you can go to Aprilia. If you want retro or cruiser it's Guzzi.
If I'm right they better go bigger with their v7 and v9 line . Especially if they want to compete with Triumph .

I personally don't like where Piaggio is heading with Guzzi. There, I said it. 

[canuguzzi]

Honda:

Honda sold almost 17.8 million motorcycles worldwide in the fiscal year of 2015.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/267277/worldwide-motorcycle-sales-of-honda/

[oldbike54]

Honda:

Honda sold almost 17.8 million motorcycles worldwide in the fiscal year of 2015.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/267277/worldwide-motorcycle-sales-of-honda/

 The problem with that , probably close to 50% of those sales are in the tiddler market . Honda's biggest seller historically has been the Cub/Super Cub .  More Cubs have been built than any single model of motor vehicle .

 Dusty

[rocker59]

Where is the breakdown by type?
 

I've seen breakdowns by type, in years past, in articles in magazines.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to search up a graph, today, that would be meaningful to your question.

It would be interesting to find a graph showing a recent breakdown by segment.

[canuguzzi]

I've seen breakdowns by type, in years past, in articles in magazines.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to search up a graph, today, that would be meaningful to your question.

It would be interesting to find a graph showing a recent breakdown by segment.

You bet.

Everything I found that would show types was a paid for thing. $45 and up seems a bit expensive to find out if the data is even in the report.

It could be that Sport Tourer isn't a category recognized for reporting, it seems there is street, touring, sport etc but no Sport Touring.  Could be the segment is small or its something decided by those who report financials and breaking out too many categories would dilute percentages.

I've sent out some email requests to most manufacturers asking if their bikes considered to fit in the sport touring genre are increasing or remaining stable. I left out decreasing because I doubt any would admit it so taking stable as decreasing might suffice.

Cycle magazines though, lump almost any bike with a fairing and an engine size over 500cc and not an obvious ADV or other type into the sport tourer segment when putting out articles.

[Kev m]

Honda:

Honda sold almost 17.8 million motorcycles worldwide in the fiscal year of 2015.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/267277/worldwide-motorcycle-sales-of-honda/

And you can be damn well sure < 0.00001% were ST's. 

[kidsmoke]

Anyone read the print article associated with this shootout? Thinking they may have thrown some market stats around, in justification of using all the ink and paper...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdW14BJUuzM

[canuguzzi]

And you can be damn well sure < 0.00001% were ST's. 

Yeah but those were just the pink ones with the Heavy Duty (HD) logos on them.

The other 3 were Vanilla.

[ohiorider]

Not a graph ..... but it might give you gentlemen discussing the status of ST bikes something to throw into your discussion.

Bob
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BMW Motorrad USA Posts Record Sales for 2015
08.01.2016
Contained media data: 
1 Attachment

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 8, 2016… BMW Motorrad USA has set a new all-time year-end sales record. With 16,330 units sold in 2015, BMW motorcycle sales grew 9.3 percent above the total 14,945 units sold in 2014.

The S 1000 RR supersports bike, featured in the film Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation, was BMW’s best-selling model (accounting for 13.3 percent of total 2015 volume). Other best-selling models included the ever-popular R 1200 GS Adventure (12.2 percent of total volume) and the R 1200 GS (11.5 percent of total volume).

The S 1000 R power roadster and BMW’s first adventure sports bike -- the new S 1000 XR Adventure – also bolstered annual sales in the BMW Motorrad S-Series model range.

The classic customizable R nineT was one of the top performing models in December with 138 units delivered, and in combination with the new R 1200 RS sport tourer, helped grow flat-twin engine R-Series model retails by 21 percent to 575 units compared to 477 in December 2014. BMW’s F-Series middleweight machine sales grew by 11 percent in the month with sales of 235 units compared to 211 in December 2014.

“New and loyal customers; a broad, continuously enhanced model lineup; a high-performing dealer network; and accolades from the motorcycle press contributed to record growth for BMW Motorcycles in the United States, BMW Motorrad’s strongest export market,” commented Kris Odwarka, Vice President, BMW Motorrad USA.

BMW earned four “Best of 2015” awards from Motorcycle.com, and it was the only manufacturer to garner three coveted categories in Motorcyclist Magazine’s 2015 Motorcycle of the Year (MOTY) Awards. (See 2015 Awards below)

According to Odwarka, BMW’s robust product offensive will continue in 2016 with introduction of the R nineT Scrambler, the new BMW G 310 R – the first BMW roadster under 500 cc – and the new C 650 Sport and C 650 GT maxi scooters in the urban mobility segment.

[ohiorider]

And one more that might give you an idea about how the various models are driving their numbers.  This write-up covers the first 5 months of 2015.
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For the fifth-consecutive month, BMW Motorrad has achieved a positive month of worldwide sales. In May, BMW Motorrad sold 15,004 motorcycles and maxi-scooters, a new record for the month. May 2015 sales were up 6.5 percent compared to May 2014, when BMW sold 14,088 units,

Year-to-date sales are also positive; BMW Motorrad says 62,928 units were sold to customers compared to 59,151 for the first five months of 2014, showing a 6.4-percent increase.

Heiner Faust, BMW Motorrad Head of Sales and Marketing, says “With solid growth of 6.5 percent in May and 6.4 percent over the first five months of the year, we have significantly surpassed the results of the previous year. The strongest growth stimuli for our brand are coming from Europe and Asia.

BMW Motorcycle Sales - Another Record Set in May 2015 S1000XR
BMW S1000XR

“In Germany alone, sales increased by more than 1,000 vehicles as compared to the previous year. And we are seeing especially strong growth in China. Here sales increased by nearly 100 percent as compared to the previous year, reaching more than 1,100 units. Our market offensive is clearly starting to making itself felt. We believe the future prospects for the Chinese market are very promising.”

BMW Motorrad attributes most of this success to the new models rolled out in 2015, including the R1200RS sport tourer that was released May 16. BMW expects further sales success when its new adventure sport motorcycle is released this weekend, the S1000XR.

“We continue to see strong demand for our new models. The market launch of our new R 1200 RS went very well. Our world travel enduro bike R 1200 GS Adventure is developing especially satisfactorily,” Faust says.

“In the second year after its launch it is well above the previous year. Our new supersports bike, the S 1000 RR, is also in strong demand. In spite of a significantly stronger market environment we were able to sell almost 1,000 vehicles in May alone.”

BMW Motorcycle Sales - Another Record Set in May 2015 Motorrad Days
BMW Motorrad Days

As sales reports are positive, the Bavarian motorcycle manufacturer is prepping for the 15th BMW Motorrad Days, which is traditionally held on the first weekend of July (July 3-5 this year) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

“After the successful G7 summit, Garmisch-Partenkirchen now looks forward to its next event highlight. Like every year it will be a meeting of motorcycle enthusiasts, celebrities from radio and television, anybody interested – and people who simply want to enjoy themselves,” Faust says.

“Motorcyclists of all genders and ages meet up on machines of all years and brands. They come from all over the world. Even those who don’t ride a motorcycle can look forward to a weekend of unrivalled fascination. Anyone who is prejudiced about motorcycle meetings should try coming to the BMW Motorrad Days at least once – we cordially invite you.”

[charlie b]

Yep Beemers sell.  The first ST bike I ever lusted over was a Beemer.

FWIW, the "current" Honda ST1300 is a 2012 model (look at the Honda website).  And I think if you look closely you'll see it is really a 2010 model that was released to a dealer in 2012 (I may be wrong and they may actually have manufactured some in 2012, but it seems to be identical to the 2010 model).  So, no, Honda is not really in the ST game anymore.  They are kinda like the Norge market, "new" bikes being sold at "used" prices, if you can find a new one anymore.

And, don't forget the Triumph Trophy.  It is also largely ignored because of the lack of dealers, even though there are probably as many Triumph dealers as there are Beemer dealers.

If you want to gauge the ST market just look at the list of bikes in the Iron Butt rallies.  The ADV bikes are gaining more of a share every year it seems.