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

[Arizona Wayne]

"If you build it they will come" is  from a fictional movie and is the opposite of reality.  Many products are made, but if enough customers don't buy them, they disappear.

[oldbike54]

 Dealers ? Like any dealer in their right mind would even look at either one of my worn out beaters

 As for niche bikes not selling , sometimes a product only appeals to a small number of consumers , and even then only for a short time . The 1200 C beemer sold fairly well for a couple of years , then faded until BMW discontinued them . It took the MoCo a couple of attempts with the Road Glide , a shovelhead version that flopped , a twin cam model that did marginally better , and the new one .
And ... then you have the Edsel 

 Dusty

[Kev m]

"If you build it they will come" is  from a fictional movie and is the opposite of reality.  Many products are made, but if enough customers don't buy them, they disappear.

No, I would say it's spot on, but the definition of "it" is that you specifically build the thing that is wanted.

The problem is figuring that out.

[oldbike54]

No, I would say it's spot on, but the definition of "it" is that you specifically build the thing that is wanted.

The problem is figuring that out.

 A fella once told me he wanted " a bike that sounded and attracted chicks like a Harley , handles like a Ducati , rides like a GW , weighs 450 LBS , and costs less than a 3 bedroom ranch style did in the 1950's" . 

 Dusty

[johnr]

Would be nice to still have the Rocket 3 though wouldn't it Kev ?

I rode it for 37 years Huzo, many of which it was my only vehical (and most of the rest my main one). It was a hell of a bike and sometimes yes, I do miss it.

[Huzo]

I rode it for 37 years Huzo, many of which it was my only vehical (and most of the rest my main one). It was a hell of a bike and sometimes yes, I do miss it.

Some bikes are more than the sum of their parts.

[Lannis]

"If you build it they will come" is  from a fictional movie and is the opposite of reality.  Many products are made, but if enough customers don't buy them, they disappear.

Actually, "If you build it they will come" is not only from a fictional movie, but it's a fictional quote - the character never said it.   Sort of like "Play it again, Sam" ....

Lannis

[Triple Jim]

Anyone ride both an RC390 and a MG V7II? Not interested in specs, just subjective riding feel.

I have not ridden a V7II, but the 390 is very light and has lots of broad torque wheelie type power, like mid 40s hp at the crank.  Handling is stable but capable of knee dragging fun without much effort.  I suspect I'd rather ride to California on the V7II, but for fun on a track or in the twisties, the 390, with similar horsepower to the V7 and about 100 lbs less weight, is in a whole different sport category.

[charlie b]

You are trying to figure out which 'niche' is popular now.  I can remember when bikes like Triumphs and BSA's were a dime a dozen and no one wanted them, except maybe to turn into a chopper.  Now Triumph has made a comeback partly based on the 'niche' of classic bikes.  Even the big three auto makers have gone to that 'classic' niche with the emergence of 'modern' muscle cars.

Same with ADV bikes.  Someone pointed out that when ADV bikes first appeared they were not that popular.  The scramblers seemed to become popular for a while, especially after Steve McQueen was riding his.  The ADV's were a logical extension but didn't seem to sell well back them.  Now days they have taken off in sales, kinda like SUV's.

Why is one 'niche' popular and another not?  If you can forecast that you can make billions in any business you desire  :D

[charlie b]

PS why did I ride a Guzzi?  Because it was different.  This presents an interesting dilemma. I am not a people person, at all.  But, I rode the Guzzi partly because people would notice it.  But, I did not want to talk to them.  Just look, thumbs up  and move on.

[Huzo]

Actually, "If you build it they will come" is not only from a fictional movie, but it's a fictional quote - the character never said it.   Sort of like "Play it again, Sam" ....

Lannis

Yeah but he did say "play it again Sam"

[guzziownr]

Yeah but he did say "play it again Sam"

"Play it Sam, play As Time Goes By"

Sam was told to never play "her" song (in case it was requested?) so when Rick told him to play it he was a little surprised.  Rick didn't tell him to play it "again" as he was not supposed to play it in the first place!

First bike was a '72 Eldorado
Second bike a '00 Jackal
Third bike a '75 Eldorado (still have it, rode it to work on Friday)
Fourth a '04 V11 Sport
Fifth, sixth and seventh bikes Grisos
I really like Grisos!

It's a nice niche...

[Shorty]

Yamaha Radian. One of my favorite cult bikes. I had one. It ran very well. I liked baiting Earl Larkin with it.     

[Lannis]

"Play it Sam, play As Time Goes By"

Sam was told to never play "her" song (in case it was requested?) so when Rick told him to play it he was a little surprised.  Rick didn't tell him to play it "again" as he was not supposed to play it in the first place!

It's funny what people "remember" sometimes.   Well-meaning people will swear blind through a 9-inch plank that they heard Winnie Palmer tell Johnny Carson that she kissed Arnie's balls before a tournament for luck, or that Harry Callahan said "Do you feel lucky, punk?" or something similar.

OR that they KNOW that a buddy on a CH in 1968 did a 10-second quarter-mile, because they had measured out a quarter-mile on Penn's Straight and timed it with the coach's stopwatch, and what, you calling me a liar?  Or that a built WRX will do 225 MPH because they saw it on the reality show "Tokyo Drifters".

Nowt queer as folk, as they say.   Gotta use your judgment sometimes.

Lannis

[oldbike54]

Yamaha Radian. One of my favorite cult bikes. I had one. It ran very well. I liked baiting Earl Larkin with it.     

 Yeah , but let's face it , that was easy to do 

 Dusty

[Nic in Western NYS]

I have not ridden a V7II, but the 390 is very light and has lots of broad torque wheelie type power, like mid 40s hp at the crank.  Handling is stable but capable of knee dragging fun without much effort.  I suspect I'd rather ride to California on the V7II, but for fun on a track or in the twisties, the 390, with similar horsepower to the V7 and about 100 lbs less weight, is in a whole different sport category.

Thanks.  How was the pull from 2k - 4k rpm?  I know it's no big twin, but if it's totally dead down low, that's something to consider.

[Gliderjohn]

The Radian must have been a pretty solid bike. Some may have followed it but a couple of years ago or so a gal that went by something like RuffnTuff on the ADV Rider forum bought a used Radian and rode it from SE US to Alaska and back with fairly minimal problems. She wrote great, was a very interesting read. Her first road trip too!
GliderJohn

[Shorty]

The Radian must have been a pretty solid bike. Some may have followed it but a couple of years ago or so a gal that went by something like RuffnTuff on the ADV Rider forum bought a used Radian and rode it from SE US to Alaska and back with fairly minimal problems. She wrote great, was a very interesting read. Her first road trip too!
GliderJohn

Fun bike. I didn't own mine very long. I've always had bikes that made 30 to 50 HP and weighed 5-600 pounds. That little Radian threw off my timing. It did everything much faster than I was used to.  I sold it and went back to my grandpaw bikes. 

[Triple Jim]

Thanks.  How was the pull from 2k - 4k rpm?  I know it's no big twin, but if it's totally dead down low, that's something to consider.

It had excellent torque throughout the range.  It was last May, and I don't specifically remember  how it felt at 2,000 rpm, but I was impressed with its broad torque, and I never had to downshift due to finding it in a flat spot.  When I left the Deals Gap motel and headed up "Wheelie Hill", I consciously took it easy to avoid a big wheelie on someone else's bike.  I recommend you find one and test ride it.

[Arizona Wayne]

I put on a Guzzi campout near Quincy, Ca. in `97 and thusly met a new Guzzisti on his new yellow1100 Sporti with his wife on her 600? Yamaha Radian.   Notice it has 16" wheels and a small gas tank.   The Sporti rider worked for the factory Yamaha road race team and the Sporti was his 1st Guzzi.

[RANDM]

I think most people need to be part of a "mob" to confirm
their belief/choice is correct. They need the confirmation of
others believing what they believe to feel "right" about any
particular thing.
People who think their own thoughts and follow their own
path are rare until the "herd" notices them and enough of
them thinks - oh that looks interesting enough for a critical
mass to form.
In a way the "herd" takes up what has been proven to work
by the adventuristic few.

Maurie.

[Huzo]

"Play it Sam, play As Time Goes By"

Sam was told to never play "her" song (in case it was requested?) so when Rick told him to play it he was a little surprised.  Rick didn't tell him to play it "again" as he was not supposed to play it in the first place!

First bike was a '72 Eldorado
Second bike a '00 Jackal
Third bike a '75 Eldorado (still have it, rode it to work on Friday)
Fourth a '04 V11 Sport
Fifth, sixth and seventh bikes Grisos
I really like Grisos!

It's a nice niche...

Bugger, that's what happens when you go up against guys who know what they're talking about. Thanks fellas.

[Huzo]

I think most people need to be part of a "mob" to confirm
their belief/choice is correct. They need the confirmation of
others believing what they believe to feel "right" about any
particular thing.
People who think their own thoughts and follow their own
path are rare until the "herd" notices them and enough of
them thinks - oh that looks interesting enough for a critical
mass to form.
In a way the "herd" takes up what has been proven to work
by the adventuristic few.

Maurie.

That's an astute observation Maurie. So have "we" left the mob to show our individualism and thereby produced another "mob" ? Is that the effect at play here you think ? BTW, How's the new chairlift?

[Kev m]

That's an astute observation Maurie. So have "we" left the mob to show our individualism and thereby produced another "mob" ? Is that the effect at play here you think ? BTW, How's the new chairlift?

I think the term is pissing in the wind.

We're tribal by nature, genetically driven towards it.

Real loaners are rare enough to generally be freaks.

That said, I feel a little freakish... Or at least I'd like to think I am.

Then again that's the same marketing that the Harley "rebel" thing is tapping into.

And the irony doubles when you realize that some here make fun of the Harley faithful for becoming rebels together when the Guzzi rebels are just sheep of another color.

Me, the more I realize about this the more I can just enjoy what I like and not worry about the BS.

[Huzo]

I think the term is pissing in the wind.

We're tribal by nature, genetically driven towards it.

Real loaners are rare enough to generally be freaks.

That said, I feel a little freakish... Or at least I'd like to think I am.

Then again that's the same marketing that the Harley "rebel" thing is tapping into.

And the irony doubles when you realize that some here make fun of the Harley faithful for becoming rebels together when the Guzzi rebels are just sheep of another color.

Me, the more I realize about this the more I can just enjoy what I like and not worry about the BS.

I don't think anyone's really worried about any aspect of it Kev, it's just sort of interesting. The more you learn about others, the more you find out about yourself. I'm happy to admit I'm a self serving, attention seeking show off, that only talks about himself and stands back looking at where everyone else is wrong and walks around smugly thinking he's superior to everyone else 'cos he's got the nicest Norge in Australia. Actually only one of those observations is incorrect, but it's a great lifestyle isn't it ?

[RANDM]

That's an astute observation Maurie. So have "we" left the mob to show our individualism and thereby produced another "mob" ? Is that the effect at play here you think ? BTW, How's the new chairlift?

Chairlift? No no no sport - we got Gondolas now but not yet
- not yet .............. At the mo all they're doin' is dirtying up
All those beaut hairpins around the steep side 

Kev's right too we are naturally tribal - it's all around us, sport,
religion, politics, racism. I reckon as Motorbicyclists ( Vale Smith)
we're our own distinct Mob, as people who like Guzzi's more
Distinct from that mob, and if you only rode Guzzi's you might
be one of the adventurous few. 

Maurie.

[Nic in Western NYS]

It had excellent torque throughout the range.  It was last May, and I don't specifically remember  how it felt at 2,000 rpm, but I was impressed with its broad torque, and I never had to downshift due to finding it in a flat spot.  When I left the Deals Gap motel and headed up "Wheelie Hill", I consciously took it easy to avoid a big wheelie on someone else's bike.  I recommend you find one and test ride it.

Thank you Triple Jim, that's just what I was wondering about.

[Kev m]

I don't think anyone's really worried about any aspect of it Kev, it's just sort of interesting. The more you learn about others, the more you find out about yourself. I'm happy to admit I'm a self serving, attention seeking show off, that only talks about himself and stands back looking at where everyone else is wrong and walks around smugly thinking he's superior to everyone else 'cos he's got the nicest Norge in Australia. Actually only one of those observations is incorrect, but it's a great lifestyle isn't it ?

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

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

[Ncdan]

I started ridding at 12 years old and I'm near 64 now. I've had moat all makes, styles and sizes. I just got a 07 Calvin a couple months ago and it will probably be my last bike. It's not only a sound comfortable ride it's the center of attention everywhere she shows up. At this point of the game in my motorcycle life being different is cool, especially when it involves a trouble free great bike.

[rocker59]

Yamaha Radian. One of my favorite cult bikes. I had one. It ran very well. I liked baiting Earl Larkin with it.     

So awesome that Guzzi copied its style for the top selling market leader, the Breva 750 !!!