Blog home

I had an interesting chat with an experienced motorcycle industry figure the other day, who revealed just how deep the international recession has cut into the well-being of the industry.

It’s easy to forget just how tough things are, given our economy has so far travelled comparatively well. Sure, businesses have shut and jobs have been lost – but on nothing like the scale Europe and the USA have experienced.

That Harley recently felt obliged to put MV Agusta on the market and, more surprisingly, shut Buell altogether said something.

Mr X tells me that a few marques he has spoken to are saying the same thing, they had seen key markets drop by as much as 50 per cent – one of the penalties of motorcycles being seen as toys rather than necessities in western markets.

The effects go far deeper than the makers. For example a specialist part producer for something like ignitions, EFI systems or even radiators also suffers. In such cases, they are often central to the whole design process of the motorcycle – we’re not talking about buying ‘off the shelf’ here – and therefore their survival is crucial to the manufacturer who buys their gear.

My caller said he knew of a case where a number of makers were in fact trying to prop up a specialist part builder, but the latter’s bank wanted a lot of convincing before they’d play. For example, the bike manufacturers had to guarantee in writing to buy certain volumes of parts – no small ask in such delicate economic times.

That Buell is being closed was a big enough shock. Let’s hope it ends there…

Blog home

Email