The company that sells the most bikes and only bikes will be hurt the most.

At 74 years of age, I decided that I no longer have the reflexes to dodge the ever increasing number and size of the potholes in the roads, especially the freeways. I also have serious concerns with the vast number of unlicensed and intoxicated cage drivers. So I sold my cruiser bike and bought a new Vespa just to ride around town. I can still have some fun.

The same is happening over here in the uk.too many greedy dealers shops etc,

I guess the folks in my area(Brevard fl) haven't gotten the message. Used bikes are sometimes priced the same or even higher than new. What's the deal with that?

I'm retired and 60. been riding since 16. I've bought 3 new bikes and 8 used bikes in that time. Had up to 4 at the same time. New is never happening again. I now have only 1 bike, a 92 Honda 750 Nighthawk. cost me $1900 over 2 years ago. Drivers in general are getting crazy out there. I try to stick to less populated areas and back roads to ride. Still have to get through some areas to get there though. I think motorcycling is dying out with us boomers, never to return to those levels. Here in central PA I've watched many dealers and private shops disappear in 10 years. Not much left out there. Good I can do ALL my own maint. and tire mounting myself on my antique bike without a scan tool.

Still riding my 1970 Triumph 500. Runs fine, burns no oil, doesn't leak, easy to work on, always puts a smile on my face.

I agree with your prediction for the most likely outcome for KTM. Another possibility is that the Austrian government cuts them a big cheque. I live in Canada where we have the big industrial firm Bombardier. Every few years they get into trouble and the provincial and federal governments bail them out often to the tune of billions. Austria doesn't have a car manufacturer so perhaps there is enough national pride for KTM to generate the political will required to bail them out. It makes no sense for the taxpayer to fund an NFL stadium for millionaire players and billionaire owners but it happens all the time because people love their sports teams.

The bikes are overpriced . Luxury items only .

KTM SURVIVES

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

Number one, Honda! One reason is quality, the other is price. I just bought a new 2024 Honda Rebel 1100, I got out the door for under 11000 dollars.

Dealer freight and prep ruined motorcycle sales.

As long as the guys who have to have a new bike every two years, selling them with 3-5M miles on them, the manufacturers will survive. Once these guys leave the market, the HD's of the world can not survive on t-shirt sales alone. As someone who has lived through several of these cycles, I will do what I always do. Upgrade rides when the market is down. I am down to three rides now. The 21 year old HD still ... the local dealer sucks. I had to get the BBB involved. I rode it in there with an minor electrical issue that needed a computer hookup to confirm. Long story short, after them having it May through July I told them to just give it back .... that was the point they had to admit they lost track of the bike. I had to go into thier shop and identify it for them....unless it's an EVO or before I'd never buy one of them again. The 3 year old Vespa is a riot and still simple enough I can work on it. The 53 year old Triumph needs alot of tinkering, but simple tinkering. I believe overall economic conditions, percentage of disposable income plus what the overall place the motorcycle niches are that will determine who survives. One of my boys bought a new CF Moto. He loves it.... he had to take it back is after breaking it in and pay $75 to have features turned on in the computer that were already there. On the other hand anther son has my last Yamaha XS650 (1982 model). He left it sit for 5 years with a cover on it. A few years back he wanted to go on a weekend ride with me. On Thursday I went down, we put in a new battery, drained the tank, cleaned the carbs and it started on the third kick. Did a complete tune up/maintenance on it and hit the road Friday. With the bikes like the Yamaha SR400/small displacement/simple rides so popular in the Asia markets I guess younger riders will either in the camp of one of my boys or the other. How manufactures respond to those two groups of young riders will dictate who makes it. As for myself, at my age I will probably ride out the ones I've kept.

FYI - H-D in Pueblo CO. has a several 2024 bikes leftover and they are recalcitrant to sell . 🫤 I’ll continue to ride my 05 Road King 👑 👍🏻

We need a return to mom and pop shops. Big dealerships come with big fees.

Motorcyling took the hit in 2008 and hasnt recovered since, Covid made my 1984 bmw 325e worth stupid prices too, back to more normal now for that car...

I bought a used low mileage Yamaha Wr250r best $3000.00 I ever spent I’ve seen these bike with 70k on them and the motors were never apart made in Japan .

Motorcycles are luxury items and citizens don’t have disposable income. Simple.

It's amazing that years ago it was less expensive to ride a motorcycle. In the modern day the cost is actually more.

Motorcycle dealers have been adding markup to motorcycles before Covid. I never buy from any shop that adds markup above MSRP.

I have a 2017 Honda Africa twin and was going to buy another Harley Fatboy that I sold and came back up for sale. I thought it be nice to have my old bike back, but the seller is an asshole and wants double what I sold it for. Decided instead to buy a 2025 Honda Dax that other family members can ride instead. I paid $175 under msrp with a little bargaining.

I have been riding for well over 50 years and have owned over 40 bikes, and only 2 were bought new. All were extremely nice and dependable however, and with really low miles. Motorcycles are not like cars and trucks. Hundreds if not thousands of people buy them every year and just park them in a garage, only to discover that motorcycling isn’t for them. These like new bikes can be bought on the usual forums at a fraction of their cost when new. 3-5 years old with 3-5k miles on the odometer has always been the sweet spot for me.

Get woke, go broke.

In 1978 my buddy who worked for the importer on the west coast showed me about a dozen unsold 1977 CB750A Hondas in the warehouse that were being sent to the crusher. Another time he told me about something similiar in regards to half a dozen unsold CBX six cylinder models that were a couple of years old and withdrawn from available stock. The CBX was so unpopular when introduced that Honda resorted to equipping them with windshields and saddle bags in a last ditch effort. In 1984 I bought a leftover 1983 FT500 Ascot for $900. The retail price on them was $2395 and the dealers could not sell them. From time to time, if you have the cash, you can grab a bargain. In my 50 years of riding, and buying experience, I've seen the market tank four or five times.

Reality is, dealers are just ripping off buyers with all those extra hidden fees. It is ridiculous.

I’m a longtime Husqvarna and KTM fanboy. I don’t see any great deals on CycleTrader. If I could pickup a new 701 or 690 I’d jump on it.

Everything is so expensive these days. $15-20K for a motorcycle is nuts. they are toys. for the most part. how many people have $15k to spend on a toy???!!! and some bikes are even $30k.

I still love bikes.rode, my whole life, street, and dirt, and im 65. Think bikes have priced themselves out of the market, just like cars.Remember buying a brand new Suzuki GS 750. 1978for1999.Miss those days.

I didn't know some states let a person put a plate on the WR450.

I wonder why the houses were abandoned.

I have however, also been kind of wanting to trade my old 04 Road King for something like a Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 or 450, but In many ways, I just can't hardly stand to give up that big chunk of old American Iron for what I can sell it for, now days, when I know it is capable of out lasting me. I like the idea of the 450 Enfield, but now they have tricked them out with too much modern electronics, which makes me nervous, the 411 not so much, except it's probably a little under powered for the pavement in my neck of the woods.

I guess I am out of touch with reality. I have been riding the same two old Harleys for over 20 something years. I still ride a 98 Wide Glide and an 04 Road King. I like them because they are still relatively simple compared to the offerings now days. I did however recently buy a new 2025 Yamaha TW200 because I wanted a small simple, light trail bike, so I paid the price for new. I did this because used ones are often almost as expensive as new. The owners of older Tdubs have not gotten the message, that we are in a crash.

My house trailer cost 10k. I'm not going to pay that or more for a motorcycle.... which is basically what the poor drive.. it's why I drive one. The reasonable range for any motorcycle, new or used, is under 2k.

I frankly think Harley is NUTS upping the prices of the 2025 Touring bikes. There's a reason Harley dealers are called Stealers. It costs an arm and a leg to buy a new Harley now, and I'm just not interested. I'm still riding my beautiful Hot Citrus (bright metallic orange) 2012 FLHXSE3 CVO Street Glide, for which I paid straight MSRP, and loving it. I've done a lot of things to the engine to address 110" Twin Cam issues (Feuling HP+ cam plate/oil pump, Zipper's RS587 cams, and Feuling HP+ lifters/pushrods/cam chain tensioners), and added Cobra PowerPort headers and Rinehart 4" mufflers, Traxxion Dynamics AK-20 cartridge forks, color-matched Tour Pak, Corbin seat, Garmin GPS, and lot of other goodies including a really good TTS MasterTune tune. I have the bike set up just the way I want it, and I'm well past the point of trying to keep up with the latest, greatest, and VERY EXPEN$IVE toy. And that's what Harleys are, really... VERY EXPEN$IVE TOYS! I paid cash for it new in Aug 2011, and it costs me very little to ride it now. It only has the J1850 ECM, the ABS controller, and the audio controller... so it's pretty simple to maintain. Being a pre-Rushmore bike from before the MoCo went CANBUS in 2014, it doesn't even have a BCM. It doesn't have any of the fancy electronic gadgetry the new bikes have, with all of the attendant software updates to deal with, etc. And, eventually all of that new electronic gadgetry will BREAK - so I don't have to worry about that. I love my bike, it runs great, and I think it has WAY prettier paint than anything Harley has come out with since. I still get lots of compliments on it because it doesn't look like all of the other Harleys out there. It literally DRIPS chrome everywhere... I am NOT a fan of the modern blacked-out look at all. I am also not a fan of the new fairings that Harley came out with on the 2024 SG and RG... to me they look too "modern" and they just don't have that sexy, curvy, classic Harley look to them anymore. But, I wouldn't get SQUAT for my bike if I traded it for a new bike - maybe $12K tops - so I will just keep riding it and having lots of fun for relative peanuts!

No more motorcycling after 55 years. Too many drug crazed vehicle drivers out there on their phones checking FB and Instagram. Too many cars on the roads. Just trying to put food on the table. Wanna buy a Goldwing cheap?

There way to expensive. For most people.

KTM and Indian have filed bankrupcy

I saw brand new 2 years old unsold units sitting in the showroom of the Harley Davidson dealers. With aftermarket bling, not even Harley Davidson performance parts. Then they want full list prices, and the additional fees for the parts. Our fleet department dropped 10K on Harley Davidson parts during one year at our dealer. We couldn't get them to throw in a tee shirt for our business. I asked about their rental program, back in 2018. I was told then that it was between $185-$225 a day to rent a Harley. I can only imagine what they want today to rent. I know of 3 dealers in my area that have gone under. Not one dealer announced a sale, or any incentives. I also saw a dealer that put in an outdoor music venue. Who pays for that? You do. As far as I'm concerned, Harley Davidson is a clothing store that occasionally sells a motorcycle. But not to me.

1)The used market is always flooded with great bikes with a few hundred miles on them Can get essentially a new bike used for $2,000 or more less than dealers. 2) Dealers were taking orders for bikes that took a year to fill. Covid caused a shortage of bikes during a rare time when everyone wanted toys to keep them busy 3). Lack of inventory caused new and used bikes to soar much higher than they were worth. Prices of Bikes and Trucks are finally falling back to normal. 4) Some are falling for cheap Chinese and British bikes.

There is a used bike dealership near Daytona that adds an $1195.00 to every sale. Yes, they put new tires ( cheap ) and oil and filter, but that's MAYBE $400 real money. WHY the ridiculous add ons? ( and this was 4 years ago )

In 1977 I bought a leftover 1975 Honda CR250 Elsinore from a local dealer. New retail in '75 was $1295 plus all the usual add ons. I got it out the door, tax and all for $649. AHH the good times !

How about the ban on kids bikes in the communist state of Minnesota with the excuse being pfas contamination, I guess the live free or die state of New Hampshire is next to ban kids bikes. USA USA.

I've watched motorcycle prices rise and fall for nearly 50 years. When the economy takes a dump and fuel prices are high used bike prices are high. new bikes don't move. Then when the economy stabilizes the used prices come down... This time is a bit different, banks are not wanting to lend and interest rates are ridiculous. Dealers think they are sitting on a gold mine when actually they are holding a pin less pineapple! I was talking to an R/E dealer about a new model that I'm interested in and he immediately started to try and sell me on another model that he had in stock for the reduced price of $1,500 over msrp. I just laughed and said No Thanks. Be patient boy's and girls, The dealers are going to be hurting when the bank wants the check for flooring!

I rode for 30 years, but 15 years ago the risk from distracted drivers on cell phones made me quit. I bought a sports car.

The average age of a motorcyclist in the US is 50 years old. 1 in 3 motorcycles sold in the US is a Harley Davidson. Anyone producing small, approachable and affordable motorcycles are seeing good sales with those models (Triumph, Royal Enfield). That says a lot about the state of the market today.

I don't know about anybody else but I didn't get enough money from the government to buy a motorcycle. And by the way, younger people aren't taking up the hobby, the older people are aging out. Motorcycling is a hobby for people with discretionary income

I just got a 1980's motorcycle. no one to work on it, I have to travel Miles and miles to change a Tire. Folks don't have to wonder why this is taking place.

This is for real. There are so many bikes not selling. Some are quite cheap.

I've felt the gouging most with the Euro brands and their sneaky service warnings. First, they started having service lights you could manually reset, then, they made it dealer-only reset (but it was reasonably hackable), then they locked it down hard. It made them big $$, so their next move has been to make it an annual thing as well. As a long-time Euro-bike and Iapanese bike owner, I am only too happy to buy exclusively Japanese. Let the greed of the Euro-brands be their downfall!

Lower the prices and treat customers like they are not idiots.