Is the bike market saturated?

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I've had my bike up for sale now for over a month and I've had very little interest. I thought maybe it was just my particular bike, but I've been talking to other people who have their bikes for sale as well, and they aren't getting much interest either. It seems to be effecting all brands and models, including Harleys. I wonder if the market is saturated with used bikes, or if people just aren't buying in the same numbers as they were in the past?
 
Could be a couple of things. It's well into riding season in many areas and the early demand is likely over. How is your price and where are you advertising and what is your ad like? If you're priced the same as every other bike like yours why should someone buy it? If you're advertising in the free bargain sheets or online sites people are looking for deals. If you have it by the road with a for sale sign you're dependent on whoever drives by that spot. A guy at work has been trying to sell a RAZR and quad for years. Nobody will pay what he thinks they're worth. He doesn't understand they lose value sitting there.
 
Bikes in general are not selling. If you look on cl most are overpriced anyway. People want what they paid for it 5 years ago, or even more because they think they have something special. Look on Ebay under your brand motorcycle, to the left is a column marked complete sales. Click on that and it tells what sold and for what price. The green prices are the ones that sold. The one with lines thru the price means it sold for less then the asking or wanted price. Buyers market today. Victory couldn't compete and they're gone. And alot of 2 and 3 yr old new bikes of every brand are still in the crate waiting to be sold. More supply then demand. No interest , doesn't matter what brand.,,
 
The demographic of motorcycle owners is changing.

Some folks also don't have the money for a toy. People are tight on money and a motorcycle is no longer in their budget.
 
I do agree with the above posts.

I see this the most with Harleys. It seems like every guy had to buy one back before the 2008 financial crisis. Even guys that had not ridden in many years.
Now I see quite a few of those bikes for sale and they are very low miles...often they had one big trip to the Rockies on the Odometer and then sat collecting dust.

One other reason is possibly that many young and middle-age men are buying houses right now before interest rates climb further and are choosing to forego "toys". I have two nephews in this very situation.

I am always curious what the many overpriced bikes advertised on Craigslist actually do sell for? There are many complaints by sellers that they get angry with being "low-balled" but what do they expect when they are "high-balling" with their asking prices?
 
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Just read an article about this. Titled will millennials save the moto industry.

Basically it said the market fell way off after 2008 and never again recovered. Sales are down by half across the board.

On top of that you have younger riders not interested in anything resembling a Harley and the boomers hanging it up in droves. They want an iPhone first. Whatever money is left over they ain't spending it on a bike dad thought was cool.

What is selling are cheap bikes, cafe racer inspired styles and early Japanese. Ironically most of the bikes their dads were into when they were new, but definitely no $20k luxo barge cruisers. Those are done (until millennials start the midlife crisis)

Victory essentially became the new Indian. And yes that too is a mistake. Nobody under 40 wants that style of bike (or has the money).

Supermotos are hot. Google it. Cheap fun.

Blame the insurance companies too. A young man used to be able to buy a policy for a literbike.
 
I can't remember a time in the past forty plus years when the bike market hasn't been saturated.
Brand new machines from a few years ago sitting in crates has been the norm for years.
Market pricing is hard to establish because while everyone needs a car a bike is a good weather toy with limited transportation value.
Throw in the fact that every area every early spring sees a few fatals among the target market and the demand just isn't there.
There have been efforts in the past on the part of various Japanese makers to market bikes as economical transportation, but that concept never really took hold in this country.
Price the motorcycle at a realistic level and someone who wants what you have will buy it.
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Bikes in general are not selling. If you look on cl most are overpriced anyway. People want what they paid for it 5 years ago, or even more because they think they have something special. Look on Ebay under your brand motorcycle, to the left is a column marked complete sales. Click on that and it tells what sold and for what price. The green prices are the ones that sold. The one with lines thru the price means it sold for less then the asking or wanted price. Buyers market today. Victory couldn't compete and they're gone. And alot of 2 and 3 yr old new bikes of every brand are still in the crate waiting to be sold. More supply then demand. No interest , doesn't matter what brand.,,


As someone currently bikeless who loves the sport and is looking for another bike this is a fire and ice thing. I don't want the demand to die because that means the sport suffers, but as a buyer I want low prices.

I'm looking for a Moto Guzzi Norge mostly. Found a left over '16 at a far away dealer. 2016 is last model yr for Moto's Norge and Stelvio and one other model-- they are dropping them to concentrate on the models more appealing to millenials in response to the market movement mentioned above. But this dealer has a Norge for $6000 off MSRP. Problem is they're trying to make up some of the difference with excessively high fees. $369 for documentation fee for instance.

I'm seeing a ton of bikes for sale one eBay and Cycletrader. Need to look at Craigslist yet, but I generally avoid that train wreck as it is ate up with scammers.
 
The problem with discontinued or limited edition bikes will be priced gauging for needed parts. Not to mention little to no aftermarket support. If a bike was hard for a dealer to sell new, selling it used will make it twice as hard. The only exception to what I said is Honda's F6b. While it's basically a stripped down Goldwing, most parts are interchangeable. I don't think it's selling that good as you hardly see them on the road, and I wouldn't be surprised if they drop it from the lineup sooner then later. There are some deals out there as long as you can take your time and look around. It is a buyers market.,,
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
But this dealer has a Norge for $6000 off MSRP. Problem is they're trying to make up some of the difference with excessively high fees. $369 for documentation fee for instance.



So $5631 off MSRP isn't enough? If you want this bike look at it that way. Doc fees are a way of life here and the dealers won't budge off of it. If they waive the fee for one person they have to waive them for everyone and they won't do that.

OP hasn't said how he has the bike priced. Everything will sell when it's priced right, but right might not make the seller happy.
 
I see the same thing happening with bikes as cars. The new ones are all 15-25% off at dealers and have great incentives. To the buyer it makes no sense to buy used unless it is a $2k beginner bike.

Take the great selling Yamaha FZ09 naked bike for example...you can find them for sale at most dealerships brand new for $6700-6900. The MSRP is $8999. Looking through Craigslist people are asking 6-7k for bikes with 5-10k miles on them. It makes sense every time to buy new. 0 miles, factory warranty, new tires, etc..etc.

The low prices being pushed by dealers trying to stay open has left the used market with a ton of bikes that people owe more on than a discounted new one costs.
 
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One other reason is possibly that many young and middle-age men are buying houses right now before interest rates climb further and are choosing to forego "toys". I have two nephews in this very situation.


Same thing happened to both my sons. They lost interest in motorcycles once they had kids and didn't have the time to ride. Motorcycles would have sat in their garage collecting dust.

Lots of older people now realize they have little saved for retirement and got out of the motorcycle hobby... also fatal motorcycle accidents on the news daily changed their mind about riding.
 
I'm not sure about fatal accidents changing what people buy, because if that was the case nobody would own a car or ride a bus. It seems according to people who monitor what people buy, to be a case of different priorities. Lots of younger people are not flocking to the DMV to get drivers licences. They find it much cheaper to not own a car and use Uber instead. Having a better "state of the art" smart phone seems to be what they want, instead of fuel consuming vehicles of any type. There are still alot of riders out there riding bikes, but is appears they hold onto them much longer then they used to.,,
 
It's a matter of demographics. Scooters and electric bicycles are selling well. People are buying those for basic transportation. Without good paying jobs and with student loans, young people don't have $7-10K to drop on toys.
 
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$369 for documentation fee for instance.


Those title and registration fees USED to be considered part of the
cost of doing business; it's now passed onto the buyer.

The economy is tight as all get out and will likely remain so.
Full time jobs with benefits are hard to come by even for trained and experienced workers.

That's the 'new norm', sad to say.
Some are shy about buying a used bike and can't afford the new one either.
Used bikes, particularly the higher tech models, could be expensive to repair,
and the lack of mechanical knowledge among buyers and even dealer mechanics doesn't
help any either.

My 2¢
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Bikes in general are not selling. If you look on cl most are overpriced anyway. People want what they paid for it 5 years ago, or even more because they think they have something special. Look on Ebay under your brand motorcycle, to the left is a column marked complete sales. Click on that and it tells what sold and for what price. The green prices are the ones that sold. The one with lines thru the price means it sold for less then the asking or wanted price. Buyers market today. Victory couldn't compete and they're gone. And alot of 2 and 3 yr old new bikes of every brand are still in the crate waiting to be sold. More supply then demand. No interest , doesn't matter what brand.,,


Yep, those that want bikes, generally already have them, and there just aren't that many new riders. When I was a kid, everyone rode bicycles, and many wanted to graduate to a Motorcycle. Now, most kids want a cellphone, and spend their days surfing the 'Net and/or texting. There just isn't the same demand for Motorcycles.

I have family and friends in the Motorcycle business. They all say the same thing.
 
It's a fact, the younger generation has a record low of interest in motorcycles and is the same for many hobbies.
They get hooked early on college loans, credit cards and spend way above what they can afford, throw a house in there plus the internet and TV. They are in debt for the next few decades, no options for toys be it a boat or bike or any other luxury.
 
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I don't think it's saturated any worse than before. Alot of used bikes out there due to coming out of a down turned economy plus alot of people on want the Latest and Greatest in the bike market. It's mostly a show off purchase, especially here in Florida with the Bike events.
For the average guy I don't think they realize how they deprecate when they buy them.
Not as bad as RVs but close.
Why I would never buy a cruiser new. They just lose thier value so much.
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Bikes in general are not selling. If you look on cl most are overpriced anyway. People want what they paid for it 5 years ago, or even more because they think they have something special. Look on Ebay under your brand motorcycle, to the left is a column marked complete sales. Click on that and it tells what sold and for what price. The green prices are the ones that sold. The one with lines thru the price means it sold for less then the asking or wanted price. Buyers market today. Victory couldn't compete and they're gone. And alot of 2 and 3 yr old new bikes of every brand are still in the crate waiting to be sold. More supply then demand. No interest , doesn't matter what brand.,,


Yep, those that want bikes, generally already have them, and there just aren't that many new riders. When I was a kid, everyone rode bicycles, and many wanted to graduate to a Motorcycle. Now, most kids want a cellphone, and spend their days surfing the 'Net and/or texting. There just isn't the same demand for Motorcycles.
P
I have family and friends in the Motorcycle business. They all say the same thing.


Agree though I said it differentl, you point is one I left out.
 
The learning curve might be too steep for todays young to want to ride a motorcycle. And how they going to text
smile.gif


Ofcourse there are exceptions. Some will take a fancy to bikes but not the majority.

My first car was a bike (yamaha enduro 175). If i remember correctly you could ride a bike at 15 and drive a car at 16 in indiana. Gosh its been a while !
 
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