04-17-2015, 10:24 PM
(04-17-2015, 08:09 PM)Henrik_imp Wrote: That is a real pity. I really liked Buells, and was set to buy an XB12S. However, just then my company moved me to Singapore, and so when I got there unfortunately there was nobody importing them there. When I got back to Switzerland 4 years later I then started looking at the 1125CR instead as I thought they were great with the Rotax engines. Unfortunately it was not to be, because HD decided to shut down Buell before I got the chance to buy it.
There are many of these small bike manufacturers in Europe as well, and they all struggle. Luckily there are still enough enthusiasts around to give it a try from time to time!
Not being very familiar with the bike market in the US, I have to ask though when was the last period that bikes were for transportation there. It seems to me that basically since the end of WW2 the US has been purely a car country, and bikes have been for fun and sports with some small exceptions.
Henrik,
It's been about 90 years in the U.S. since motorcycles were seen as primary transportation. From 1900 to 1920 cars were rare, exotic, and expensive. Motorcycles were much cheaper to buy, own, and operate. They outsold cars by a big margin back then. Henry Ford was constantly improving assembly line efficiency and by the mid 1920's he was selling Model T's for $260, cheaper than any motorcycle. The vast majority of Americans chose cars, motorcycle sales plunged, and it's been that way ever since. Cheers.
Chip