This rant pertains mainly to any of the Japanese motorcycle dealers......

There are some nearby dealers with new 'units' that are model year 2005. Unless I've missed something,
they have lost their profit margin ,regardless whether they did the floorplan payments ,or purchased the bikes
outright. Now, note that these are not any type of collectable models per se,yet they refuse to discount them;
instead,they tout them as 'bargains' because of the annual MSRP increases that have followed each following
year.

So,I'm hoping there's a former(or present,for that matter,I don't care) 'big four' M/C dealer in our group that can:

1) Explain how this situation ultimately benefits the dealer with (very) old hold-over bikes.
2) What finally becomes of these machines.
3) Explain how/why these pillors of society think they're correct .
(It must be that same gene that prompts idiots to take out those really successful 125% mortgages,and think that
they're really being shrewd....)

Sam in IN
03 G/U

Your seeing the motorcycle market going flat again just as it did in the eighties. Sooner or later these left overs will sell when the dealer bites the bullet just to get rid of them. Manufacturers will cut production and introduce fewer new models till things pick up. Deals will be had for smart buyers in the market for new left over Jap bikes.

Speaking of deals to be had.... Icon helmets has just introduced their new 2008 catalog and there are some great buys around on 2007 helmets that were dropped from the line or replaced with a different model if one looks around and does some shopping.

I just bought a new Icon Alliance Type 1 full face helmet for 89.95. This helmet retails in many places for $200.00 and normally sells on line for 160 to 175$ The Alliance Type 1 has been replaced in 2008 with the Alliance SSR helmet available in fewer colors and graphics.

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