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20/12/2005: "UK Market Stats"

The MCI have just released the official UK registration figures for new motorcycles and scooters, during November 2005.

Overall, new bike/moped/scooter registrations are down by 4%, but scooters and mopeds have fallen by 25% and 53% respectively, with motorcycle sales actually rising - allegedly - to counteract the trend in declining moped/scooter sales.

It's not surprising that moped sales are collapsing, as sales of illegal minibikes and quads are skyrocketing.

However, the MCI claim that supersports category registrations were up by 11% in November, is unlikely, for one simple reason; the MCI class the Honda CBR125R as a sportsbike, which it patently is not - it is a learner bike. Subtract those 2600 odd CBR125 'sales' and things look very different.

Yes, astonishingly, the CBR125R has 'sold' 2653 units so far in 2005, which is remarkable, as insidebikes.com hasn't seen rows of them parked up in town centres, outside college halls, late night shops, kebab shops, off licences or other places where teenagers tend to gather.

Meanwhile, check out BMW's R1200GS - 1871 registered so far in 2005 and the 5th best selling two wheeler in the UK market. Just shows how a Hollywood celeb connection, plus a cracking TV series, can shift hundreds of expensive new bikes.

Top off-road bike in 2005 has been the WR450F Yamaha, top custom has been the Harley FXS, top tourer is the R1200RT, whilst top sportbike has been the GSXR1000, just ahead of the CBR1000RR.

In a weak UK bike market, it's been BMW who have emerged as the runaway winner in 2005, regardless of what the official registration figures might say.

BMW sales have rocketed, as the factory have introduced some exciting new models - crucially, the bikes hold their re-sale value too. Discounting bikes damages values in the long run, which sends customers' hard earned cash elsewhere - a lesson that some others in the motorcycle trade are still finding hard to learn.

With few genuinely innovative models from the Japanese brands for 2006, especially in the non sportbike sector, it looks like BMW, Triumph, KTM and the Chinese brands will be the ones to grow in the UK.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)