Quote:
Originally Posted by ChipToothy
The new Kawasaki 230 is 19 horsepower stock. Wonder what makes theirs so much betthan ours.
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Well not much really, just some fine tuning, better QC and mostly a better swingarm.
I bet that the KLX 230 is mostly made from parts made in china but assembled somewhere else. Hell looking at the bike it screams china made.
It looks like a motorcycle made for developing countries, which is also a very big market.
India:1,367,017,897
Brazil: 212,216,586
Big markets with a lot people that like motorcycle but not a big income.
So what's the best solution?? Tell a Chinese company to build it for you and as and added bonus allow them to copy some of your designs. It's a win-win for everyone.
-The big japanese brands can sell cheap bikes, which means $$$ for them
-The Chinese can copy some good engines and sell them cheaper than the jap, which means $$$ for them.
-Those who want a cheap bike with a big brand name, can get an xr150, KLX 230, XTZ 150, ETC
-Those who want a cheap bike and don't want to pay for the brand can get the chinese version.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dpl096
the kick in the ass the big boys needed. They got so wrapped up in huge displacement engines and matching profit margins they alienated the "economy" rider...at least they did me.
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Well, let's be honest in the US, it's "go big or go home". So why waste money on a small cc motorcycle that most likely won't sell as good as they want.
The big brand never forgot about the "economy riders" is just that in the US, there are not that many to make it worth.
A good example of this is the Honda XR200r, for the US Market it was discontinued, because there was not a market for it. On the other hand, they kept selling and making them for other markets for another 20 years.
Sadly it's just business.