Consider what it costs to bring a new bike to market- thousands and thousands need to be sold to simply break even. A dealer community that is highly risk averse to taking on inventory of a new model- they'd rather let someone else prove the notion and then shout loudly and endlessly about how they can't get units after things go well. The US DOT is unforgiving and expensive to certify, the market tastes are elusive and ever changing rapidly (attention deficit?), lead times aren't trivial and the largest poohbah of all- cycles/ATV/Big Red are but flies on Honda Japan's buttochs in both sales and profit. Lots of folks think/say they could/it should be handled better- none have been in the chair with the associated downside.