VFR1200 and Honda's Plan

[Blue One]

Cycle Canada has a write-up and pictures of the new VFR1200 in the latest issue.

In that magazine the last part of the article says that availability will be extremely limited. Not every Honda dealer will get a VFR.
They go on to say the goal is not to stuff a VFR into everyones garage.

They say this is the first step towards rebuilding Honda into the enthusiasts motorcycle company it once was.

Lets see. Hmmm build a high powered racy looking bike, and make it so hardly anyone can buy one.

Make it have lots of power and have all sorts of techie stuff and price it at the same price as the ST1300.

And make it so you can't find one to buy.

Hope that everyone who can't get one will buy a VTX ,Goldwing or some other boring lump that presently sits on the showroom floor.

Sounds like the perfect plan to bring Honda back to life

 

[Blrfl]

STs and FJRs were in pretty short supply during their first years, too.

--Mark

 

[Byron]

If that is their plan then they better be careful because it could backfire on them.

One of the reasons I went with a Hyperpro suspension for my ST1300 was because they were the only company that went through the trouble of build a steering dampener for the ST1300. It wasn't a limited supply item. If something is in limited supply then support and supplies will also be in limited supply and nobody wants that in a product they own.

 

[Nevada]

Bad idea on Honda's part. The reason I have an ST1300 is because of the idiotic pre-order program Yamaha had on the FJR. I had zero problem getting an ST. The "flooding" aspect Matt highlights is real, but limiting the supply of bikes that somebody wants to buy in order to hopefully steer them to a bike they already passed on? Doesn't make sense.

Were I Honda, I would simply tell the dealers that A} they don't have to order any VFR1200s. B} they can have as many as they want. C} Each dealer is guaranteed to be able to get one. Beyond that, it's first come, first serve.

 

[M&M Take2]

I got the impression from the article that Honda was firm on retail price as well. ( no discounting) We'll have to wait and see how dealers react to left-over product on the show room floor. Marty

 

[Bones]

I'm willing to borrow a VFR1200F from Honda for an extended test ride, say 5 years. I'll ride it all over, show up at STOC events, and write up an appropriate review to let you all know what I think. In the interest of science, of course.

 

[SteveST1300]

Bones you are so willing to sacrifice for us!

 

[pretbek]

Good deal. I will cover the other end of the rider height spectrum. Honda will have 2 VFR1200's for this endeavour, right?
Oh, and since I kant write, I will just tell you (Bones) what I as a tall person think about the bike after 5 years, and you can write.

All in the name of [-]outrageous fun[/-] science, of course.

 

[Mark]

I got the impression from the article that Honda was firm on retail price as well. ( no discounting) We'll have to wait and see how dealers react to left-over product on the show room floor. Marty

Limiting the supply of an object with a constant demand will firm prices and with increased demand the price will rise... Toyota's Pious comes to mind.

 

[Bones]

Toyota's Pious....

Great pun, intended or not.

 

[Lanny]

I'm willing to borrow a VFR1200F from Honda for an extended test ride, say 5 years. I'll ride it all over, show up at STOC events, and write up an appropriate review to let you all know what I think. In the interest of science, of course.

What a Guy! Willing to make such a sacrifice for the greater good of Motorcyclists everywhere!

 

[theop]

The part that was left out was the unemployment rate is over 10% (not including under-employed and people that have given up looking for work) and is *forecasted* to bottom out sometime in 2010. Many peoples retirement stashes are gone or severely damaged. The economy is in the tank and motorcycles, especially in the USA, are expendable toys.

This isn't going to be a great Christmas shopping season with most of the $$$ spent with coupons or discount boxmarts. People shopping like they will be this Christmas season won't be spending wads of cash on a new bike. Unemployed, under-employed, or people worried about their jobs don't buy expensive toys.

My guess is that Honda has a lot of current inventory to move in both their m/c and auto divisions. Flooding the market with a new model in the current economy probably isn't the wisest business decision.

Seems there are a lot of harsh words for mother Honda right now and I'm not sure I fully comprehend why. Honda is taking steps to stay profitable (or as profitable as they can) while they prepare new models for when the worlds economy turns around.

The rest of the m/c manufacturers seem to be mainly updating current models or closing down divisions (in the case of Buell). Once the economy picks back up and people return to work, I'm fairly sure Honda will ramp up their efforts in proportion to the economy.

100% agree with Matt above. They do the same thing here in the UK too. They will keep supply tight, won't necessarily oversuplpy the dealers "we have 5 to choose from Sir" like Triumph do, but at the same time will ensure that all actual orders are filled.

I think that here in the UK, we are having a milder case of recession that looks to be receding anyway so people haven't actually seemed to compromise too much. A new car every 4 years instead of 3 perhaps. Saying that, motorcycles are definitely a luxury product.

 

[sherob]

Limiting the supply of an object with a constant demand will firm prices and with increased demand the price will rise... Toyota's Pious comes to mind.

That is true... then a company like, Honda, starts to offer it's Civic and a redesigned Insight and puts it out with a decent price which forces Toyota to ramp up its production start offering discounts

 

[squirrel Hunter]

Did I miss something, I've been riding Hondas for 40yrs when was it ever a limited supply enthusiasts motocycle company? They used to call Honda the Chevrolet of motorcycles.


]
Mike

 

[George]

Bikes like the RC-30 were always in limited supply but the price put it way out of reach anyway. The VFR is not gonna be just a "rich guy" bike.

The NSX Acura was another limited Honda, the S-2000 was/is pretty main stream.

 

[Rob Hephner]

Did I miss something, I've been riding Hondas for 40yrs when was it ever a limited supply enthusiasts motocycle company? They used to call Honda the Chevrolet of motorcycles.



Mike

I love the fact that this s posted on a website devoted to the ST1100 & ST1300.

 

[dduelin]

I love the fact that this s posted on a website devoted to the ST1100 & ST1300.

I said that once and got called for a warning and drew a foul. This is a website devoted to Sport Touring so they say.

To the point of the OP, I was talking to the GM of a local Honda dealer 2 weeks ago and he said more or less the same thing only in regards to general motorcycle and ATV stock levels in the US. He said it was announced at the last dealers meeting. I guess Honda would like to restrict supply to hold prices up across the board. He spoke in specifics - next year I am only getting x number of this model and x number of that model, for example. They don't want to continue selling two and three year old new in crate bikes at high discounts. They had better make more exciting bikes to drive this bus any distance.

 

[Mellow]

Yes, this is a site devoted to the ST1100/ST1300... However, it's also a site that is more about riding and friendship than the bike itself so we have other sub-forums for Honda, BMW, Harley, etc... so members can post about those bikes as well.

 

[sherob]

Yes, this is a site devoted to the ST1100/ST1300... However, it's also a site that is more about riding and friendship than the bike itself so we have other sub-forums for Honda, BMW, Harley, etc... so members can post about those bikes as well.

+1 Texans over Titans : Ohhhh... sorry, wrong forum.

 

[Tourin']

At the recent motorcycle show in Big D, my local dealer mentioned getting one of the new 700's in by this week. After a brief hospital STint tomorrow, I'll get over there and see if they also got one of those VFR critters as well?