I wish they would bring back a totally updated GL1200 wing which was the same weight as my ST1300. Lots of people try to get their st13 as comfy as a wing.. this might solve the problem..
I wonder if Honda made a deal to not compete in the ST market if the others leave the GoldWing alone to thrive ?Yup - agreed. As I've mentioned before, I work with the auto industry in Detroit and these folks are pretty canny about business decisions. When they do - or do not - build something, there is almost always a good reason and it is invariably based on data and money.
Occasionally, however, they do get it waaaay wrong and that is usually a result of plain old ego on the part of some executive. Recent examples of that phenomenon include: the early GM Oldsmobile diesels and Cadillac 4-6-8 engines, the early Ford Windstar van built without a sliding door on the left side, the Honda Del Sol and of course, the granddaddy of all boo-boo cars....the Pontiac Aztec. In bikes, you may recall turkeys such as the Suzuki RE5 Wankel, the Yamaha TX750 (mid-70s), and some of the hideous cruiser bikes of the 80s. Granted, some of those machine were technically really cool and others sold quite well, but in the main, they weren't nice to ride, nor were they pretty, or they cost their manufacturers huge sums of money which was never recovered.
Overall, I would expect that decision making in the motorcycle industry is pretty much the same as in automotive - except that I see Honda with bewildering array of models - few of which interest riders like me in the least. I sense that the firm has somehow lost its ability, or desire, to listen to the market. It is remarkable that Yamaha, BMW and Kawasaki continue, year after year, to each make a good living selling FJRs, K-bikes and Concours 14s and yet Honda has no offering to compete in that market segment.
With their size and engineering and marketing muscle, they could undersell at least one or two of the above and knock them out of this segment. Combined with the Gold Wing, which is a great machine but really in a different part of the large bike market, Big Red could dominate - but they don't. Over the last 40+ years, the Gold Wing has competed with, and dispatched similar offerings from each of the others (Yamaha Venture, Suzuki Madura, Kawasaki KZ1300 Brontosaurus) - and it now, to a good extent, owns the non-Harley big tourer market - at least in North America.
Very odd.
I don't follow the exact stats, and don't know if they're even available to follow, but I do know that sport touring motorcycles make up a very small market segment, so a large company like Honda can easily ignore that segment altogether and go on living a comfortable corporate existence.Kind of blows your mind doesn't it , they sell all these V-Twins , NM4 Vultus & a bunch of other stuff I wouldn't ever want , when the ST -type MCs can exist instead , & the technology is there to make them .
I like shoveling sand against the tide, you may find a Halibut }<))))>Shoveling sand against the tide.
The V65 Sabre is probably my very favorite Honda followed (LOL) the ST1300.
A deal among warring clans within Honda? I think it more likely a matter of the balance sheet. Honda just didn't/doesn't sell enough STs to make it worth their while.TourNut said:I wonder if Honda made a deal to not compete in the ST market if the others leave the GoldWing alone to thrive ?
Glad somebody other than me is saying that for a change. CLICKY and CLICKY.I don't follow the exact stats, and don't know if they're even available to follow, but I do know that sport touring motorcycles make up a very small market segment, so a large company like Honda can easily ignore that segment altogether and go on living a comfortable corporate existence.
No, the Valks went from 96 to 2003. Here's my 99:A good friend of mine has a 2014 black Valkyrie with 2000 miles on it. Amazing machine. He bought it in Spokane for $12900 new
has leather bags and a rack. He's been trying to sell it cause he can't have two bikes. At $10 grand he doesn't even get calls on craigslist. If it was a gl1800 it would sell for twenty grand overnight. I wanted his bike but my 2000 mile 03 1300 came up for $6200.
boy those Valkyries are nice. But I don't think they sold well, I believe they were discontinued after two years.
Maybe it was one of the 'new' Valks that they came out with in 2013.
Based on what research???......discovered (too late) their biggest flaw---a high speed sport tourer that becomes unstable at speeds typically above 100 mph.
Yes, I saw 2014 but my mind translated 2000...Maybe it was one of the 'new' Valks that they came out with in 2013.
mine and about every ST1300 owner I knowBased on what research???
Just because you quote facts and figures, doesn't mean you are an authority.
Not research.mine and about every ST1300 owner I know
go ahead---keep digging-- I'm not going to engage in some forum trial. There are plenty of police departments that sold the ST1300 bikes after many high speed lose of control accidents etc etc blahblah-----you research it if you are so inclined.Not research.
You gotta watch that mind translation thing ...Yes, I saw 2014 but my mind translated 2000...
No I didn't mean within Honda but with other MC companies , along the line of thought from MaxPete's last 2 paragraphs.A deal among warring clans within Honda? I think it more likely a matter of the balance sheet. Honda just didn't/doesn't sell enough STs to make it worth their while.
I did my research.go ahead---keep digging-- I'm not going to engage in some forum trial. There are plenty of police departments that sold the ST1300 bikes after many high speed lose of control accidents etc etc blahblah-----you research it if you are so inclined.
Thanks Bob, I'll keep that in mind.You gotta watch that mind translation thing ...