Latest sales stats reveal new bike buying habits
British bikers have turned their backs on mid-capacity bikes and sportsbikes, with large-capacity tourers and low-capacity trail bikes leading the way, according to new stats released last week. A poor month for adventure bike sales saw them drop 20% compared to last year, while the year-to-date figure is relatively flat. BMW’s R1200GS and GS Adventure lead the way, closely followed by Honda’s Africa Twin. Those three models make up over 30% of the category’s total sales. The Supersport category ended the month more than 40% down, even with the launch of Ducati’s Panigale V4, which leads the segment with 74 registrations, which was 10% of the segment. The biggest growth came in the Under 650cc segment (up 32%), spearheaded by a 27% increase in the trail bike category.
All these figures point towards a polarising bike market, led by the expensive 1000cc+ adventure bikes and propped up by lowcapacity trail bikes at the bottom. Scooter sales continue to freefall (down 36% in April), with much of the blame being laid at the feet of negative press around machette-wielding criminals using them as their getaway vehicle of choice. London has seen a 20-30% fall in motorcycle sales, while more rural areas have seen double digit increases.