Nice weather drives sales of motorcycles
Nice weather drives strong demand early
A flash of warm weather has heated up motorcycle sales as dealerships and Milwaukeebased Harley-Davidson Inc. get ready for the important spring selling season.
Some local dealerships say January and February were their two best winter months in decades, partly from an unusual stretch of warm temperatures, and not much snow, that got people thinking about motorcycling.
The first few days of March have added fuel to those desires.
“When you get a little burst of warm weather early in the season, and people start to see and hear motorcycles, they start thinking about the sport a little sooner,” said Jeff Binkert, owner of House of Harley-Davidson in Greenfield.
Dealerships say inventories of 2017 model-year touring bikes are tight, including Harley-Davidson models with the new Milwaukee Eight engine, named for the city where the company was born.
There are leftover new 2016 model-year motorcycles, but dealerships say some used bikes, and popular new ones, are in short supply.
“Right now I have our truck out to other dealerships buying motorcycles,” said Chris Kucharas, sales manager at Hal’s Harley-Davidson in New Berlin.
Toss in a low jobless rate, low interest rates and a strong stock market, and more people have confidence in their discretionary spending.
It helps that the presidential election is behind us, too, as people return to their normal lives, said Scott Houpt, vice president of Suburban Motors, a Harley-Davidson dealership in Thiensville.
Sales of new and used bikes were strong in January and February, according to Houpt.
“I was getting nervous. I thought I wasn’t going to have enough. … Normally in January, we sell about 20 (used) bikes. This January, we sold 80, and we did the same in February,” he said.
Last fall, Wisconsin motorcycle dealerships also had higher-than-normal customer traffic, as people squeezed in rides in mid-November before the weather turned cold. It was that way in other states, too, with more than 200 recordhigh temperatures for October — resulting in October and early November feeling more like September.
The mild weather has been well-timed for the motorcycle industry that was stuck in low gear much of 2016. U.S. sales have been slow, partly from weakness in the economies of oil- and gas-producing states. Harley-Davidson has faced intense pressure from Japanese competitors and Minnesotabased Indian Motorcycle Co.
Harley shipped 262,221 motorcycles in 2016, below its forecast of 264,000. Sales in the United States, which is the company’s largest market, were flat compared with 2015, and dealerships were left with many unsold 2016 model-year bikes.
For 2017, the company says it anticipates full-year motor-
cycle shipments to be flat-to-down modestly compared with 2016 as the new model-year bikes are held back some until last year’s inventory is sold.
The 2017 touring models “are not the easiest to get right now. And some models, I will be sold out of,” Houpt said.
Sales in the overall motorcycle industry were down about 2.5% last year.
“I think everyone is hopeful that in 2017, with everything that’s going on, the motorcycle market bounces back,” said Rod Copes, president of Royal Enfield North America in Milwaukee.
Royal Enfield, based in India, is known for its bikes that capture the essence of old-school motorcycling — a throbbing engine, simple electronics and a low price.
The company wants to establish about 100 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada and has achieved about half of
“Normally in January, we sell about 20 (used) bikes. This January, we sold 80, and we did the same in February.”
SCOTT HOUPT, VP OF SUBURBAN MOTORS
that goal in the last 12 months since it entered the North American market.
Much of the marketing has been aimed at young, urban adults wanting something unique and affordable. The bikes also are popular with riders nostalgic for British motorcycles from the 1960s.
“We are getting dealers in some of the key metro areas and are gearing them up, and ourselves up, for the spring season,” Copes said.