The Scene

THE SCENE

WHAT a fantastic sales year this has been for the American motorcycle industry. After two comparatively lean years, 1969 will surpass the previous record season, 1966, by a good margin.

Though it still is too early to gather accurate sales figures, experts predict nearly 700,000 new motorcycles will be sold during this calendar year. Of this number, Honda will again have the lion’s share, with almost half of all motorcycles sold in this country. Yamaha remains in second place with approximately 14 percent. The company completely sold out its stock of the very successful dirt Singles early in the season.

Leaping into third spot, and breaking the 10 percent barrier, is Kawasaki. Much of Kawasaki’s success this season must go to the potent and exciting new three-cylinder quasi-racer. In fact, the firm now feels it could have sold twice as many Mach IIIs, had they been available.

Frequently people ask how a large firm can be so inaccurate on estimates, and why they can’t just build more motorcycles and send them over. It sounds easy, but is almost impossible in practice. For a Japanese firm, output projections are gathered from dozens of sources late in the previous year. Road men query a dealer about future industrial expansion in his area, the area’s overall economic picture for the next 12 months, the public acceptance of motorcycles by that town or city and local restrictive legislation. After this information is fed to the sales headquarters, a close look is taken at the overall market picture.

Such things as the number of young people affected by Viet Nam, Federal legislation, and the national economy are considered when the U.S. importer arrives at his total. After receiving orders for X number of machines, broken down into various models, the factory orders tires, electrical equipment, brake lining and all of the materials which must come from outside sources, and starts production of all the thousands of pieces necessary for the complete machine.

At this point the procedure is not much different from General Motors or Ford, or any other vehicle manufacturer operating on a large scale. But now the problem begins; for ours is not the only market the Japanese firms supply. Almost all companies are building machines for the home market, which generally are more utility in nature than the sporting versions sold here. Also, Southeast Asia, Iran and Pakistan buy hundreds of thousands of machines annually, all of them very plain and drab, and almost all in the small displacement categories.

Thus the firm builds the estimated quantity for the U.S., changes the assembly lines for the utility models, and cannot, without very great expense, retool for just a few thousand additional units. Being sold out, we would think, must be a pretty good position to be in, but the manufacturer does not always feel that way. Dealers become unhappy but, in many cases, they must share the blame because of their conservatism when the road men talked to them the year before. Also, consumers are upset if they cannot buy their dream bike, and then go down the street to buy brand X.

This year, however, none of us should be unhappy about not being able to buy the models we want. Sales are about two hundred thousand over projection. And, almost every importer is sold out, so it is not a case of one company’s market survey being wrong.

I prefer to think our whole motorcycle picture has changed, and will continue to change—for the better. Our industry has matured considerably during the two lean years. The lull allowed people to gather their wits after the hectic, almost panic growth from 1960 to 1966. Gone are most of the fast-buck dealers, and we are left, almost entirely, with retailers who plan to stay around because they like motorcycles. Also missing is the complacency among distributors who think we will buy whatever they build. The level of intelligence among buyers is higher in this market than any other in the world, and the consumer just will not put out the dough for a bad product.

Another reason for this year being a record breaker is the change in public image. We still have the cheap Hollywood motorcycle gang movies. But we also have TV’s Bronson, which is proving to be an excellent show, and pretty much the way it is. Paramount’s $3.5 million budget racing flick, “Little Fauss and Big Halsy,” is previewed in this issue. There are parts in it that the racing aficionados will not like. There is more booze, pot and sex than I have ever seen at the races. But the picture will accomplish one thing: several million people will become aware of motorcycle racing.

The other change in image is more subtle and, all too frequently, hidden, and is right at the upper echelon of the motorcycle industry itself-unification. During the two lean years, the industry heads have had time to think about the common enemy, legislation, and worry about a solution. The leaders of the big companies now are talking to one another. They are pulling together, particularly in dealing with legislators, and the rewards of their efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Federal bodies are beginning to relax as our industry becomes more united and makes a real push towards informing these people of industry’s desire to work together in promoting safety and driver education.

The high degree of success achieved by industry during the past year can be a good lesson to motorcyclists at a local level. If your community has an ordinance you don’t like, form or join a motorcycle group in your area which is devoted to the betterment of the sport. Select an articulate spokesman and approach the city fathers, not to fight them but to join in helping them make the sport better. If you are sincere you may find they are not such bad people after all. Do not be surprised if they are misguided, but work with them—the results may be quite a revelation.

The other thing you can do to help the sport is to discourage noise whenever possible. Whatever reasons people give for not liking motorcycles, it always boils down to one thing, the noise. Have a chat with that kid up the street the next time he rides by with an open exhaust; you may find he, too, does not know any better.

I did not intend this to become a lecture. But the more motorcycles there are on the road, the more motorists will become aware of us, and the safer and better it will be for people who like the sport.