America's Changing Taste In Motorcycles

America’s changing taste in motorcycles

ROUNDUP

CAMRON E. BUSSARD

IF YOU WERE TO TRY TO COMPILE A LIST of the best-selling motorcycles in America over the past 25 years, you might end up feeling a little like Don Quixote when he first ventured out into the world—a little amused, but a lot bewildered. That’s because information such as how many of each model were sold, or why any given model sold well, is scarce for the years before 1969. Some of the manufacturers don’t even seem to know which of their bikes sold the best back then.

We discovered this odd fact when researching some of the stories for this special issue, which marks the 25th anniversary of CYCLE WORLD’S existence. But with the aid of other sources, we were able to piece together a fairly accurate list of the most popular motorcycles each year between 1962 and the present; and that list is a pretty good indication of the shift in motorcycle buying trends over the last quarter-century.

We got the largest chunk of our information from the archives of the Hancock-Brown Corporation, a data-gathering firm in Irvine, California; that information held few surprises, showing that between 1962 and 1968, the best-selling motorcycles were the small Japanese streetbikes—Honda 50s and 90s, and small Yamaha and Suzuki twostroke Twins. By 1969, however, 350cc motorcycles had become the most popular, the Honda CB/CL350 in particular. For Triumph, the 650 Bonneville was by far its most popular model, and all Harley-Davidsons sold well, with the FL-series Big Twins heading the list.

The years between 1962 and 1967 also produced the first of two periods of phenomenal growth in the numbers of people riding bikes.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were just under 600,000 new motorcycles registered in 1962. This number grew to over 1,750,000 by 1966, but fell back to a bit over 600,000 by 1969— a drop-off undoubtedly attributable to the stepped-up military draft caused by the escalating Vietnam conflict. Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) figures show a second large period of growth beginning in 1970, from which point motorcycle sales increased steadily until the early Eighties.

Particularly hectic was the 1968to-1969 period, during which the industry was undergoing numerous changes. Honda’s revolutionary CB750 Four was introduced in 1969, of course, just one year after Yamaha released the DT-1 250, a dual-purpose bike that would not only become that company’s bestseller for a couple of years, but that would also have a tremendous influence on the sport. The impact of lightweight, two-stroke dual-purpose bikes would be felt well into the mid-Seventies, and, in fact, Suzuki’s top-selling model of all time—the TS 185—was a dual-purpose machine.

Before 1970, small-displacement motorcycles dramatically outsold bigger bikes. As much of a hit as the CB750 Four was destined to be, for example, it still was not Honda’s best-seller in ’69; that honor went to the 50cc Mini-Trail. Figures show that between ’69 and ’70, however, the sales of over-600cc motorcycles nearly tripled, a trend that continued into the next decade. Most of that increase took place in the 750 category—a true measure of the evergrowing involvement in that class by the Japanese. But at the same time, the sales of 100-to-299cc motorcycles also increased dramatically, which reflected the health of the dual-purpose market. A good indication of the duality of the market is that two of the best-sellers from 1972 to 1976 were the Honda CB750 and the Suzuki TS 185.

Throughout the Seventies, the trend toward larger, more-complex streetbikes continued. Kawasaki’s top-selling model was the KZ400 in the earlier part of the decade, and the KZ650 and KZ750 toward the end of it. Suzuki’s sales leaders gradually shifted toward the largerdisplacement classes, especially with the introduction of the GS750 in 1977—although the RM 125 motocrosser did manage to take top sales honors for several years as the decade drew to a close. And it was in 1972 that Yamaha, the secondlargest Japanese manufacturer, outsold Triumph in the 650cc class with its XS650-a bike that, starting in 1977, would be Yamaha’s best-seller for four years in a row. The 650/750 Twin class had long been Triumph’s private preserve, but the sales success of the 650 Yamaha began an erosion of the British stronghold on that territory that ultimately left Triumph with only a tiny market share.

In the Eighties, the overall shift toward larger bikes continued, although smaller bikes made a brief comeback in 1981, with bikes such as Kawasaki’s KZ440 and Suzuki’s GS550 finishing as the best-selling models for their respective companies. But the very next year the trend was reversed, with Suzuki’s GSI 100E, Honda’s 750 Magna and Yamaha’s Virago 750 winning the sales wars. And the Virago was of added signifigance in that it was the first of a new type of Japanese motorcycle that would, in a few years, come to dominate the marketplace: the V-Twin cruiser.

Perhaps the most interesting and revealing year of all, however, was 1984. That year, Kawasaki’s 900 Ninja (a hard-edged sportbike), Honda’s 700 Shadow (a cruiser), Suzuki’s GS550 (a middleweight sportbike), Harley’s lOOOcc Sportster, and Yamaha’s Venture Royale (a touring bike) were the best-selling models for their respective manufacturers. If nothing else, that odd mix exemplifies the diverse, specialized nature of today’s market. Things changed only slightly by 1985, when the sales leaders were the 600 Ninja for Kawasaki, the 700 Intruder for Suzuki, the Virago 700 for Yamaha, the Sportster for Harley, and for Honda, the 250 Rebel.

Those sales figures, along with the others over the past 25 years, show that only one thing is for certain: In the motorcycle business, nothing is for certain.

We can, however, reach some reasonably firm conclusions based on this information. Historically, mid-sized, mid-priced motorcycles have sold the best. Only two full-on sportbikes have been any major company’s best seller, and only one Japanese touring bike has ever made the best-seller list. This does not mean, incidentally, that bikes which fail to be best-sellers are failures; it means only that they have seldom generated in a single year the kinds of numbers required to make them best-sellers for their companies.

What about the future? Well, even though the dominant trend has been toward larger motorcycles, the Japanese manufacturers continue to sell thousands upon thousands of 80cc motocross bikes, so there is a large pool of potential trade-up customers already riding-although they are most likely to stick with off-road motorcycles. Also, the overwhelming success of Honda’s Rebel indicates a desire on the part of the public for small, inexpensive, fun streetbikes. Now that some of the other manufacturers have realized this, they, too, are beginning to produce small bikes that are exciting to look at and fun to ride.

If the past can tell us anything, then surely the renewed interest in these smaller machines is one of the more positive signs of recent times. With some luck, this interest will blossom into a significant trendone that we will be more than glad to acknowledge in the 50th anniversary issue Of CYCLE WORLD.