Kawasaki Sales - What do you think.??

[KLR]

My idea's which have already been stated.

First priority - Racing, its what people watch and it doesnt matter if you have spinal damage after a short commute "its a winner of a world championship"

Second priority - Presence, advertising and marketing, look at the R1 it is a beautiful machine and has the cult following that the Z1000 and ZX7R used to have and Yamaha are innovators. The model has been updated every two years not the ordinary 3. How many R1 adds do you see during televised SAASC rounds and MotoGP

Third Priority - Colour selection, I love Kawa green but Kwaka really hit the mark with the blue ZX6 and ZX10(US Release)

Anyway just my 2c

[spekt-r]

What Icebreaker just said is very true but James' comment on brand loyaly is spot on. Honda, as well as some others and also some car manufaturers have realised this and are creating more entry level machines so that people can start out on these and become dedicated to that particular manufactuer, I cant rememeber exactly how the car brands were doing it but it was very interesting.

[Felix]

Interesting to think about...

I wonder though - would we really want to be riding the same bike as everyone else??

Marketing people can be spectacularily wrong with how they interpret the market for their products. Remeber the Ford Taurus? Ford Aust lost money on every one they sold...they spent something like $7000 per car sold on advertising alone, and in the end they were sold with every option and piece of body kit available for knockdown prices just to be rid of the damn things.

But yes, there is quite a bit of truth to the win on sunday, sell on monday thing. A large percentage of every Ferrari sold goes directly to rocketting Michael Schumacher around the track - and so it creates its own little cycle. Relevance to real life doesn't matter, Schuey wins in one, so it must be good in my garage.

I am quite happy to be individual, and buy what I like, regardless of others perceptions or the "keeping up with the jones" mindset.

However, there is a bit of a hole in the kwaka range though...I am not so sure that my next bike will be a kwak...unless the Z750 really does it for me (which it might ).

[icebreaker]

I must say, very good thread Dave. Very thought provocative.

[spekt-r]

I must say, very good thread Dave. Very thought provocative.

Agreed!

[Neka79]

ai agree with a lot of comments from dan & spek-t...being out of GP for 20
years didnt help, being none in the SBK cos they were running a 900 (as
opposed to the 1000's over the last few years) didnt help...being a softer
sportsbike didnt help...having other bikes pull out more HP didnt help...and
i agree with the brand loyalty thing, most kwaka riders are on em cos there
loyal, but u bring out a sicker R1 an watch every boy racer trade his
gix..or vice versa...sum ppl just want the most HP, then sum ppl (like me )
are scared of killing ourselves on the most hp, so we settle for
handling..then u got the reliability thing..personally id never buy nething
other than kwakka (built tuff) or honda (lots of $$ means lots of
development, and a sweet handling bike..)..
Neka
2000 CBR 929RR
1988 KDX200 thrasher
1996 VS SERIES 2 UTE
"dont hate me cos im sexy, hate me cos ur mrs thinks im sexy"



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[Neka79]

why hasnt the zx10r sold more?? $$..but saying that its comparable to the
cbr etc..but still the 1st year of ANY bike, no1 wants to touch it in case
its a lemon..if it does ok, an sum ppl r happy wiv it, sales will jump in a
year or 2...also the fact that kwaka want "kwaka only" dedicated dealers
makes it hard for dealers...they dont like multi franchises cos they have to
compete, but who wants a kwaka only (or honda only) dealership in this day &
age??
Neka
2000 CBR 929RR
1988 KDX200 thrasher
1996 VS SERIES 2 UTE
"dont hate me cos im sexy, hate me cos ur mrs thinks im sexy"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil" <pharlum@energy.com.au>
To: <ksrc_gendisc@ksrc-au.com>
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: re: Kawasaki Sales - What do you think.??


> after talking to several dealers and people in the industry i see a common
theme developing, that theme is the name David Baines.
>
> perhaps now that he's eating his weeties thru a straw someone else will
step up to the plate and get things moving in the right direction.
>
> DB was the man responsible for the cessation of the kawasaki racing team
in oz, a bad move in my book, win on sunday - sell on monday as they say.
>
> honda and yamaha, and to a lesser extent suzuki seem to advertise a lot
more as well.
>
> As far as i'm concerned kawasaki continue to make bikes that appeal to me,
the others dont, thats why i ride green.
>
> i, for the life of me cannot understand why the zx10, zx6 z1000 and z750
have not sold more, fantastic looking bikes, all of them. I'd love nothing
more than trading the mighty zeph on a z, 1000 or 750 if i had the money.
>
> ----------------
> Sent using Mail 2 Forum (http://m2f.sourceforge.net)



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[Neka79]

yea..who'd of thought?? were u sober when u wrote it dave? how bout them
aussies in india!! go aussies..!!
Neka
2000 CBR 929RR
1988 KDX200 thrasher
1996 VS SERIES 2 UTE
"dont hate me cos im sexy, hate me cos ur mrs thinks im sexy"
----- Original Message -----
From: "icebreaker" <daniel@tunedloud.com>
To: <ksrc_gendisc@ksrc-au.com>
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 10:24 PM
Subject: re: Kawasaki Sales - What do you think.??


> I must say, very good thread Dave. Very thought provocative.
>
> ----------------
> Sent using Mail 2 Forum (http://m2f.sourceforge.net)



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[Nanna10r]

I'm really enjoying this post, good stuff guys. A few more points to consider
Kawasaki Heavy industries is the Biggest Commercial Boat builder in the world(Oil Tanker Types)
General Heavy Machinery does Pretty well too against its competition.
Suzuki sells Bugger all more like 3% or something, I have heard that Kwika n Suzi have entered an agreement to share repalcement parts for their motorcycle range.
Smartest thing Yamaha ever did was lay claim to the brandname R1 & R6 no one ever calls them YZFs anymore. Easy to remember R1.
Kawasaki's own longevity & reliability bites itself in the Bum as they keep on going so not replaced as readily. I sold 3 suzukis due to electrical gremlins in the 1980's.
The new Designs when they do arrive are competitive long after their rivals have replaced them. The zx7r was only built to race Superbike because in line fours couldnt be 1000cc like the V twins & still had too carry more weight.
The poor ol zx9r was still quicker over a quarter mile then its 3 jap competitors when it was replaced by the zx10r & only the Gsx1000r had a faster top speed, all this after 8 models.
God knows how long the zzr250 has been in production as i dont even the zzr600 goes way back. Its obvious Kwika Innovate with new models then gebtly evolve them only to drop them when when they are Really really obsolete.
Cheers Brett

[Smitty]

Suzuki sells Bugger all more like 3% or something, I have heard that Kwika n Suzi have entered an agreement to share repalcement parts for their motorcycle range.

correct...with Motocross 250 and 350cc bikes...

Kawasaki's own longevity & reliability bites itself in the Bum as they keep on going so not replaced as readily. I sold 3 suzukis due to electrical gremlins in the 1980's.

yeah...but you'll never buy another Spewzuki...will you???

The poor ol zx9r was still quicker over a quarter mile then its 3 jap competitors when it was replaced by the zx10r

and Brett, that is a very good comment...why get rid of the 9????
it is a completely different bike to the 10. You can cruise on it, take a pillion on it (ask Rossi 'bout that), it is all round generally more usable but yes, Kwika also needed a hyper sports bike...the ZX10r
so why not BOTH???

God knows how long the zzr250 has been in production as i dont even the zzr600 goes way back

what about the GTR1000??? 1st made in 1983 or 1984 fawgawdsake.....
it has just been announced it will drop outta the range at the end of the year

The new Designs when they do arrive are competitive long after their rivals have replaced them. The zx7r was only built to race Superbike because in line fours couldnt be 1000cc like the V twins & still had too carry more weight.

look at what Suzi have done with the GSXr750...a new one out this year
and it wins bike of the year...will we see a new ZX7r????
we should!


cheers

[aardvark]

Another contributing factor, in my opinion, is the lack of exciting Kawasaki learner bikes available.

Something I never considered, but I suspect you might be right. I wonder how many riders now ride CBR 1000's because they had a CBR-250?

[kempy]

Everyone forgotten about the ZX2R? No offence to anyone that owns them, but we are talking sport bikes here, the ZZR and GPX 250s are dead boring.

CBR250s were made for longer than any of the other 250s, have been imported in larger numbers, and as far as I know, were the only ones actually officially sold here. Mind you, take a look around. THe CBR250 would be the most common bike around, seeing as everyone has to start on one really. Yet people still cross to yammies, suzis and kwakas.

I dunno, the lime green always really appealed to me. A signature colour, a signiture name "ninja". I mean what does that say about a bike? A bright green is attention grabbing, combined with the look of the bike really makes it look fast. And "ninja". What does that make one think of? Agility, speed, mystery (remember we're all mystery space men under leathers and a helmet).

I was also looking for something deliberately uncommon and unique. Heh, no wonder I ended up with a 7R eh.

Anybody who knows fuck all about bikes, knows what 3 bikes are. "fireblade", "R1", "Ninja". Suzis I find aren't that well known around the non-motorcyling crowd.

[Neka79]

yea..i think that could b a valid point..or even if they had a rgv etc...hmm
sum ppl arent loyal at all....i am..but i got 2 brands i love..
Neka
2000 CBR 929RR
1988 KDX200 thrasher
1996 VS SERIES 2 UTE
"dont hate me cos im sexy, hate me cos ur mrs thinks im sexy"



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[Neka79]

yea true point, but theres fuk all zx2r,fzr2 and only recently gsxr250....as
far as sporty 250's u had to have a NSR,RGV, or TZR...most of these r
learner illegal in most states, and ppl r off put by 2 strokers...hmm
interesting thread tho..
Neka
2000 CBR 929RR
1988 KDX200 thrasher
1996 VS SERIES 2 UTE
"dont hate me cos im sexy, hate me cos ur mrs thinks im sexy"



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[spekt-r]

KR1S was a green weapon but veeeery hard to come by and nowhere near as attractive as an RGV.