Whats next?

froggy, with all due respect, if you say the word "bling" one more time, I'm going to hit you in the head with a crown shaped air freshener and rip out all your gold teeth.

thanks,
json

Yeah I am getting tired of it too. :?

HEY BRENDAN Who you callin an old codger? I bet I got your young butt tired by Sunday night!
But you are right on the mark that the average owner is over 30, serious off road rider , either racer or x racer, and wants something that will get up and go, doesn't mind maintenance,but demands parts supply and wants serious problems solved and not ignored. We are at the point where either we can afford the distraction of a great bike or we will sacrifice to have the same! I couldn't really give two cents for what rickybubbachadwhoever is riding this week. The people who think they are going to go into any of the big 5 and buy what they see racing on tv are on crack. It would cost you at least triple to have what the GNCC guys have let alone the CIRCUS X ( you gotta copyright that dude) have.
It is my opinion that of all the owners out there who have a Husaberg weather new, old, stock, or modified, there are only about 2% that can really ride the bike to it's full penitential. I know for a fact I can not and never could, but, it does make me feel like a hero and when you have and ALMOST and you are doing that little giggle in your helmet you know at least half of that save was the bike. Gotta love that Husaberg !

This topic seems to be going in al kinds of tangents, oh well, it is sharing ideas on "what next". One issue with going after the racer crowd is that racers can be very demanding. They want parts now, big discounts, and finacial help whenever possible, I know it was the only way I could afford to race. The "codger" crowd is much easier to please. They buy what they want (often new every year or twice a year) and they tend to have multiple bikes, which comes in handy when one is broken and waiting for parts. KTM likes to win races, but I don't think it would be possible without the financial success of selling zillions of exc's to the codger crowd.

LeFrog said:

Jason, when I go to a motocross track I see older riders on old bikes and kids with all the glitz and bling and they will not ride something older than 2 years old..

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I do not know if it is like this elsewhere, but around here, most of those MX bikes are ridden off-road. It makes sense, since there is much more off-road land than MX tracks. I see it in the local enduros, also. Many of the bikes are MX. The bummer thing is that they are pretty good at creating bottlenecks, with the 2-strokes lame tractability, and suspension that jackhammers the rider out of control.

Bobzilla said:

HEY BRENDAN Who you callin an old codger? I bet I got your young butt tired by Sunday night!

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Hey, I am old, too! I am almost 32 years old! See, we are in the same boat. Well... okay, you might be a little further down the river than me. You know you have had a great ride when you are dead beat tired.

json

TBM is a brit mag and they're right and wrong. right that they were never as light as they said and wrong in saying that they're now as light as suggested-in fact they're still over weight compared to stated weight claimes.

le frog-you're now banned from using the word 'bling' completely as you make my bling fillings itch!

can i draw your attention to the UK importer? a man i am known not to trust and who i've not had good dealings with but to give him credit has worked hard at the coal face to get husaberg up there!

first of all he can mechanic and run his own race effort. he runs his own dealership as well as being the importer. he was once a top MX rider himself.

thing is, he'll do it all himself and save 10's of thousands in the meantime.

JEDI AND SUPERMOTO can't do this. they are the middle men in a long chain that starts at mattighofen and finishes with you-the punter buying the bike!

so what ever racing effort they do will cost them a fortune. i therefore suggest that they try to spend thewir money on ANYTHING BUT a race effort!

put it into;
dealer support like kawazaki used to.
run their own series.
finish bonuses to rival the other teams.
find something for standard machines such as the 24-hour test (ie-fettled and not tuned!).

if they want to race they need a winning machine. the best bike out there. it isn't. it's just about competitive. it's 5+ hp down on the CRF's and the same with the yams.

regards

Taffy

Any race team would need additional sponsorship (read KTM Red Bull etc..). I think it time to call in that marker our brothers up north hold with Labatt's and Moosehead

About racing a series: I agree it would have to be off road something or other. GNCC I think would be a good place to start as that series gets some coverage on OLN. But, this would require a tank that would accept a dry break system, otherwise with the right susupension tuning the bike would be awesome in this area. Next would be the National Enduro series. I read all the World Enduro Series stuff in cycle news, and I see that there are a couple of Husaberg's in the hunt. And since the Husaberg is the best handling off road bike around, this might be a good venue for Husaberg. Maybe someone like Fred Hoess as he always get's some coverage b/c he is a favorite. Also, the Nat'l enduro series gets some coverage in the mags. Someone posted a great idea in having Wolfman ride a Husaberg in one of the "BIG" events. Like the one out here in Coalinga in February, or, the other one in Wickenburg Arizona aound the same time.

Advertising: Higlight the fact that Husaberg's come with all the goodies, fat bars, adjustable bar position, FCR carb, Kokusan iginition, Air filter placed high for stream/water crossings, and no tools changing, serviceability IE very easy to work on. Maybe compare with the very short service/and or life of the Japanese components, not to mention hard to work on. SIMPLICITY. And most of all Handling. A fine example of this is last weekend my friends family, some other families and my own family were out riding at the Johnson Valley OHV area, the largest in the state. Anyway, my friends youngest son, 14, likes to ride everybody's bikes. He was riding his dads 02 520, and then my 01 501, and my 04 550. His comment, I like the Husaberg's better b/c they feel so much lighter. That pretty much says it all, from the mouths of babes. The 24 hour was a great example of this as well.

I have let seveal people ride my Husaberg's and they always come back impressed. The one question they always ask is, "Can you get a bigger Tank?" I tell them about the underseat one, and that's all I have to offer.

Sponsorship: Find some products that like to distinguish themselves from the rest. God I hate to say this, like NASCAR, their list of sponsors is quite amazing, very diverse.

If all you really want to do is sell more bikes I believe it is fairly straightforward... have the most HP per class and look the best. From what I have seen the majority of riders purchase with these criteria. It does not matter if all the power never gets used (or in fact makes you slower) but put it in a bike with the sexiest styling and you have sales volume...

And don't forget good dealerships.These
little holes in the wall selling motorcycles
and TV satelites and stuff has got to stop.
They should make sure the dealer is of
enough resources to cary some parts
and have at least one good mechanic.

Next Level???

There are more motocross riders racing every sunday then woods riders if you want to see how a bike is performing that is the place to look. Also Husaberg riders need to buy new machans to promote sales and stop bitching about the old machines riding a new model would turns alot of heads and if you have not ridden a 2005 yet shame on you they are very good!!!!

Re: Next Level???

Cody said:

There are more motocross riders racing every sunday then woods riders if you want to see how a bike is performing that is the place to look. Also Husaberg riders need to buy new machans to promote sales and stop bitching about the old machines riding a new model would turns alot of heads and if you have not ridden a 2005 yet shame on you they are very good!!!!

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Hi Cody,
I understand your desire to move new merchandise. It is your job as a Husaberg dealer.

In my opinion and with all due respect such an attitude as Sale, Sale Sale in opposition to Service, Support and Sincerity is what screwed Husaberg the first time around.

Questions to the consumer:
Do you really want another cookie cutter motorcycle?
Do you not truly enjoy having something different?
Are you not willing to pay extra to own something exotic?
Have your primary issues thus far not been the lack of technical support, parts availability and a larger fuel tank option?
Do you not appreciate the fact that even if your Husaberg is several years old it remains cool and attracts attention?

All you off road geezers (The Moral Majority Husaberg Owner) speak up. what say ye?

Hey Dude Free-Style SX kid need not respond as you will simply ride the latest wave and purchase the brightest "Bling" anyway.

Gentlemen, be very careful what you wish for.

Kind Regards,
Dale

I used the word "Bling" How Embarrassing.

Re: Next Level???

the brightest "Bling" anyway.


HEHEHE Dale said Bling!

This old geezer's complaints were summed up by the DALEMAN.
Better service, parts supply, and big tank.

That say me.

Hi Dale,
As always, you're experience and demeanor allow you to reach in and grab the truth by its virtual neck.From a dealer perspective you are quite correct in that increasing sales only comes from confidence in the parts and service backup the manufacturer and distributor can provide.Any salesman will soon lose interest in trying to retail a product that results in unhappy customers.Quality machines combined with exceptional parts and service backup is step #1 in increasing business.The marketing term "sell the sizzle(bling?) not the steak" will no doubt move a few bikes in the short run, but is a poor and unsuccessful method to sustain long term growth.
Always a pleasure to read you're posts
regards .....nsman

Tim: it seems that the big dealers are not selling dirt bikes these days. They are getting rid of them. One dealer in downtown Phoenix got rid of its KTMs and is getting rid of its Kawasaki dirt bikes to only sell street bikes (Berger: that's the one on 7th street). Another bigger, "YaZuDa" dealer is doing pretty much the same thing and all they have now are 60 quads, 20 sport bikes, 20 cruisers, and a handful of dirt bikes. No good enduro machine either, only a couple MX and Trail type.

I think the "thousand-dollar dirt bike from Pep Boys" is doing a killing. It's going to be a while before the new dirt bike market picks up. When I left the second dealership I said out loud "let's go, they don't have dirt bikes here anymore!"

What is sad is that the piece of junk from Pep Boys is really dangerous, has no resale value whatsoever and that there are pretty much no parts available, and that the new generation of dirt bikes are really awesome playtoys!

Therefore expect to see the small "mom and pops" shops in the quarter mile marker street to remain in business for a long time and hope that they do because they'll be the only ones catering to our hobby.

Husaberg in all that? Don't expect a lot of changes. It's going to be the 4 big Japanese guys (mark my word: two are going to merge and make the exact same bikes only one will have yellow plastics and the other one green) and the big european guy, with the Bergs as a test platform.

Now, it does not prevent them from making a bigger tank...

LeFrog said:

"Two are going to merge and make the exact same bikes only one will have yellow plastics and the other one green".

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Sorry Mr. Frog,
You are too late with your forecast as such has already come to pass.

http://www.sportbikes.com/news/dec01/00 ... erger.html

Kind Regards,
Dale

I know it is dead now, Dale, it may happen again.

LeFrog said:

I know it is dead now, Dale, it may happen again.

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Lefrog,
Said merger remains active.

Example:
Current KLX and DRZ 125 motorcycles are one in the same.

Best Regards,
Dale

Both Kawasaki and Suzuki announced only a few weeks ago that the alliance will not be continued for most models for the 2006 model year and will be over completely for the 2007 model year.