Kawasaki Sales - What do you think.??

[Neka79]

good point kempy, thats why staintune never use to make perf pipes for
250's...an sum other companies...no learnr on a 250 had the money or
knowledge to service the bloody thing, let alone spend $$ on em..
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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[Nanna10r]

Hey Neka I bought a MVX250 brand new in 83, was a top little scoot as long as you didnt have to listen to it. I think a flash new Package based around the gpx250 "BIG BLOCK" with o4 zx6r looks would sell to the newbie market.
cheers Brett

[Neka79]

yea..temparamental thing 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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[TopCat]

> Started on a Z200 (in-line single cylinder)

as opposed to a single cylinder v twin or inline 4??lol.. what was it in
line with??
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"

Hey, don't mock
My wife had a Z250C vee single





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[MadKaw]

Ok, I'll throw my 2 cents in..
I don't think the racing is the issue nor the advertising. The minimal amount of advertising you see on TV during bike events, I don't believe would sway too many ppl.
As far as the racing goes, Kawasaki had its best period, of late, with the zxr and zx7r. They won the world superbikes in 94, numerous Aus, UK and US titles but in sales were still beaten by the GSXR, which on the race track was very average.. The ZX9r won numerous Aus races and placed 2nd in the formula extreme in 98/99 and even in 2000/01 with Wayne Maxwell on board kicked some serious butt...
The ZX6r won the World supersport, numerous Aus and overseas titles yet eveyone still bought an R6...
I have 2 thoughts as to why Kawi is not up there in sales.
1 is they took too long to change models and when it was obvious what they had was being beaten by the competition they still only "upgraded" it.
The zx6r from 98 to 2002 and the zx9r from 98 to 2003, except for there first release year they were bettered by almost everyone elses bikes for their remaining life spans.. Perhaps not everbody wants a boy racer bike, but thats what sells.. I won't even mention the zx7r which didn't change at all, bar colour, from 96 to 2002...
My other belief is that Kawasaki have a dealer network problem. As mentioned previously, this one brand dealer set up is not working for them and it comes across that Kawasaki don't want to compete on the dealer floor with other brands. They should also have a look at there pricing as you can generally get a better deal on most other brands...
Oh, and the colours.... WHY NO BLUE ZX10R..????

It seems the models are now being changed on a 2 year cycle so lets hope every 2 years theres something more than a new colour to beat the opposition.. The zx6r is looking the goods...

[MickLC]

What about magazine reviews? The journo's have been raving about R1's and GSXR1000's for ages, and even now they are a bit light on with praise for the ZX10R...even though they seem to like it

You've got to get past a lot of personal bias (kickbacks?) to get a journalist gushing

[Dazza]

I think its several things. Most have been mentioned already.

The fact that Kawi has had some limited success locally on the racetrack over the years, means squat. It needs to be performed Internationally. Kawi have been absent for a very long time on the world scene. I think colour means didly, as you are able to bye bikes in other colours besides booger green (no offence, its just what I call it).

Just have a look in the Yellow pages, how many Kawi Stores do you see compared to Yamaha, Suzuki or Honda, that alone does heaps in the psyche of peoples minds. How about the ACUTE LACK of advertising. When was the last time you saw an ad on the tellie for a Kawi Sports Bike. Honda and Yamaha and to a lesser extent Suzuki don't hold back here.

There’s an old saying in retailing "Stack it high and let it fly". The others have heaps of shops backed up with cross media advertising. Couple this with international success from the other brands and people want to bye a winner.

The sad fact IMHO NOTHING will ever change unless Kawi go toe to toe with its competitors and even then it will be a very long haul to catch up with them. Potentially the company has its focus set on other bigger profit making departments within KHI, one such dept. Ship Building. It will not happen overnight, but it can happen. Stiff Cheddar if the 10R is voted as the best bike, its still perceived to be a an inferior company IMHO

[Neka79]

I think colour means didly, as you are able to bye bikes in other colours
besides booger green (no offence, its just what I call it).
Dazza

mate..u got no idea do u?? booger green???.lol...does ne 1 kno wot name i
gave my zx6r many years ago??
i had the name "booger" across the screen (like a racer would), not for my
name, but it was my bikes name...i sold it & saw it abt 6 months later..i
knew it was my name cos the name was still on the screen....it was
"big,green & slippery"...hehe
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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[Rohan]

Some very good points raised in this thread but I think the current single brand dealer model can work if Kawasaki really get behind it and promote it properly, it has worked well for Honda and Yamaha.

The illustrate my experience I used to deal with a well known multi brand dealer, I bought a KDX200, ZZR250 and my current ZX-6R and got pretty sharp pricing from them, when it came to servicing I will have to say the whole experience sucked because the service department were all Harley biased and I always had issues with poor workmanship during routine servicing, one time they put so much oil (not chain lube) on the chain it actually flung onto the tyre and made its way onto the tread of the tyre, the first left hander I performed was interesting to say the least, lots of wheelspin and sliding about, I went straight back to the dealer and demanded they clean it up while I waited but was told I would have to leave till Monday seeing it was Saturday
I had a quick chat to the dealer manager whom I had become known to over the years and said my goodbyes due to the attitude I received, my green rear wheel was completely black by the time I limped it home

Anyway, I have since found a Kawasaki only dealer in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne who have been great to deal with so far, being all green people we all have the same love of the Kawi brand and they take pride in the work they do, also having a Supersport, Superbike and Production car race team in the same building is cool too, it's like a giant toy shop for a petrol head like myself

I think Kawasaki might be on a tighter model update cycle now seeing they seem to be getting more serious with racing again, hopefully this brings more sales as a result, but if not I suppose we will just have to keep the secret to ourselves, as we all know only Kawasaki's possess unique soul and character