Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125824
September 4, 1973 Page 28 Inflation hits Me market By Chuck Clayton r--------------,I , I Please ThIs year and next are destined to shake uP the motorcycle market ec0l!0mlcally as nothing Including the Great .Depression ever did before. 1974 may, out of economic necessity, bring us the best products and some of the worst prices that motorcycle enthusiasts have seen yet. . An expression of the market for these past twelve years was to say that motorcycles are "sel11ng llke they are going out of style". It is a flip, but profound way of saying that something this popular is too good to last. Now that market is quaking, as vast monetary currents sweep the world. Our Dollar ebbs and the Mark, Shilllng, Yen and Ruble all rise. Mexico's Peso and the Canadian Dollar plunge Into th'e trough with the U.S. greenback. Goods from abroad, which were ever so cheap last year, may cost the same in Yen today, but there are fewer Yen to the Dollar. That 125cc M X your distributor bought in Europe in 1972 for 16,900 Shilling cost him $802. The 1973 series of the same motorcycle may still cost the same, in Sh1l11ngs, as in '72. But 16,900 Shllllngs today are $1,150. Of course this means the prices of imported goods are going uP. How high is uP? Last time 1 counted, the Dollar was off 18% and the Yen was flying ~h at about 130%, so retail prices of Asian goods ordered at that time should increase by half (48% plus 3% "normal" lnflation equal 51%) unless the distributor-dealer chain decides to forego some of their profit. It would seem that the U.S. Dollar, not the motorcycle, is what went out of styIe. We find that everything except motorcycles and accessories produced on this continent cost Americans more to buy already, and wlll cost a whole lot more next year. And the manufacturer-dealerdistributer chaln gets no more for their product than before. ThIs is lnflation. (If anyone asks where the money goes, I'll scream! However sbould one exPlain in a motorcycle newspaper what money really is? Figure it out, mail me your answer, and I'll tell you it it's right.) Among other phenomena, this American lnflation is forcing the factories across the waters to wave their almighty price advantage bye-bye. They wlll have to watch more closely their rival factories in c0l1!!tries whose currency is pegged to the Dollar, Mexico, the U,S, and Canada now have the price advantage within their reach~ Even though the foreign factories get no more than before, they wlll have to ol1.er American customers a more valuable product for what is, as far as we are concerned, more money. More for the money Happily, some factories ARE offering more. Bultaco's completely equiPped new 6-Days model is an outstanding example. It's one bike that you don't have to' accessorlze to the tune of a hundred dollars in order to ride it. Yamaha's Honda's and Suzuki's trick new dirt wonders translate oU-road manufacturing economies intO atfordable prices. Some foreign factories are giving uP, but many brands bope to race harder thah ever before in order to sell the same motorcycle at the new price. Some, inevitably, wlll lose. It should provide a great contest of spirit this year and next as the factories strive to survive by wlnnlng. The British have castled their recent BSA disaster into a secure defensive position, putting Norton- VUllers- Triumph two moves uP on their fellow Europeans. N- V-T will probably be the first to set uP factories on these shores, too, unless Sr. DeTomaso is having better luck negotiating with the Quebequoises than I suspect he is. Will we buy it? The biggest question that industry people are asking now seems to be, "Is the U,S. customer w1lllng to spend more dollars for the pursuit of motorcyctlng while the country ts in the grip of a generallnflation?" 1 think the answer to that question is, uYes and no." Yes, the motorcycle ENTHUSIAST will continue to suPport his hobby. However, he probably will shop around more, before buying. Also, our old equiPment wlll gain value as the lnflation sinks In. The used bike market wlll get better and dealers may even bid uP trade-Ins. And no, the new customer wlllllkely spend his spare Dollars for necessities instead of that new motorcycle, helmet, etc. Nobody but an enthusiast considers motorcycles necessities. Fortunately, the present motorcycle enthusiast market is big. There are nearly 10 mUllon of us in America now. We buy four mUllon copies of Cycle News and a milllon new motorcycles a year. I would not be surprised to see a sudden ~hortage of new motorcycles as weakspirited companies first sell at a loss to recover their capital (..."llke they're goin' outta style.") and then fold uP. Local brands llke Bombardier/CanAm, Carabela, Cooper-Islo, Harley-Davidson and Holder might take up some 'slack, but lnflation, barring miracles, wlll hold them back from enough capital investment to take much advantage. It might be a good time to buy stock in these firms. What a fine time this is for an American company with lots of credit to begin manufacturing motorcyclesl Last year we were searching hJgh and low for The Great American Motorcycle. Next year, who knows? The gnomes of Zurich may lead us to it. That is, it American spirit has not gone out of style. • accept the enclosed dona-, Ition for $ to the 48th' I,SDT. Send my souve'nir sponsor' I stlC ker to: I . I 1-..:. I name I ---- I~.d:;:d:;:,.:::.:::.------------- I Never a Bad Race 1"',,'"',y---------''----- By Berm Williams I I slate L LAS VEGAS, NEV.. AUG. 18 zip ~ rj1.\ .VI YAMAHA of CORONA Mike Patrick's 1101 E. 6th St. - Coro.1a (714) 735-7721 If flying over jumps, bouncing off berms at 40 MPH and literally leaping from comer to comer is work then some of the hardest working stars, (some 150), in Las Vegas last Saturday nigh t were 10 miles from the gljttering strip, racing motocross at Cnug Road's new track and for the thousand or so fans, such names as Roben Tooley, (500 Expert, Yam), Jack Johnson, (250 Expert, Hus), Jerry McKinlay, (125 Expert, Suz), Mel Chapman, (100 Expert, Yam), plus Mini Expert Marv Chapman (Hon), are rapidly becomjng the fellows to look for out front. If Saturday night was any indjcation of th ings to come the winning Amateurs, Skip johnson, (500 Suzl, Marc Peterson, (250 Yam), and Curtis Cummings, (125 Pen) will soon be pushing the white plates to the line. It would be unfair to the sport if we did not compliment the efforts of the Novice riders - no longer does a green plate signify an awkward beginner. The motocross Novice of 1973 is a seasoned, enthusiastic athlete rapidly on the rise and just split seconds belUnd the Superstars. Larry Slife won the Open Novice, while jerry Drescher won Division I of the 250 Novice leaving Ray Charlesworth number one teamster of Doing the AME boogie at Rawhide. Division II, 250 Novice. The 100 Novice win went to Roger uWheels" WeUs, moving this rapid you th to Amateur. The well earned Mini wins went to Tiger Robinson, (Yam 80), Mike Tapps, (Yam 60), john Gurganus. (Steens Super Mini). We also had a beginners class, Minj, which was won by Casey McNeill and a very exciting Old Timer's class, dominated by john VanHoove. A wise old racer once said, any event is an exact reflection of the atti tude of the racers, spectators and promoters. Bad attitude, bad event. Fair attitude, fair event. Good attitude, good event. This is the reason there has never been a bad motorcycle race, whether it be motocross, desert, IT or Flattrack.. Good people make good events and this was another great race!!! •