IN
THE
WIND
P32
Motorcycle Sales Up, Way Up
N
ew-model motorcycle sales
among leading brands in-
creased more than 37.2 percent
in the first quarter of 2021, ac-
cording to the Motorcycle Indus-
try Council Retail Sales Report.
The Q1 sales, compared to the
same period last year, were up
by double digits in every cat-
egory: on-highway, off-highway,
dual-purpose and scooter.
"This is the fourth straight
quarter of strong sales num-
bers, indicating continued and
growing interest in riding among
new and returning riders," said
Erik Pritchard, MIC president
and CEO. "Combine the new-
motorcycle sales performance
with the pace of tire sales and we
know that more riders are putting
on more miles. We hope that
indicates that riding is becoming
a larger part of consumers' lives."
The MIC Retail Sales Report-
ing System gathers new motor-
cycle and scooter retail sales
data from 14 leading manufactur-
ers and distributors in the U.S.,
providing a strong indicator of
total sales trends.
Year-to-date sales of dual-pur-
pose motorcycles were up the
most, by 47 percent. Off-highway
sales were up 45.4 percent.
Scooter sales rose 34.6 percent.
And on-highway motorcycle sales
increased 31.4 percent.
"May is Motorcycle Safety
Awareness Month and we're also
glad to see continued strong in-
terest in hands-on rider training,"
Pritchard said. "The Motorcycle
Safety Foundation Basic Rider-
Course and the MSF DirtBike
School are great places to start if
you are new to motorcycling. The
DirtBike School is open to stu-
dents age six and up. For more
experienced riders, advanced
courses are available. We en-
courage riders to continue with
training and education whenever
possible."
CN
Motorcycle sales
in the first quarter
of 2021 were up
by double digits in
every category.
