Where's the Value?

An interesting evolution has taken place over the past decade in the motorcycle industry. Ten years ago Japanese motorcycles where by far the best "bang-for-the-buck" in nearly any category. They offered cutting-edge technology, performance and reliability for a relatively small amount of money.  Example: I purchased my 2003 Yamaha R1 in the spring of 2004 as a left over new stock for $9,300. 150hp, 77.4 lb ft of torque, fuel injection and a dry weight of 384 lbs. Specs that are impressive and still relevant now.

At that time, in the superbike category, you could step up to a Ducati 998 or 999 with similar specs but higher quality components, lower production numbers and higher maintenance costs for around $17k. Bottomline was the European competitor to my R1 was nearly double the purchase price and more expensive to maintain but I could ride around knowing I had something special and unique.  Taking a similar approach to the power cruiser category look at the 2003 Yamaha VMax ($11k) vs. the Harley V-Rod ($18k); similar specs however the Harley was a third the price more to purchase.

The price difference between European/American made motorcycles versus their Japanese competitors was considerable and the Japanese had a leg up on their competition in regards to technology and reliability. Now, let's fast-forward 10 years to 2013. The price of a new Yamaha R1 is $14.5k and a Ducati 1199 Panigale is $18k. A new Yamaha VMax retails for $18k and the Harley V-Rod Muscle retails for about $16k. In addition to the price disparity, European and American made motorcycles have stepped up their game in regards to product reliability and technological advances to the point where they are on par with or better than the Japanese competitors. In addition, if you check resale values you will likely find that U.S. & Euro bikes hold their values better and longer than the Japanese do. So, what happened?

Some say the impact of the world economy circa 2008 played a role by throwing the exchange rates off. A friend of mine that works in the industry believes that the Japanese got complacent and significantly scaled back their R&D efforts while the U.S. & Europe manufactures invested more in R&D. I remember reading and article several years ago that Yamaha was going to drastically reduce production numbers and move toward selling fewer bikes at higher profit margins. Regardless, if you are in the market to purchase a new bike going U.S. or European just makes more sense now.

I maintain that I am a fan of motorcycles regardless of make but if I can get better product or simply get a comparable product but it will be unique plus retain its value better well, I'm all over it! 

Sources:
http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/yamaha_yzf-r1_2013.php
http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/yamaha_yzf-r1_2003.php
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2003-harley-vrod-vs-modified-yamaha-warrior-15098.html
http://www.ducatiusa.com/bikes/superbike/1199_panigale/index.do
http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/products/modelspecs/23/1/specs.aspx
http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Motorcycles/v-rod-muscle.html?locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US&source_cd=SEM_Retention_Motorcycles_V-Rod_Muscle&_cr=ppc|Google|Int_Retention_V-Rod|{harley%2Bv-rod%2Bmuscle}&version=desktop#!specs