Sales Of FJR

[zorkler]

we all know the pros and cons of the fjr and its high marks form mags as well as s/ t bike of the year 2 times . so my questions is why dont more riders go out and buy this bike ?

 

[GalaxyBlue]

Because we are elite riders who know what the best is and will wait for it!

 

[spine60]

IMHO younger riders want R-1 type bikes and older riders like wing type bikes.

 

[FJReady]

Spine,

And then there are those of us who get to enjoy a delicious combination of both.

 

[Diesel]

There are rarley any on the floor for people to see and sit on.

Not many like to buy bikes unseen or without sitting on it......I bought mine without ever trying it. I have no regrets. Best bike I ever had!

 

[gasman]

There's also a lot of misinformed riders who have fallen for the old "P. T. Davidson" marketing scheme of there's one born every minute. JB

 

[Geezer]

There are rarley any on the floor for people to see and sit on.

I was hesitant to spend the money on a bike that I could not actually try out for fit and comfort.

Also, since I don't subscribe to any cycling magazines, it was only by chance that I even knew the FJR existed.

I think we'll see more of them around if they start putting them on dealers floors and do away with the priority delivery. Not sure that's all good though. I kind of like having something unique in the neighborhood.

 

[teerex51]

Having read all previous posts, each individual argument makes a lot of sense and

kind of defines our market segment very well. We're "nots"

Not so young to zip around on an R1

Not so old to cruise on a Wing

Not so trendy to shudder and shake on an HD

But IMHO there is also another factor: the price tag.

Not exactly a cheap bike, our FJR

Stef

PS: Some of us have R1s Wings and Harleys in their garage, too, and no offense was meant, bros :erm:

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

A lccal dealer bought the FJR jsut so he could leave it at the store for prospective customers to see/ride. I would not have bought the bike without being able to ride it first.

 

[SilveradoSlick]

I don't know how much marketing increases the sales of a bike, but Yamaha hasn't done much with the FJR.

 

[markjenn]

All of the above.

Basically, the touring bike market gets whittled down to size by the GoldWing'ers, the sportbikers, the cruisers, and the folks who would only ride a Harley. The FJR has zero appeal to any of these people. What's left is a fairly small market, maybe ten of fifteen thousand total bikes in the US, for example.

Within that market the FJR has a LOT of competition. Honda takes on the FJR head-on with the ST and produces a fine bike with a stellar reputation and much longer hisotry. BMW has five or six models between the new K bikes and the boxers which compete directly and offer a number of advantages and the prestige of a BMW, albeit at a higher cost. The Ducs and Aprilia slice away folks who want more sport and like twins. Triumph has a winner in the new Sprint and VFR always attracts a loyal following. The big GTs like the Busa have more performance and can be outfitted to be good sport-touring bikes.

After all that, you have the prime FJR buyers. And some of these don't buy an FJR because they're somewhat hard to find and test ride.

- Mark

 

[Bounce]

Just remember that, prior to the FJR coming to the US, the ENTIRE sport-touring market had sales numbers around 3000 bikes per year (TOTAL). The majority of those sales were to all the combined S-T versions of the BMW. Most mfgrs (Yamaha included) didn't want to bring a S-T bike to the US because of those sales numbers.

Yamaha alone broke those sales numbers with the FJR for every year since they brought it in country.

All their marketing dunsels couldn't figure out that the market was wanting something new and were waiting to pounce once it was available (PdP or otherwise).

 

[BULLIT MAN]

I got mine because someone fell through on the financeing and it was at the dealer when i went in however i didnt get to ride it. I bought it and put risers on and a seat and new screen and a tank gaurd.im 6'3 tried to make it more comfortable.didnt work.Nothing bad at all to say it has been a great experiance to ride one,however i traded it in on sturday before it even had plates on it.I bought a 30th annaversary gold wing. No im not old i just wanted something bigger and more comfortable.I took it out on the weekend with a couple of buddies on kz 1000's and sv650s it kept up with them all.You can drag pegs and stillbe very well balanced and in control.in a side note i cant beleive nobody has responded to my farkels for sale add.HELL I STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL BOXES THE STUFF CAME IN .

 

[XLR8]

The price tag is one reason. Another is stories of ticking and heat which are valid concerns for a potential buyer no matter what the stats really say.

Thirdly, is that the FJR is meant to be ridden and when it gets right down to it, how many people do you know who have bikes who really ride them very much? I think this is why the ST market is somewhat small here in the states anyway. Most people buy cruisers of some sort to parade around and pose on. The other people (kids) get R6s.

So ironically, my theory is that naked bikes and sport tourers represent one of the smallest segments of the market and yet they are some of the bikes that get ridden the most.

-r

 

[Constant Mesh]

For one large multi-brand Tennessee dealer it appears that the FJR sells much better than the ST1300. They sold five FJR's off the floor while two ST's sat unwanted. They said that they could have easily sold more FJR's if they had them.

I'm speculating that the FJR's are outselling the ST's by 4 or 5 FJR's to 1 ST.

This large dealer sells lots of Goldwings. But, it rarely sells an ST.

 

[nusman68]

In the Houston area, its Cruiserville & Sportbikeistan....that's hardly all you ever see. In order of appearance: Cruisers (metric & American, (yes- starting to see some Victorys) & the occasional chopper), Sportbikes, Tourers, (Wings & Beemers) (also Wing trikes popular here). Lastly, the rare sightings: of Duc's, (749/998/999/Multistrada) FJR, ZZR, and sometimes naked sportbikes or standards (1200 Bandit/ZRX1200, Honda 919).

I know a lot of guys that own metric cruisers, 10k & less in price....seems to be a comfortable limit. Couple that up with instant availability, attractive finance deals & 'freebies', and the rest is history.........when I do talk to other riders, I learn they usually ride a cruiser and seem surprised that I may go out for a 250+ mi. 'day trip'; apparently to them 75 miles is a big deal.

The only ST1300 I've ever seen was on the showroom floor; ready to go, though. No PDP needed.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

When i ordered my FJR, The dealer had an ST on the floor, It was burgandy, Which looked great! Sitting on it felt like a wing...IMO.

After seeing an '03 at a friends house, I knew the FJR was for me.

I have no regrets... Other than the ST looks better WITH the bags on...But looks horrible without!

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

I put my deposit down without even seeing an FJR. I did buy the complete set of articles about the FJR from MCN. I have owned mostly Yamahas and the last was an XS1100. No Regrets! :bleh:

 

[Colin24]

so my questions is why dont more riders go out and buy this bike

I would lay the blame at Yamaha's feet and in particular their marketing department.

By bringing the thing in through PDP in the states means that the only people that will buy one are ones who _really_ want one. People who are out looking and not thinking 6 months ahead (read--most buyers) are going to look around, not see any FJRs. But they will see lots of ST's and they'll be able to go buy one on the spot.

I'm in Canada and even I had to really hunt around to find a shop with an FJR on the floor. Finally found one that had a Honda ST next to an FJR. For me that sold the FJR on the spot. The Honda ST felt like a porker! I had to really though my weight into it to get the bike off the sidestand. The FJR, I just sat on it and used the muscles in my ankle to easily lift the bike off the sidestand. That cinched it for me!

I talked to one person for which not finding an FJR was the reason they didn't buy one. They were really intrigued by the idea of an FJR. But they couldn't find one anywhere. Phoned around to every shop in a 100 mile radius, no dice. Eventually the guy bought a Honda ST. Why? Because the local dealer had one on the floor.

So I would point my finger squarely at Yamaha's marketing department. (Of course they seem to be more interested in creating this new "star" brand to sell even more knock-offs of those cheesy "hardley"s.)

And of course because the marketting department is totally dropping the ball, nobody finds out about these bikes. Word of mouth works well, but if you want to sell a product you have to advertise and get the word out. They're not doing it.

And its a shame, I think the FJR is a fantastic all-rounder. Light and nimble enough to make it good for commuting. Luggage for when you need it. Sport bike level handling when you want to go out and play. Nice neutral seating position, not crotch rocket hunched over, or cruiser laid back, but just right. I wouldn't use it as a dirt bike, but with the high-wide handlebars, low COG and ABS it will handle a dirt or gravel road with ease.

As soon as the snow melts around here the FJR is pretty much my sole means of transportation till the first snowfall signals the end of the season up here. It is truely a do-all bike.

So why dont more riders go out and buy FJR's. Because they don't know its there and what it can do.

- Colin