October bike sales rise

New bike sales of “Adventure” category bikes are up by 53% and custom bike sales are up by 27% compared with the same time last year.

The strong growth in interest in bikes such as BMW’s R1200GS in the Adventure class and Triumph’s Rocket III in the “custom” class have helped overall bike sales for October rise by one per cent compared to October 2003.

This October trail/enduro bike sales were up nine per cent comapred to last October while naked bike sales were up two per cent and supersport sales were up 13% (the R1 remains Britain’s biggest selling bike).

But some segments took a hit, according to latest figures from the Motorcycle Industry Association. Scooters sales in October were down 22% on the previous October and sport/touring sales were down 12 per cent. Touring was down 20 per cent.

If you count the numbers sold in total this year compared to the numbers sold in total to this point last year (the Year-to-date figures) sales of all powered two wheelers are down 12 per cent overall – the same percentage as the fall in the visitor figures to this year’s NEC Show.

Top ten sellers this year so far.

1. Yamaha R1: 2593
2. Honda CBR125R: 1955
3. Honda SCV100 Lead: 1815
4. Honda CBR1000RR: 1786
5. Honda CBR600RR: 1784
6. Suzuki GSX-R600: 1765
7. Piaggio NRG: 1754
8. Suzuki GSX-R1000: 1599
9. Suzuki SV650S: 1541
10. Piaggio NRG: 1494

Craig Carey-Clinch, MCI’s Director of Public Affairs said, “October’s sales figures provide evidence that there is still a strong interest in motorcycling and that the market is attracting people who are interested in a diverse range of bikes.

“The statistics suggest that motorcycling is changing. Manufacturers can be heartened that the public are increasingly looking for choice and variety and are buying bikes from all sectors

“Although year to date registrations are lower than in 2003, the recovery of new motorcycle sales indicates that year-end figures will not be as gloomy as some expected”.