GSX-R tops the charts

Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 has knocked the Honda Fireblade of the top of the sales charts by selling a massive 234 more than the Blade and helping to halt the downturn in Sports bike sales.

The sports bike market has been struggling in the last year. Reduced sales and new competition from naked and Adventure bikes have seen sales fall continuously.

May however saw the first signs of a recovery with sales of sport bikes increasing by 2 percent overall, according to figures from the MCIA, and seven out of the top ten best selling bikes now come from the sector.

Adventure bikes such as the BMW R1200GS are still the strongest growing sector with sales up a further 16 percent in May compared to the same month last year. Naked bikes are up 9 percent and customs are up 8 percent.

The areas that are struggling the most are sports touring and touring, both of which have dropped sales by nearly 25 percent compared to May last year. Scooter sales are also in decline with a 17 percent drop.

Overall sales of new bikes fell by three percent but as reported earlier this year sales of used bikes are booming and the total number of bikes taxed for use on the road in 2004 was up by five percent over 2003, indicating a continued rise in the popularity of biking.