We get it, Honda gets it, but journalists don't.

[DanH]

When I went shopping for a bike 16 months ago; How fast does it go?; was never a consideration. Jackson said 65 MPG and popped the frunk and I was in love. I think Honda got it exactly right.

 

[Mike Cash]

Mike, I appreciate you bringing the 'bash-(north)-America' perspective in. It takes rather a simpleton to think that the people on this continent generally, hold the same opinion as a single magazine writer. I don't believe that you are such a simpleton, but my experience is that they're all over the place, and I expect you're surrounded by that perspective.

So what kind of simpleton thinking would it require to presume that I'm surrounded by people who think the people of an entire continent share the opinion of a single writer? It's rich that you don't see you just did yourself precisely the same thing you take me to task for.

The self-centric attitude of America (I intentionally didn't include the Canadians; if I had meant "North America I would have said North America) is quite evident from posts indicating that apparently "what Americans want" = "what is good for Honda". Anyway, I was born and brought up there and am quite familiar with the general ignorance of and disregard often bordering on disdain toward anything beyond its own borders.

 

[MZ5]

You missed the irony, I guess. Oh, well.

Does a person, or a people, or a country, have a responsibility, in your view, to tell a manufacturer what they think someone _else_ would want? Does saying what one wants, either in word or deed, make one a self-centered jingoist, or just a person? I know you were brought up here; you've said essentially that on the forum before. I, too, have enough time in other countries and cultures to have seen with perfect clarity that Americans are not at the top of the disdainful, jingoist, ignorance list.

 

[nelmo]

I enjoy reading bike magazines but I always take their final conclusions with a pinch of salt...a journo doesn't have to buy the bike with his own money, pay for the petrol, pay for the servicing and rarely gets to keep the bike for more than a few days. They are used to and expect an adrenaline-making, 180mph rocket - they can't always understand anything else.

I'm a bit confused about the comment that Honda have lost their racing mojo - aren't Honda's annihilating the opposition in MotoGP at the moment? Didn't they win another bucket loads of trophies at the TT? The last review I read of the FireBlade was that it was one of the best all-round sports bike available, beaten only by the BMW S1000R?

OK, they're not new bikes but evolution is better than revolution IMO.

 

[HueyFE]

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.’"
Henry Ford

 

[Triumph 'n Shadow]

The world changes constantly and Honda is trying to stay right in the thick of what these new desires are.
Yes, many people in the 35 on up age group (not all mind you) may not like today's line-up as much.
I am in that group.
My main bike for years and still in my garage and one of my favorites is my Honda Shadow 1100.
Many in that age group grew up with a heavy dose of cruisers on the market and enjoy that style.
Honda is working to fill everybody's likes, and not just that age group.
Besides, there is no one "do all" bike.
That is why all the different designs.
My NC fills my commuter and "to the market" needs and my Triumph fills my "weekend getaway" needs.
If you cannot afford several bikes then you will work hard to find the one perfect bike and that is not going to happen.
So, Honda is working to fill all the different desires.
And it must be remembered how different the rest of the world is from the US.
We have a lower price per gallon of fuel than most other, if not all other, countries making economy not as big an issue.
We have wide open highways and logging trails.
We have long mountain ranges and big deserts.
We have big cities and vast expanses of wilderness.
So when we look at what works well here we must remember it might not be best for the next country.
Honda is working to please and sell bikes to everyone without having to manufacture 100 different models.
Take the article for what it is, someone expressing his own feelings, someone who likes a certain bike, and someone trying to sell magazines.

Just some thoughts.

God bless!!

Michael

 

[dmerc]

The journalist is a consummate jingoistic a$$ and has managed to fulfill abroad the "Ugly American" stereotype while seated in the comfort of his own home.

Waxing nostalgic over a $50,000 bike?!?!?

Apparently he fails to realize that a "cult bike" is one that really really really really appealed very strongly to a small handful of people, but not to enough to justify continued use of limited production facilities when they could be used to turn out better selling and more profitable models instead.

He also doesn't seem to realize Honda is a corporation, operated by people with a fiduciary responsibility to the stock holders. If there is more profit to be made by catering to an area which is coming into money and buying more bikes than the we're-the-center-of-the-universe American market, then it is the inescapable DUTY of company directors to actively pursue opportunities in that area.

Honda exists to serve the best interests of Honda stockholders, not some pissy-whiny motorcycle journalist who thinks they ought to operate at a loss to create machines he lusts after but doesn't actually buy anyway.

Get over yourself, North America; you're not the world's most important motorcycle market anymore.

Well said Mike. Also not everyone that drives bikes do it for the thrill. I have always considered my bikes as a cheap way to get from place to place. My NC does this with great competence. These bored journalists need to grow up. Ugly Americans indeed.

 

[Joe A.]

As I approach 60 in a few weeks, it has taken some time for me to accept the fact that I am no longer the bullseye in a marketers demographic target. North America may going through that same process.

BTW, once I accepted that fact, I realized how truly liberating that is. Minimal, if any, "need" for something I don't "need." Target marketing has minimal effect anymore.

 

[itlives]

As I approach 60 in a few weeks, it has taken some time for me to accept the fact that I am no longer the bullseye in a marketers demographic target. North America may going through that same process.

BTW, once I accepted that fact, I realized how truly liberating that is. Minimal, if any, "need" for something I don't "need." Target marketing has minimal effect anymore.

Rolling up on 59 in a couple of months, myself.
Well said. It's nice to be able to ride a bike I love and not worry about what it doesn't do as well as such and such bike does.

 

[kpinvt]

What turned me on to the NC700X was the very positive article in the December 2012 issue of Motorcycle Consumer News. Just about every article I read about the bike after that first one in MCN was pretty negative. I thought at the time all of the writers dissing the bike had completely missed the point of the bike and ignored the fact that the bike is not the latest and greatest new sport bike.

 

[MAJikMARCer]

As someone who only just came into the 'market' a few years ago I don't have all the nostalgia/baggage that the author has about the past. I've been reading and catching up though. Before my NC I had a 35 year old UJM. I've drooled over Ducati design. I've both yearned for and shook my head at sport bikes. Etc.

But to suggest that Honda is doing anything but looking at it's global market is silly. If it's able to be profitable, globally, with it's current lineup, that's it's first priority. Shareholders are it's real customer, not us. Such is the reality of corps.

Even so Honda has a rather diverse lineup of bikes (today). In the last couple of years Honda has brought a lot to the table, including smaller bikes (which were badly missing from the market!) and some interesting concepts that no one else has even been trying. They may not all work or be successful, but they are doing more than anyone else that I can see. Perhaps only the reviving of Triumph is about the only other motorcycle brand I can think of that has really been 'trying' lately.

Lamenting for the bikes of the 70s/80s is fine, but they were not all awesome, there were plenty of turds in there too.

 

[lipsee]

As someone who only just came into the 'market' a few years ago I don't have all the nostalgia/baggage that the author has about the past. I've been reading and catching up though. Before my NC I had a 35 year old UJM. I've drooled over Ducati design. I've both yearned for and shook my head at sport bikes. Etc.

But to suggest that Honda is doing anything but looking at it's global market is silly. If it's able to be profitable, globally, with it's current lineup, that's it's first priority. Shareholders are it's real customer, not us. Such is the reality of corps.

Even so Honda has a rather diverse lineup of bikes (today). In the last couple of years Honda has brought a lot to the table, including smaller bikes (which were badly missing from the market!) and some interesting concepts that no one else has even been trying. They may not all work or be successful, but they are doing more than anyone else that I can see. Perhaps only the reviving of Triumph is about the only other motorcycle brand I can think of that has really been 'trying' lately.

""""""Lamenting for the bikes of the 70s/80s is fine, but they were not all awesome, there were plenty of turds in there too.

"""""" I can vouch for that!!!!!!

 

[John Boy]

Bikes, unfortuanetely don't roll off the production line like people. All different. I think Honda has carved out a standard for reliability, and performance. Face it, you know if you buy a Honda lawnmower, snowblower, generator, weed wacker, boat motor, car, truck or mortorcycle you are getting a quality product. It may not be the craziest, mind blowing ride out there, but it will last forever and perform the way they said it would. If some dumb-a$$ reporter didn't know what he was taking for a ride when he took an NC out, he didn't read the brochure. If he doesn't look at the demographics of a nation and see that the people with the money to buy extra's like bikes are getting older than they used to be and may not want a "rocket," he's out of touch. I am thrilled that Honda built a bike that is what I had been waiting for, a very useful mix of sport, and cruiser. I have a hard time believing a global business as well established as Honda would make a massive marketing error like that journalist is alluding too, they don't make mistakes like that. If they did we could call them GM (no offense to all you GM lovers) and the Government would be bailing them out...again.

 

[Fred Harper]

I can't have an opinion on this because if I like something Honda makes, they stop!

 

[Madison Sully]

I can't have an opinion on this because if I like something Honda makes, they stop!

So basically, you have a positive opinion about your NC700, voiced it, and *POOF*, they don't make it anymore.

 

[Hank]

I get that the 1300 is gone, but the updated liter bike, Goldwing, Africa Twin, and 450 street legal seem to cover most of the bases.
All motorcycle brands are struggling in the U.S. market, and the U.S market is tiny for Honda.

 

[Janus]

I get that the 1300 is gone, but the updated liter bike, Goldwing, Africa Twin, and 450 street legal seem to cover most of the bases.
All motorcycle brands are struggling in the U.S. market, and the U.S market is tiny for Honda.

I just wish we could get a shaft-driven midsize upright sport-tourer with long suspension travel. Is that so much to ask for?

 

[alloo66]

Well I don't think it's Honda Japan, I do think that it's Honda USA that doesn't import/distribute the bikes that we want. I want a Honda Scooter replacement, but no Honda Forza 300, No Honda SH300i, No Honda Integra, and No Honda X-ADV. What gives American Honda Powersports? Sales figures, poor coverage on new bike introductions, and maximizing profits. The US no longer is the largest motorcycle/automobile market in the world. The world has moved on and the US hasn't. Or US marketing hasn't been innovative in motorcycling.

 

[b_rubenstein]

According to Honda's annual financial reports, the NA Honda Powersports division is a money looser. Honda USA probably doesn't get much say over what models they get to import. The certification costs to get a model approved for sale in the US, product support, etc., are high enough that they won't risk bringing in product that may not sell well. They know they have a good market here for Goldwings, so they put money into it. Other models, not so much. It was just a couple of years ago that they introduced the 500 & 300 Bobber bikes. Ever see one here in the wild? Their primary bike market is Asia and that's where they put their resources.

 

[dduelin]

According to Honda's annual financial reports, the NA Honda Powersports division is a money looser. Honda USA probably doesn't get much say over what models they get to import. The certification costs to get a model approved for sale in the US, product support, etc., are high enough that they won't risk bringing in product that may not sell well. They know they have a good market here for Goldwings, so they put money into it. Other models, not so much. It was just a couple of years ago that they introduced the 500 & 300 Bobber bikes. Ever see one here in the wild? Their primary bike market is Asia and that's where they put their resources.

I see 300/500 Bobbers in the wild and according to the dealer I frequent they do sell well here, outselling the upright standard versions of the 500s by at least 3 to 1.