400cc Sport Bike Market Demand?

[*gSTP*]

Is there a gap in the market when it comes to sport bikes in North America at the 400cc engine size? Is there enough market demand?

*gSTP*

[HunGJaI]

I believe this topic has already been covered before...

Search button...please...

Unless I'm wrong...then carry on.

*Found it*

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...ighlight=400CC

[highspeedwobble]

Demand for 400's maybe, but the manufacturers will likely never import them due to them being nearly the cost of a 600 (that comes from a national m/c manager). Maybe one of the big four will take a chance, honda did do well launching a 250 no one said would sell.

[TorontoBoy]

For the street there's very little between 250ccs and 600ccs. Vulcan 500 cruiser, some motards. There's a huge gap in the market for all street bikes.

[DemonPig]

It's all Americans' fault. They think bigger's better. European and Japanese markets are much better.
I for one wouldn't mind having a nice little 400 for those tight turns and then a large sport touring for longer trips.
Right now there's CBR125 representing the smallest class, Ninja 250 and Hyosung 250, then GS500 and that's it for smaller displacement sport bikes with Ninja 500 being discontinued. Pretty sad, considering that half the people who buy 600SS and the litre bikes are just compensating.

TorontoBoy - Vulcan 500 is discontinued, too btw.

[Pocket]

If I could afford it I'd be down for a race oriented 400

[knowledge]

If you're really intested, there's this one too: http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...inja+250+sport

Check the later pages, 'cause that's when the 400 gets discussed...but your question gets answered there

[Brian P]

I my FZR400's. Both of them!

[TwistedKestrel]

I dunno, I think we're pretty much at the point where the market would accept a 600 with a motor sleeved down to 400cc just for insurance purposes. I don't really think a ground-up 400cc design would result in much weight savings these days.

[CruisnGrrl]

I dunno, I think we're pretty much at the point where the market would accept a 600 with a motor sleeved down to 400cc just for insurance purposes. I don't really think a ground-up 400cc design would result in much weight savings these days.

How hard would a motor like that be to upgrade to a 600 when the person was ready?

[Metastable]

The nice thing about the 400s is the size. I'd love to have a little bike with decent performance. However, it is true.... 4 cylinders, inverted forks etc etc.... and the price point would be high. Now the question is more like.... would people be willing to pay nearly the same amount for a 400cc bike as they would for a 600?

[TorontoBoy]

Would insurance companies provide cheaper insurance for a 400cc bike than a 600? Insurance in the long run is more costly than the initial purchase price.

[TwistedKestrel]

How hard would a motor like that be to upgrade to a 600 when the person was ready?

The way I'm thinking of, basically impossible / not worth it. If it was possible, I don't think insurance companies would go along with it unless there was a system where you couldn't increase the engine size without them knowing about it.

[CruisnGrrl]

The way I'm thinking of, basically impossible / not worth it. If it was possible, I don't think insurance companies would go along with it unless there was a system where you couldn't increase the engine size without them knowing about it.

Well the way I understand it many 650 and 750 engines are the same except for a few parts might be that way for 600-750 too. while cost prohibitive to do for the sake of doing, if you're cracking open the engine anyways......

[RetroGrouch]

Unless the government forces new riders to start on smaller bikes, there will never be a viable market for 400cc sportbikes in Canada. If you really want one, grey market imports are your best solution.

[Morrissey]

It is sad that there aren't more motorcycles out there to fill this gap and its even sadder that the ones we do get here are old designs or boring designs that have little chance of success.

Lets face it, you can't use a large portion of the performance of a modern 600cc+ ss bike on the street, yet every year we get a new crop of lighter, faster, more expensive 600cc+ ss bikes to ride on the "street". I personally would love to see modern, well equipped mid size (250cc-500cc) motorcycles hit our showroom floors and I honestly believe we would all have more fun riding them. I personally have a lot more fun riding a smaller bike I can flog, and feels like I should be arrested, only to look down and realize I am riding at semi-legal speeds than to be rolling along on the latest 600cc+ bike feeling like I'm crawling only to look down and realize I am doing 100km/h+.

The problem is the North American "bigger is better" montra. We seem to want large vehicles with large engines with large HP. The problem is that A) they come with LARGE price tags and B) you can't use most of the power on the street without getting arrested. The motorcycle manufacturers have been more than happy to oblige us and send us what we want. The few mid size bikes we do get don't mesure up. The GS 500 which can be a real hoot to ride (as long as you don't look at the speedo) is a 20yr old design! Outfit that bike with FI, adjustable suspension and wider tires to accept a better selection of rubber and you've got a bike that will make you smile ear to ear all day long and probably keep your license intact in the process! Same goes for the "new" ninja 250. Very stylish bike, but they don't send us the FI to cut the cost. No reason an experienced rider can't buy the FI bike and have a lot of fun for years on a bike like that, especially if the after market steps up with some suspension goodies etc.

[Morrissey]

The same thing is happening with cruiser motorcycles. Back in '98 when I bought my Virago 1100cc, it was one of the biggest cruisers out there! There was only the Suzuki Intruder 1400cc, Goldwing/Valkarie 1500cc, and Harley 1340cc that were bigger, and the Harley was the slowest of the bunch! Honda had their Shadow 1100 too. There were mid size options too. There were a couple of 250cc options then, Virago 250, Rebel 250. There were slightly larger bikes, the Virago 535, Vulcan 500, the Honda VLX600 and Suzuki Savage 650. Then there were the middle weights, Vulcan 800, Shadow 750, Virago 750, Intruder 800. Back then an 1100 was considered a BIG cruiser.

Now, my 1100 is getting called a "middle weight" due to the influx of bloated big displacement cruisers. Yamaha intro'd their 1600 Road/Royal Stars, Kawi brought out a 1500 vulcan that has now ballooned into a 1700, Honda brought out the big guns with the VTX1800 and later the more reasonable VTX 1300, Kawi fired back with 2000cc Vulcan that really didn't do that well. Meanwhile, the smaller bikes were getting bigger. Kawi's 800 has grown into a 900, Suzuki is holding firm with their 800 line, Yamaha brought out their Vstar 950 and Vstar 1300 which to me signals the eventual demise of the Vstar 1100. Honda dropped the Shadow 1100 line. Kawasaki has dropped their Vulcan 500.

So now getting into cruisers is tough and intimidating for new or smaller riders. There is little selection in the small cruiser market. The Virago/Vstar 250 is still there as is the Rebel 250 and Marauder 250, none of which have been updated for almost 20yrs. Then there is the Savage 650 (20yr old design) and the Vstar 650 which is well over 10 yrs old now. Then there is the Shadow 750. Not much selection in the small and middle weight cruiser market either.

[silent_vik]

I would buy a new 400cc sport bike. I have a 250 right now. 400cc to me is the best logical 'upgrade' and would be the best bike for the street IMO. but thats just me.

the only reason im not getting a grey import 400 is because i just cant trust that old machinery. theres bound to be someting wrong with it and since im not mechanically inclined to fix the bikes, it would cost a fortune getting anything fixed on these bikes not to mention the wait time it would take to get the parts.

maybe someday one of the bike company realizes this and brings a 400cc back. i bet they would make a killing.


.

[TorontoBoy]

Buy bigger than you need, pay more than you want, insurance costs more than it should, ride faster than you intend. Does this make any sense?

Get the right bike for your needs and not bigger. Pay less in most aspects of riding (excluding gear), making motorcycling more affordable.

Bikes in the 400cc class would suit most of us. I'm sure many riders are riding Ninja 250s instead.

I'm sorry to hear the Vulcan 500 was discontinued for 2010. Maybe they'll bring it back. Honda would be hopeless, but they did offer the CBR125 here, so there's still hope.

[zacm7]

bring back the 2 strokes and im in.