+1
None of these new bikes are going to bring back the British motorbike industry, nor are they anything to really do with the old bikes. It's just a nostalgia cash-in.
the Hesketh
- Thread starter CafeRay
- Start date
+1
None of these new bikes are going to bring back the British motorbike industry, nor are they anything to really do with the old bikes. It's just a nostalgia cash-in.
Vincent is back in a extremely limited capacity, Brough has seen a limited production run, Egli is a dominant force and Harris is building frames.
The second coming of Christ is more likely t happen before a British motorcycle industry ever re emerges as we remember it.
But thats not what this stuff is about, Hesketh had headquarters in some 40,000 sq ft manor on a huge estate. He has bags of money, and interesting style and likes to indulge his interests. Wish there was more like him, the sport would be way more fun than 3 real manufactures in GP
The second coming of Christ is more likely t happen before a British motorcycle industry ever re emerges as we remember it.
But thats not what this stuff is about, Hesketh had headquarters in some 40,000 sq ft manor on a huge estate. He has bags of money, and interesting style and likes to indulge his interests. Wish there was more like him, the sport would be way more fun than 3 real manufactures in GP
Who wants leaky engines and crap electricals to return? The British bike industry went broke because people were fed up with walking home.
Triumph did it right, but they basically made a Japanese bike in England.
M
Marinoni
Guest
wonder how the italians managed to keep their mcycle industry alive while building bikes at least as crappy (many would argue even crappier) than the brits ?
Government bailouts for the most part. The Italian government took over Ducati/Cagiva for a while. Many Italian brands are gone, Laverda, Morini, etc. Benelli essentially sold the name to Asia. Others got bought out and flipped many many times by larger groups. Internal sales in Italy were very high. Tariffs were high on Japanese bikes in Italy.
The question is how many current Italian manufacturers will survive much longer given that they chose to focus on the high priced end of the market, in a tanked Euro and US economy, and with global sales still way down since 2008.
The Italian manufacturers slipped through by the skin of their teeth, with lots of bailouts and ownership changes, but at this point I think the main European brands (BMW, Triumph, KTM, Ducati) will do okay for themselves. If anything, they've been seeing sales at least hold steady and in some cases increase market share while the Japanese have been stagnating or falling back. Yes, I realize that there are issues in the Italian home market right now, but Ducati sell a lot more bikes in North America now than they did 20 years ago. With Ducati now under the ownership of the VW Group, they have access to technology and resources that they would never have had before.
The smaller manufacturers are anyone's guess. Buyouts are quite possible.
As far as going after the high end of the market ... It's easier to make a high-priced niche market model and make money, than it is to make a mass-market low-priced model and make money. Same thing with bikes as it is with cars. There's a reason Tesla started off making electric cars in the $100,000 price range. The trick is to build a vehicle that the rich folks gotta have, but NOT build too many of them (flooding the market), in the interest of keeping transaction prices high.
So, does the Hesketh that is the subject of this thread have the "gotta have it" factor? I'm thinking "no". Ducati had a sense of legitimacy with their roadracing involvement. Same with MV Agusta. KTM had legitimacy because of their off-road racing (and they have since moved into other areas). What's the "gotta have it" factor with the Hesketh? I don't see it.
The smaller manufacturers are anyone's guess. Buyouts are quite possible.
As far as going after the high end of the market ... It's easier to make a high-priced niche market model and make money, than it is to make a mass-market low-priced model and make money. Same thing with bikes as it is with cars. There's a reason Tesla started off making electric cars in the $100,000 price range. The trick is to build a vehicle that the rich folks gotta have, but NOT build too many of them (flooding the market), in the interest of keeping transaction prices high.
So, does the Hesketh that is the subject of this thread have the "gotta have it" factor? I'm thinking "no". Ducati had a sense of legitimacy with their roadracing involvement. Same with MV Agusta. KTM had legitimacy because of their off-road racing (and they have since moved into other areas). What's the "gotta have it" factor with the Hesketh? I don't see it.
I think you might be overlooking the ridiculous number of govn't bailouts thrown at the British motorcycle industry and appointments of directors that bled the factories dry. Guys getting CEO jobs based on "station in life" not actual turnaround experience. And then we get the unions.
Blend that with the notion that nobody will ever need much beyond a vertical twin of 650/850cc and its served the empire well, so the rest of the world will need to follow us.
Then the Japanese showed up with a 4cyl and we know the rest.
The Italian industry had several nationalized manufacturers saved by the govnt, but more to the point when they realized they couldnt make it in a global market some of them let it go and concentrated on other industry, Laverda builds farm equipment MV builds helicopters (that gives them motorbike money). Morini and Benelli let it go.
Guzzi made a big stride building police bikes, gave them production in the dark days.
The italian boutique build will IMHO continue for years, they are expensive, sort of exclusive and have a style. Its not for everyone clearly, but thats ok.
They have better US sales, but the reality is they are all losing money right now. Ducati can ride it out. KTM is building cheaper bikes in Malaysia. It's easier to build expensive bikes, but the demand is not there, and there are too many pricey bikes that are more or less the same. Even in Japan, sales have tanked because motorbikes are just not desired by 18-25ers.
cknowles
Well-known member
Does nobody remember this?
I think they ran out of money back then?
Kind of reminds me of this
kruzuki
Well-known member
Does nobody remember this?
I think they ran out of money back then?
See post #12
Does nobody remember this?
I think they ran out of money back then?
More like they ran out of ugly.
The old Hesketh bike was no big deal, just expensive and exclusive.
Here's the story:
http://www.odd-bike.com/2012/11/hesketh-v1000-immortal-aristocratic.html
They went broke in 1982 after selling 139 bikes (to Teddy's friends).
They came back, went broke again in 1984 after selling 40 bikes. Small wonder:
At that point, Teddy Hesketh gave up.
But, it just would not die, someone else bought the brand, and made the Vortan
Went broke AGAIN. Then someone else bought the brand , again, and re-released the original V1000 (hoping to build on sales of 139????)
And this is yet another attempt to sell more than 140 bikes.
This is a bunch of wealthy men burning money.
Here's the story:
http://www.odd-bike.com/2012/11/hesketh-v1000-immortal-aristocratic.html
They went broke in 1982 after selling 139 bikes (to Teddy's friends).
They came back, went broke again in 1984 after selling 40 bikes. Small wonder:
At that point, Teddy Hesketh gave up.
But, it just would not die, someone else bought the brand, and made the Vortan
Went broke AGAIN. Then someone else bought the brand , again, and re-released the original V1000 (hoping to build on sales of 139????)
And this is yet another attempt to sell more than 140 bikes.
This is a bunch of wealthy men burning money.
-D-
Banned
I like the look of this one.
I wonder how much the originals war worth now???
I wonder how much the originals war worth now???
The old Hesketh bike was no big deal, just expensive and exclusive.
Here's the story:
http://www.odd-bike.com/2012/11/hesketh-v1000-immortal-aristocratic.html
They went broke in 1982 after selling 139 bikes (to Teddy's friends).
They came back, went broke again in 1984 after selling 40 bikes. Small wonder:
At that point, Teddy Hesketh gave up.
But, it just would not die, someone else bought the brand, and made the Vortan
Went broke AGAIN. Then someone else bought the brand , again, and re-released the original V1000 (hoping to build on sales of 139????)
And this is yet another attempt to sell more than 140 bikes.
This is a bunch of wealthy men burning money.
The last couple Hesketh to come to market sold in the 28-30k CDN range. Its a fair bit of cash for a V1000 odd duck, but there aren't that many of them around. There is a large owners group with a great source for spare parts and restoration help.
