If you have some Continental tires on your motorcycle, you might want to take note of the latest recall to hit our newswires. Affecting 170,000 tires worldwide, Continental says the recall is because some tires have had the tread and belt separate, which could result in the loss of air, and thus cause a crash.
Selling 106,358 motorcycles and maxi-scooters worldwide in 2012, BMW Motorrad had its best 365 days of sales ever last year. A 2% gain over 2011 (104,286 units), the record was punctuated by December’s sales figures, which were up 42.4% over last year, with 6,069 units sold.
Breaking things down, BMW Motorrad’s home market of Germany continues to be the #1 region for the motorcycle brand, with roughly 1 in 5 bikes produced being sold to zie Germans (20,516 units). The United States was the second-largest market with 12,100 units, followed by France (10,950), Italy (10,200), and Brazil (7,7442). Of note, Italy used to be BMW’s second-largest market, but the economic troubles of the Mediterranean states continues to send motorcycle sales in a tailspin.
Honda appears to be the only Japanese OEM making headway in 2012, as Yamaha has reported its sales figures for Q1 2012, and the tuning fork brand is down slightly worldwide, despite being up significantly in North America. Selling 1.599 million units worldwide in the first three months of the year, Yamaha is down 5.3% when compared to the 1.689 million units it sold last year during the same time period.
With most of the lost sales occurring in the Asian markets, Yamaha is blaming the currency exchange and the flooding in Thailand for their effects on its first quarter global sales. However on a smaller front, Yamaha can at least thank the rebounding economy in North America, as domestically the company is up 25% for Q1 2012 — as insignificant to its core business as the North American markets may be.
The untold story of the global economic collapse, Honda was on a worrisome three-year downward spiral during the recession. Posting sales of 453,000, 320,000, & 189,000 powersport units in 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively, Honda’s 2011 fiscal year sales figure of 200,000 units posts a 8.1% gain for the Japanese company, and a new healthier trajectory.
Helping the company turn that corner, Honda has reported that its Q1 2012 (Q4 2011 fiscal) sales were up 39% over last year’s figures. Selling 53,000 powersports models in the last three months, Honda is projecting that its 2012 fiscal year will see 255,000 units in North American.
BMW Motorrad is reporting that worldwide motorcycle sales were up 21% for the first five months of 2010, compared to 2009’s numbers. Sales were up 19.3% for the month of May alone, with 12,139 units sold, making for 45,431 units sold thus far in 2010. The newly revised BMW R1200GS/Adventure models account for 3,705 of the motorcycles sold in May, which is up almost 34% from last year.
While the GS comprises almost a third of BMW’s total sales in May, BMW reported that the F and K series motorcycles also showed strong demand in the month as well. Also making a strong showing is the all new S1000RR superbike, which sold 1,345 units in last month for a total of 5,236 units sold this year so far.