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<blockquote data-quote="porscheguy" data-source="post: 1280340" data-attributes="member: 2890">From the mid 80s until 7-10 years ago HD essentially had a license to print money.&nbsp; And they squandered it.&nbsp; I sold all the big Japanese brands back in ‘04 and we made money hand over fist, but we still had to deal with customers.&nbsp; At the HD dealer, you wanted a bike you paid sticker and waited 6 months.&nbsp; You wanted to haggle?&nbsp; Take a hike.&nbsp; But to give an idea of how things have changed, back in ‘04 the jap dealer I was at sold close to 200 units per month.&nbsp; That was jet skis, atvs, dirt bikes, road bikes, and generators.&nbsp; The same place now only moves 30-45 units per month.&nbsp; There are 3 major issues.1.&nbsp; Soy.&nbsp; Young people aren’t interested in buying cars these days, much less bikes.&nbsp; 2.&nbsp; Lack of disposable income.&nbsp; You can’t buy a motorcycle when you’re paying off $200k in student loans for a degree in artisanal tea brewing that seemed like a great investment back in 2005.3.&nbsp; Price of the product.&nbsp; In ‘02 I bought a Kawasaki zx6r (the top of the line 600cc race bike replica) brand new for $7200.&nbsp; I believe the price has more than doubled now.&nbsp; You can walk into many jap bike dealers these days and find brand new 2017 inventory, and occasionally 2016.Boats and RVs are doing better because they appeal to an older market and they’re more versatile and family friendly.&nbsp; Also worth mentioning is the boat market has many low volume manufacturers.&nbsp; One of the best selling brands is sea hunt.&nbsp; They sell 2400 boats per year.&nbsp; The company only employs 200-300 people.&nbsp; But even so, the boat industry was cut in half in ‘91, and again in ‘08/‘09.&nbsp; But due to the nature of boat manufacturing, it’s an industry that can adapt.But the fact is, unless something changes, from here on out, you’ll see less and less recreational toys each year.What is really concerning is that 7 year car loans are becoming increasingly common and repossessions are increasing every day.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="porscheguy, post: 1280340, member: 2890"] From the mid 80s until 7-10 years ago HD essentially had a license to print money. And they squandered it. I sold all the big Japanese brands back in ‘04 and we made money hand over fist, but we still had to deal with customers. At the HD dealer, you wanted a bike you paid sticker and waited 6 months. You wanted to haggle? Take a hike. But to give an idea of how things have changed, back in ‘04 the jap dealer I was at sold close to 200 units per month. That was jet skis, atvs, dirt bikes, road bikes, and generators. The same place now only moves 30-45 units per month. There are 3 major issues. 1. Soy. Young people aren’t interested in buying cars these days, much less bikes. 2. Lack of disposable income. You can’t buy a motorcycle when you’re paying off $200k in student loans for a degree in artisanal tea brewing that seemed like a great investment back in 2005. 3. Price of the product. In ‘02 I bought a Kawasaki zx6r (the top of the line 600cc race bike replica) brand new for $7200. I believe the price has more than doubled now. You can walk into many jap bike dealers these days and find brand new 2017 inventory, and occasionally 2016. Boats and RVs are doing better because they appeal to an older market and they’re more versatile and family friendly. Also worth mentioning is the boat market has many low volume manufacturers. One of the best selling brands is sea hunt. They sell 2400 boats per year. The company only employs 200-300 people. But even so, the boat industry was cut in half in ‘91, and again in ‘08/‘09. But due to the nature of boat manufacturing, it’s an industry that can adapt. But the fact is, unless something changes, from here on out, you’ll see less and less recreational toys each year. What is really concerning is that 7 year car loans are becoming increasingly common and repossessions are increasing every day. [/QUOTE]

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