Suzuki

Suzuki first half unit sales down -11 percent in Europe

Suzuki has reported results for the first six months of its 2016 – 2017 financial year (the period to September 30, 2016) that show global net sales from motorcycles of 93,521m yen, which is down substantially from the 123,334m yen reported for the year-ago period; but the company has achieved a reduced loss of -667m yen for the first six months of 2016, compared to 1,211m yen for the year-ago period.

In unit terms Suzuki reports 499,000 units sold worldwide in the first six months, down from 529,000 units in the comparable year-ago period. Some 24,000 of those were sold in Europe (11.11 percent compared to 27,000 in 2015) and 10,000 in the United States (down by - 59 percent from 17,000 units in the first six months of 2015).
Unit sales in its domestic Japanese market remained stable at around 31,000 units; sales elsewhere in Asia were modestly down at 354,000 units, from 355,000 in 2015.
Total corporate consolidated net sales (automotive, motorcycle, marine and power products) were 1,498,956m yen, down by 56,566m yen (-3.6 percent) from the 1,555,522m yen recorded for the year-ago period.

In&motion

Airbag vest to get 1m km consumer testing?

Following the news last month about French designer In&motion’s introduction of what is claimed to be the first autonomous airbag vest and their link-up with French apparel maker IXON, the company says it is now ready to embark on the next stage of product development.
In a bold but creative move the company is giving its airbag vest to a cross-section of 500 riders across Europe, so that real-world usage data and feedback can be used to inform final commercial launch version product specification and manufacturing decisions.
Termed their “Airbag Revolution Campaign”, the ergonomic airbag vest is designed to be worn under any type of jacket and is a totally autonomous system (no cable nor captor on the motorbike needed) and features an integrated, certified back protector.

CEO Rémi Thomas said that “thanks to the experience acquired over the last years, we’ve already developed an alpha version of the airbag for motorcycles users. In the meantime, we’ve been working with several experts to endorse the proposed solution.
“However, as with our previous projects, we really want to integrate ideas, comments and suggestions from our future users. The goal is to offer a product conceived for and by bikers by having the 500 selected riders involved”.

The 500 selected riders will receive the In&motion airbag in spring 2017 and will be able to use it for 180 days. Online registration of the interested riders will take place until January 16th.
“Our secret goal is to have the 500 cover more than one million kilometres to give us the best possible sample of use conditions and duration.

www.airbagrevolution.com

Austrian motorcycle registrations

Austrian motorcycle registrations +5.59 percent for first nine months of 2016

The latest data released by the motorcycle trade association in Austria (arge2Rad) shows registrations of new motorcycles of over 125cc up by 15.94 percent in the third quarter of 2016 at 3,266 units, and up by +5.59 percent for the first nine months of the year at 12,176 units – continuing the start of market recovery in Austria that was first seen in the final quarter of 2015.
In total powered two-wheeler terms, registrations were up by +7.55 percent for the second quarter of the year in Austria, at 17,260 units, and are +5.20 percent (37,652 units) for the first nine months of the year.
Not surprisingly, KTM is Austrian market leader (in its home market), having sold 3,308 motorcycles in the first nine months of 2016 (+4.78 percent). Second was Honda (2,867/+0.49 percent); Yamaha third (2,499/+6.57 percent); BMW fourth (1,711 units/+7.41 percent) and Aprilia fifth (1,566 units/+1.89 percent).

www.arge2rad.at

Airsal

Airsal to launch new advanced-tech off-road cylinder programme

Early 2017 will see Spanish small cc motorcycle, scooter and moped engine, cylinder, piston and engine heads manufacturer Airsal launch a new range of off-road cylinders for leading brands such as KTM, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Gas Gas.

The cast cylinders and CNC precision machined

The cylinders are traditionally hand cast

Founded in 1986, Airsal manufacture some 15,000 to 16,000 cylinders a month at the 3,000 sqm Centelles, Barcelona facility they moved to in 1999, and export to more than 30 countries worldwide. Their cylinders are made in aluminium with Scanimet interior coating - an extremely hard, durable and heat resistant, high performance nickel-silicon carbide (carborundum) proprietary technology.

Extensive quality control testing

Airsal’s new off-road cylinders (including for KTM 250cc engines as seen here) feature their proprietary Scanimet internal coating – a high performance, durable and heat reistant nickel-silicon carbide (carborundum) technology

IDN met with Airsal’s Export Sales Manager Frank Gali on the Mandelli booth at EICMA (their Italian distributor). Frank told us that “the new line will include a huge range of 250cc 4-stroke models and we are already working on an upgrade to our new 2017 catalogue with options for 450cc models and 2-strokes…we plan to be offering more than 30 different off-road engine cylinder options within the next 2-3 years”.

AIRSAL
www.airsal.com

Dutch motorcycle registration

Dutch motorcycle registration at highest level since 2009

The latest data released by BOVAG/RAI/RDC (the Dutch motorcycle industry trade association consortium) shows that motorcycle registrations in the Netherlands were +9.9 percent (11,878 units) for the first 10 months of 2016 – more than 1,000 units up on the same period of 2015.
In fact, after 10 months, 2016 has already seen more new motorcycles sold there than was the case for the full year in 2015.
By way of comparative reference, in 2009 the number of new motorcycles sold in the Netherlands was 14,790, while the average market total in the 15 years before was almost 17,000 units per year.
In 2013, motorcycle sales reached an all-time low of 9,335 units, but since then the market is growing, with an approximately 1,000 units, or 10 percent a year growth rate.
This year has seen BMW’s traditional grip on the Dutch market challenged – with Yamaha taking over market leadership after the first 10 months with 1,794 units sold, an increase of around 9 percent year-on-year.
BMW is second with 1,756 units (+2.3 percent); Kawasaki third (1,460 units, +18.9 percent); Honda fourth (1,438 units, +29.8 percent) and Suzuki fifth (1,158 units, +2.8 per cent).
As at November 1st 2016, the total number of motorcycles registered for road use in the Netherlands (the total “bike park”) stood at a record number of 720,889 motorcycles. That is nearly 4,000 units more than a year ago, more than twice as many as 20 years ago (335,000) and almost six times as many as in 1986, when the Netherlands had just 124,000 motorcycles.
In the last 30 years it is not just the numbers of motorcycles on the road in the Netherlands that has changed out of all recognition. A very high proportion of the motorcycles on the road there in the 1980s were either small cc machines such as mopeds and scooters (especially following a 1960s scooter boom there) and, still, restored WL45 unused war surplus Harley-Davidsons (“Liberators”) that were “liberated” from the Antwerp docks in Belgium in the summer of 1945 after WWII had ended, before they had seen active service!

Dutch ‘Bike Park’

• 1976: 68,700
• 1986: 124, 000
• 1996: 335, 000
• 2006: 616,282
• 2016: 720 889*

*As at 1-11-16

Japanese made motorcycle exports

Japanese made motorcycle exports to Europe +17.59 percent for first nine months of 2016

The latest data released by JAMA (the automotive trade association in Japan, which includes representation of motorcycle manufacturers among its membership) shows exports of 250cc+ Japanese made motorcycles to Europe up by +6.98 percent in September (7,265 units), having been down by -11.98 percent in June, and up by +17.59 percent for the first nine months of 2016 (125,750 units).

This is the best first nine-month performance since 2009. For the full year 2015, European motorcycle imports from Japan were down by -3.65 percent at some 151,000 units.
Japanese manufactured total PTW exports to Europe were -2.69 percent in September at 19,214 units, having been -12.95 percent in August. They are running at +15.98 percent for the first nine months of 2016 at 139,969 units in total – the best first nine months for Japanese made PTW exports to Europe since 2010.
Motorcycle shipments from Japan to the USA were -35.59 percent in September (5,133 units) and are -33.77 percent for the year-to-date at 50,899 units; worldwide Japanese made motorcycle exports were -9.47 percent in July (17,146 units), but are +3.36 percent for the year-to-date (196,777 units).
Total worldwide Japanese manufactured PTW exports are -1.10 percent for the first nine months of 2016 at 303,318 units – their lowest in the 21st century, having peaked at 1.641m units in 2000.
The increasing number of units being made by the Japanese manufacturers elsewhere in Asia, the US and South/Central America goes some way to explaining the data, although the majority of higher value, larger displacement Japanese brand machines, especially those being sold in Europe, are still made in Japan.
Their overseas factories are primarily engaged in making and selling scooters and smaller capacity units in 'emerging' markets (where import tariffs are high) and in making ATV/UTV units - especially in the United States, where demand for such machines is strongest.

Wunderlich

Wunderlich’s ‘Digimoto’

“Futuristic, but still traditional, minimalistic, but still extraordinary” is how German BMW parts and accessory specialist Wunderlich describes its latest concept bike. ‘Digimoto’ is a sneak-peak into one possible version of the future. 

Conceived in collaboration with Munich based designer Christian Zanzotti, with concept and virtual reality prototyping by Gray Development, ‘Digimoto’ may never roll off a production line near you any time soon, but that’s not the point.
The point has been to demonstrate one version of a possible riding future where electronics have taken complete control of the two-wheel experience.
Unveiled at ‘INTERMOT Customized’ in October, ‘Digimoto’ is a BMW R 1200 R, but not as we know it (Jim!) – we’ll let Wunderlich tell you the story themselves. “Completely assembled in a state-of-the-art manufacturing technique, based on a radically scaled frame of the BMW Roadster, plus the Boxer engine. Traditional handcraft techniques, such as sharpening of raw aluminium, complement the whole production process.

“The sensor panel of the Digimoto-bike is a complete novelty. The panel exists of various sensors and cameras, which send information in real-time to the visor of the rider. This visualisation of all information relevant to the rider allows a complete elimination of all display elements on the bike, resulting in a unique and simple design of the motorbike.
“The sensor panel effectively replaces and eliminates the need for any kind of instrumentation. Made up of sensors and cameras that send real-time information to the helmet  visor (heads-up-display technology), the rider is able to assimilate, visualise and respond without engaging with conventional controls - in fact the bike's information, command and control systems will make all the riding decisions itself, responding instantly to the environment, traffic conditions, speed limits, dangers and opportunities.
“Wunderlich was responsible for the technical realisation of this project. The experience of more than three decades of development work allowed the Wunderlich technicians to create a futuristic and ridable motorcycle out of a revolutionary vision”.

www.wunderlich.de