The internationally respected Swiss-Moto Expo will again be taking place at Messe Zurich over the weekend of February 19 to 22, as the event returns for a 12th year.
The annual event will showcase the latest developments and new motorcycles and scooter models alongside clothing and accessories, with over 400 brands represented, and a custom motorcycle show.
Among the manufacturers exhibiting new models at Swiss-Moto will be Aprilia, with their latest RSV4 RR; BMW, with the S 1000 RR; Ducati will have its Panigale 1299 on show; Honda is showing the all-new Honda RC 213 VS; Kawasaki their H2 and the new Yamaha R1.
Other motorcycle manufacturers that will be present include Royal Enfield, Harley-Davidson, Husqvarna, Indian and Victory, KTM, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, Suzuki and Triumph. There will also be scooters from the likes of Kymco, Piaggio and Vespa, and attractions at the show will include a display of drag bikes featuring a jet bike and a rocket bike, while Swiss professional drag racer Urs Erbacher will be doing live displays.
A further highlight will be the European debut of Rocky Robinson’s ‘Top 1 Ack Attack Streamliner’, the fastest motorcycle in the world, which used two turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa engines to power it to its record 605.7kmh at Bonneville.
Returning for a third year, Swiss Custom throws the spotlight on the fast growing custom motorcycle market in Switzerland.
Indeed, all aspect of the motorcycle market have been "fast growing" in Switzerland in recent years.
The number of motorcycles on the road in Switzerland has nearly doubled since 1990, from 286,000 to nearly 414,000 in 2013; at the same time, while the number of small cc PTWs has declined, the number of scooters has grown from little more than 10,000 to nearly 275,000.
The story of the motorcycle market in Switzerland is one of high levels of ownership on a per capita basis (by 2010, 69 percent of all households owned at least one motorcycle) and of a market transitioning towards higher value machines with a matching increase in parts, accessory and apparel investments by Switzerland's riding community.
In 2014 the market is said to have been worth some 44,724 PTWs of all styles/displacements (up 1.1 percent over 2013), with Yamaha as the best selling brand, Honda second, BMW third and Harley-Davidson fourth.
In motorcycle terms, the market was up by nearly 8 percent on 2013, at 23,341 units, with Harley-Davidson as market share leader from Yamaha, BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM and Ducati.
The top selling motorcycle in Switzerland in 2014 was the BMW R 1200 GS, followed by Yamaha's MT09, their MT07 and the H-D Breakout.
Of the 23,341 motorcycles sold in Switzerland in 2014, 9,231 were over 1,000cc and a further 6,113 were between 501-1,000cc.
www.swiss-moto.ch
