Is mega frustrating to have purchased a new bike to have the dealership vanish after purchase. (I very much also feel for the staff in those circumstances too), I'd no way have gotten my Yamaha had I known what was going to happen to the dealership, which was 5min away by bike, now the nearest is 2hrs away, which is TBH way too far for convienient servicing. If manufacturers can't support our local dealerships, they need to support the customers and allow home servicing and the ability to reset service lights etc while maintaining warranties like they do in the USA.
Hey! Please call yourself Captain Cornwall. Although it's good to be self deprecating, "clumsy" is unnecessary and untrue. Shocking what's happening in the UK. In Spain things are going ok. May be a market reajustment...hope things improve.
Aww thanks for the kind words. Most appreciated. There is however a point to the whole Captain Clumsy moniker, which is my Mantra 'If I can do it, ANYONE Can! The idea being to encourage more folks into doing their own stuff with a bike, because if someone like me who is clumsy (genuinely) can do it, then you could too. Don't get me wrong, I'm no idiot and have some some quite rare skills other people don't have. But they aren't particularly useful with bikes. 😎 I perhaps should do a video on why that is. Thanks for getting my thought processes ticking over...
The motorcycle industry has been over extending itself for a long time. Same with cars and motorhomes. It was inevitable this was going to happen. Every year they try to sell me a bike as better / improved whatever to tell me ten months later a better / improved bike is coming. You can point your finger in twenty directions within the industry and find questionable aspects. See through the brand loyalty as is being highlighted currently, and you realise why this is happening.
Most of the dealers that have closed are in car dealership groups and selling new cars is akin to owning a football club if you wish to lose money. The whole electric car fiasco has hit the dealers hard and their motorcycle outlets are just colateral damage. Harley Davidson have been badly hit, as they act like a car manufacturer and have forgotten that the dealers are their customers.
Some of the problems with these big dealers is they've spent small fortunes on fancy looking corporate looking branded showrooms. Some even employed the fluffers who book you in for service, but know nothing about bikes. My local Pidcocks Triumph Nottingham used to have a nice small friendly dealership 10 years ago. They then built a magnificent looking glass marvel with big cafe. Now they're gone. Come hard times, big overheads and out of business. This is how a free market economy works. The strong financial stable businesses survive the hard times, weaker ones fail. The bonus of living in Central England for us, is most dealers are within reach. Cornwall you will have a longer ride for dealer support
@@WyreForestBiker and @Banditmanuk both spot on. It's been a Bubble a bit like the South Seas one of 100s of years ago. That has now burst. One commenter has said I'm over-complicating it. Actually I think the reverse is true. There is a lot going on under the corporate hood we don't know about. Take the Guys who run Marsh Holdings (or ran it) as far as I can see, they have a purely car background, so probably applied the same tactics to motorcycles. Hey ho. The actual sales aren't THAT bad.
Strange times. Often the issues are at the top from my experience. Bad business decisions and not doing what the market demands and now managers need to be at the top of their game.
Good point, but actually the case is a bit more complicated than even I put it here. Remember, this is just a short YT vid, if I put too much info in peoples attention really drifts away.
@ Thanks for the response. For many years, fewer and fewer young people have taken up motorcycling (as we have known it). 50cc sales, once a mainstay for smaller dealers, are just about non existent. The consequence of this is now beginning to materialise as a lack of customers for all petrol motorcycle sales. However, if you venture into any major city, you will encounter all manner of weird and wonderful battery powered contraptions whizzing around the streets, their riders unencumbered by licences, insurance, number plates etc. If I were in the bike business I think i might ‘chance my arm’ by getting in a good stock of ‘Pedelecs’ in the hope of encouraging some young people through the doors.
@@CornishMotorcycleDiaries Indeed. Here's a factor that's often ignored. Motorcycle dealerships used to be on main roads into towns. If you were a Dorset motorcyclist, you will remember where dealers like Huxams and Ray Fishers were. Lots of passing traffic. I used to manage a little Honda dealer in Coalville, Leicester...on London Road with a bus stop outside. People passing by would see motorcycles, especially the bikes like the C50. Now you have to make a specific journey to get to a glass palace dealership on an industrial estate. No passing traffic = no new customers. People used to be tripping over Honda Melodys and C90s on the pavement outside my shop.
Manufacturers have coerced dealers into spending huge sums on showroom upgrading and narrowing their stock range all in a shrinking market. What we are seeing is FAR more than a "readjustment" ; just as our High Street's are now a broken wilderness the motorcycle dealership network is a thing of the past . Last spring the owner of my local dealer who had a stella reputation going back to the 1950's, a modern showroom and a solid Yamaha franchise put the business up for sale as he was retiring , 30 years ago a golden opportunity for someone. It was advertised in all the trade press for months and months .... not even one enquiry , not one ! The reality is a motorcycle dealership is a terrible investment without any future.
I use to support main dealers. But have found they’ve become overly expensive for everything. Bikes, servicing, clothing & accessories. Now I’d rather support the smaller local traders. Ps I believe the Yamaha dealer in Exeter also closed & was owned by the same company as Triumph, Harley Davidson Plymouth.
I do wander if a new model of service contract is required with shrinking numbers of showrooms. Will manufacturers consider sharing space, roaming technicians in vans, maybe more sharing in car dealers? I was peeved with just a 50 mile trip to Harley dealer for servicing but at least I was given a curtesy bike get get home on.
Rider of Bridgewater was famous for selling Harley Davidsons, i bought my first one there. When you look at Harleys current range no wonder they are looking round for alternatives.
I might be buying a new bike soon and as you suggested I might use a credit card, just in case. Also been thinking I would ask if the dealer makes money from me using finance - if so I would use finance and pay it off asap.
Wow lm not o worried about Triumph or Harley because l own an Indian 😂😂🤔the only thing that bothers me is l suppose the fantastic Burger Van inbetween the to shops is gone ?? or is it still going to be a meeting place for us bikers, all the best DHD 😁👍
What a sad state of affairs. As everyone here knows, the UK once led the world, by a huge margin, in motorcycle manufacture. Were there nearly 300 manufacturers in the 1930's? Disregarding the pretend badges, UK motorcycle manufacture is now almost extinct. Brexit has hastened the national economic decline and the rate at which the UK has isolated itself and is increasingly a dependent, vassal state of corporate USA. And Harley Davidson, as a small part of corporate USA, though a big part of the American dream, are doomed. Motorcycling and motorcycle manufacture are by no means dying worldwide. The opposite is the case. And that's why so many new Chinese and Indian ventures, with low labour and manufacturing costs, are prospering in an expanding global market. What can the Brits do? Emigrate?
I was talking about the weather which has impacted sales and it's now thought that Human related activity is leading to change in the climate with increasingly more violent and unpredictable weather. Trump is going to be in charge of the world's most powerful economy and is a climate change denier. It was also meant to be an ironic aside. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough.
You mean he is, quite rightly, a climate sceptic. Denier is a perjoritive term, designed to shut down debate. In any event, we've had a bad summer, that's all. Not all dealers down here in the south west are closing down.
@@davidoram3423 Indeed geologically there is no correlation between the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and the temperature on earth. Also since the last ice age temperatures have generally been higher than nowadays.
@@CornishMotorcycleDiaries Incidentally re Trump: 'A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end - they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!' - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018
Is mega frustrating to have purchased a new bike to have the dealership vanish after purchase. (I very much also feel for the staff in those circumstances too), I'd no way have gotten my Yamaha had I known what was going to happen to the dealership, which was 5min away by bike, now the nearest is 2hrs away, which is TBH way too far for convienient servicing. If manufacturers can't support our local dealerships, they need to support the customers and allow home servicing and the ability to reset service lights etc while maintaining warranties like they do in the USA.
Absolutely mate
Don't forget GT's Plymouth. They used to be a Triumph dealer.
Great advice…thank you😀
Glad it was helpful!
Hey! Please call yourself Captain Cornwall. Although it's good to be self deprecating, "clumsy" is unnecessary and untrue. Shocking what's happening in the UK. In Spain things are going ok. May be a market reajustment...hope things improve.
Aww thanks for the kind words. Most appreciated. There is however a point to the whole Captain Clumsy moniker, which is my Mantra 'If I can do it, ANYONE Can! The idea being to encourage more folks into doing their own stuff with a bike, because if someone like me who is clumsy (genuinely) can do it, then you could too. Don't get me wrong, I'm no idiot and have some some quite rare skills other people don't have. But they aren't particularly useful with bikes. 😎 I perhaps should do a video on why that is. Thanks for getting my thought processes ticking over...
@CornishMotorcycleDiaries OK !!! 👍🏼
The motorcycle industry has been over extending itself for a long time. Same with cars and motorhomes. It was inevitable this was going to happen. Every year they try to sell me a bike as better / improved whatever to tell me ten months later a better / improved bike is coming. You can point your finger in twenty directions within the industry and find questionable aspects. See through the brand loyalty as is being highlighted currently, and you realise why this is happening.
Most of the dealers that have closed are in car dealership groups and selling new cars is akin to owning a football club if you wish to lose money. The whole electric car fiasco has hit the dealers hard and their motorcycle outlets are just colateral damage. Harley Davidson have been badly hit, as they act like a car manufacturer and have forgotten that the dealers are their customers.
Some of the problems with these big dealers is they've spent small fortunes on fancy looking corporate looking branded showrooms. Some even employed the fluffers who book you in for service, but know nothing about bikes.
My local Pidcocks Triumph Nottingham used to have a nice small friendly dealership 10 years ago. They then built a magnificent looking glass marvel with big cafe. Now they're gone. Come hard times, big overheads and out of business.
This is how a free market economy works. The strong financial stable businesses survive the hard times, weaker ones fail.
The bonus of living in Central England for us, is most dealers are within reach. Cornwall you will have a longer ride for dealer support
They spent on showrooms because they were forced to by the manufacturers or loose the franchise.
@@WyreForestBiker and @Banditmanuk both spot on. It's been a Bubble a bit like the South Seas one of 100s of years ago. That has now burst. One commenter has said I'm over-complicating it. Actually I think the reverse is true. There is a lot going on under the corporate hood we don't know about. Take the Guys who run Marsh Holdings (or ran it) as far as I can see, they have a purely car background, so probably applied the same tactics to motorcycles. Hey ho. The actual sales aren't THAT bad.
Strange times. Often the issues are at the top from my experience.
Bad business decisions and not doing what the market demands and now managers need to be at the top of their game.
@@exeterrider im sure that’s a real part of it. But it’s hard to be agile in a business with long term fixed committed overheads.
@@LumpyCarbs Agreed, bottom line is the finger is pointing towards manufacturers who have overheated the market.
I think you might be making this rather more complicated than it actually is. Surely the essence of the problem is lack of customers.
The real problem is that the UK market companies demand huge spends on 'corporate look' showrooms.
Good point, but actually the case is a bit more complicated than even I put it here. Remember, this is just a short YT vid, if I put too much info in peoples attention really drifts away.
@ Thanks for the response. For many years, fewer and fewer young people have taken up motorcycling (as we have known it). 50cc sales, once a mainstay for smaller dealers, are just about non existent. The consequence of this is now beginning to materialise as a lack of customers for all petrol motorcycle sales.
However, if you venture into any major city, you will encounter all manner of weird and wonderful battery powered contraptions whizzing around the streets, their riders unencumbered by licences, insurance, number plates etc. If I were in the bike business I think i might ‘chance my arm’ by getting in a good stock of ‘Pedelecs’ in the hope of encouraging some young people through the doors.
@@CornishMotorcycleDiaries
Indeed. Here's a factor that's often ignored.
Motorcycle dealerships used to be on main roads into towns. If you were a Dorset motorcyclist, you will remember where dealers like Huxams and Ray Fishers were. Lots of passing traffic. I used to manage a little Honda dealer in Coalville, Leicester...on London Road with a bus stop outside. People passing by would see motorcycles, especially the bikes like the C50.
Now you have to make a specific journey to get to a glass palace dealership on an industrial estate. No passing traffic = no new customers. People used to be tripping over Honda Melodys and C90s on the pavement outside my shop.
Manufacturers have coerced dealers into spending huge sums on showroom upgrading and narrowing their stock range all in a shrinking market. What we are seeing is FAR more than a "readjustment" ; just as our High Street's are now a broken wilderness the motorcycle dealership network is a thing of the past .
Last spring the owner of my local dealer who had a stella reputation going back to the 1950's, a modern showroom and a solid Yamaha franchise put the business up for sale as he was retiring , 30 years ago a golden opportunity for someone. It was advertised in all the trade press for months and months .... not even one enquiry , not one !
The reality is a motorcycle dealership is a terrible investment without any future.
Excellent points. I think I need to look at this in a bit more depth. Thank you.
I use to support main dealers. But have found they’ve become overly expensive for everything. Bikes, servicing, clothing & accessories. Now I’d rather support the smaller local traders. Ps I believe the Yamaha dealer in Exeter also closed & was owned by the same company as Triumph, Harley Davidson Plymouth.
Correct, it was as was several other outlets.
I do wander if a new model of service contract is required with shrinking numbers of showrooms. Will manufacturers consider sharing space, roaming technicians in vans, maybe more sharing in car dealers? I was peeved with just a 50 mile trip to Harley dealer for servicing but at least I was given a curtesy bike get get home on.
Sharing effectively space was probably what did for both as previously Triumph was in a much smaller premises.
I heard that Riders of Bridgewater have just become agents for India, Harleys main rival, so can't see Harley Davidson tolerating that for long
That's really interesting. I'll look that up.
Rider of Bridgewater was famous for selling Harley Davidsons, i bought my first one there. When you look at Harleys current range no wonder they are looking round for alternatives.
I might be buying a new bike soon and as you suggested I might use a credit card, just in case. Also been thinking I would ask if the dealer makes money from me using finance - if so I would use finance and pay it off asap.
That's probably where they make most money, that and servicing, but not much margin on the actual bike.
Wow lm not o worried about Triumph or Harley because l own an Indian 😂😂🤔the only thing that bothers me is l suppose the fantastic Burger Van inbetween the to shops is gone ?? or is it still going to be a meeting place for us bikers, all the best DHD 😁👍
Lol, you've only got Colin to worry about I suppose😁. It would be nice if someone kept it going wouldn't it?
Far to expensive for tests and drawn out prosses
What a sad state of affairs. As everyone here knows, the UK once led the world, by a huge margin, in motorcycle manufacture. Were there nearly 300 manufacturers in the 1930's? Disregarding the pretend badges, UK motorcycle manufacture is now almost extinct. Brexit has hastened the national economic decline and the rate at which the UK has isolated itself and is increasingly a dependent, vassal state of corporate USA. And Harley Davidson, as a small part of corporate USA, though a big part of the American dream, are doomed.
Motorcycling and motorcycle manufacture are by no means dying worldwide. The opposite is the case. And that's why so many new Chinese and Indian ventures, with low labour and manufacturing costs, are prospering in an expanding global market.
What can the Brits do? Emigrate?
Brexit alot to do with it. Impossible in import bikes from Britain
You mentioned Trump
Why and in what context?
I was talking about the weather which has impacted sales and it's now thought that Human related activity is leading to change in the climate with increasingly more violent and unpredictable weather. Trump is going to be in charge of the world's most powerful economy and is a climate change denier. It was also meant to be an ironic aside. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough.
You mean he is, quite rightly, a climate sceptic. Denier is a perjoritive term, designed to shut down debate. In any event, we've had a bad summer, that's all. Not all dealers down here in the south west are closing down.
@@davidoram3423 💯
@@davidoram3423 Indeed geologically there is no correlation between the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and the temperature on earth. Also since the last ice age temperatures have generally been higher than nowadays.
@@CornishMotorcycleDiaries Incidentally re Trump:
'A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end - they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!'
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018