The data continues to support the notion that sport bike sales are contracting, with Powersports Business releasing a report that sport bike sales dropped by 4.7% over a 12-month period that ended in October 2016.
According to the dataset put together by Statistical Surveys Inc., 75,469 sport bikes were registered in the United States during last year’s time period, compared to the 79,225 motorcycles that were registered the previous year.
While the general trend across the country is a drop in sport bike sales, the research also showed some interesting locations where sport bike sales actually increased dramatically, showing that there may be a location element to the demise of the sport bike.
The two locations with the biggest gains in sales were Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, which posted 10.3% (1,408 units) and 10.2% (1,730 units) increases in sport bike sales, respectively. Houston also showed strong grow, with a 6.6% bump.
However, where sport bike sales lost the most is also where the most bikes are sold. California accounts for roughly 40% of the sport bike market in the United States, and two of its key metropolitan areas showed strong decreases in sport bike sales.
Sales in the San Francisco Bay Area dropped 7.6%, while sales in San Diego showed a 6.7% loss. Los Angeles, probably the largest single metropolitan market for sport bike sales, dropped a more modest 1.1%.
Other notable drops in sport bike sales occurred in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area, with 13.8% drop (the largest percentage drop in the nation). New York was also at a loss, showing a 1.4% decline.
The question still remains though: is this a function of changing tastes in the motorcycle community? Is it the result of manufacturers not releasing any new or compelling models in the sport bike category over the recent model years? Or, could it be a mixture of both factors?
Source: Powersports Business; Photo: KTM
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