Motorbike sales go from wild to mild
He said sales had now reverted to the normal suite of buyers: 'We have young people who have always wanted a motorbike, we have retirees wanting to buy a touring bike, you've got people who are trying to change their lifestyle.'
Motorbikes still account for almost one in 20 total vehicles in Australia; Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and KTM are among the most popular brands.
Loading
Consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier bought a motorbike for his son during the pandemic, but he sold it when restrictions eased.
'With cost of living, having a toy is now seen as a little bit reckless, so the ones who are surviving are the commuting vehicle,' he said. 'But the issue is, that commuting vehicle has been upended by e-bikes and e-scooters.'
Motorcycle Council of NSW chairman Vincent Buck said some consumers were waiting for better electric motorcycle options which were still 'catching up'.
Buck said the increased popularity of food deliveries would underpin demand for motorbikes because they were economical for short-distance trips and easy to navigate.
Matthew Wiesner, chief executive of Motorcycle Holdings, Australia's largest seller of motorbikes, said the industry appeared to be growing its base of riders for the future.
'That's pleasing, and it's a matter of making sure that's continuing. The growing population helps. Immigration helps,' he said.
Forty-year-old Alex Liddington-Cox this year fulfilled his dream of buying a motorbike — for just $2000 via Facebook Marketplace.
Liddington-Cox uses his bike a few times a week when he doesn't need to transport his two young children.
Loading
'When you're on the bike, it feels like a great investment. When you're off the bike, it doesn't,' he said.
Liddington-Cox is aware of the safety risks of riding a motorbike. Last year, motorcyclists comprised 21 per cent of total road fatalities — up from 17 per cent in 2015.
'It is an ever-present concern when I'm on the bike. But I'm not the sort of person who wants to eliminate all risk from my life, even though I do have children. I still think that you need to have some fun,' he said.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said motorcycles were often a discretionary purchase, and in the current environment, many Australians were understandably more cautious with their spending.
'With improving technology, better safety features and an ongoing need for efficient transport, we remain optimistic about the long-term appeal of two-wheeled mobility in Australia,' he said.
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Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Chalmers must realise any reform relies on trust
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Libs have been handed a golden opportunity. Now watch them stuff it up
One of the great entertainments of political commentary in Australia over the past decade and a bit has been speculating on what new and inventive way the Liberal Party will find to comprehensively bugger itself up. I can't help thinking this must have crossed Treasurer Jim Chalmers' mind as he fronted the National Press Club this week to announce that he will undertake a process to develop a new productivity agenda. Chalmers' speech was solid, but so it should be after so many have said the same things so often to so little avail. His words and aspirations have been written for him many times over, sometimes with hope, other times with emotions ranging from dull rage to despair. Sometimes even by the Coalition. We need productivity reform, politicians all know we need it, the media all know they know we need it, yet no-one ever does it. There's a simple reason for that: it's hard. The treasurer dwelt in his speech on why it's hard. Reforming an economic system requires trade-offs. Some choices will cost some people. They may or may not be recompensed in the rejig. Chalmers doesn't want the media to simplify economic reform by explaining it in terms of 'winners and losers', as they do after each budget, but there will be winners and losers in the short, medium or long term as a result of any new tax system. And, naturally, the opposition will do what the name says on the tin. It will oppose. Given the last years of Liberal shenanigans, the real question is how it chooses to do that. In one scenario, Sussan Ley leads a team which analyses and criticises the government's productivity proposals to ensure the best outcome for Australia and Australians. Should they choose this version of their own adventure, there will be plenty of material to tackle. The prime minister has already shown that he has no instinct for making business more efficient or even any understanding that a healthy economy relies on the private sector, creating new wealth instead of just shifting existing money around. In the first term of the Albanese government, the size of the public sector grew relative to the size of the private sector, so now each private employee is supporting more public sector salaries. Loading Then-employment minister Tony Burke passed through an industrial relations bill which makes it harder for businesses to scale up without locking themselves into costly arrangements. Meanwhile, the 'Future Made in Australia' slush fund has been 'picking winners' (code for government making decisions on industries it poorly understands) by investing in bringing in an overseas quantum technology firm rather than backing existing quantum technology firms – ahem – made in Australia. Labor is even trashing its own legacy by changing rules on the superannuation system it forced people to contribute to, undermining trust that the money you lock away for retirement is really yours for later. It's hard to see how a government which made policies of this sort a priority and prefers the public to the private sector will back a productivity agenda which turns Australia around. But one of the great paradoxes of politics is that sometimes you need the party which is seen to be the touchy-feely side to deliver hard-nosed decisions. Think Labour prime minister Tony Blair in the UK, Democrat president Bill Clinton in the USA, or chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Germany, all of whom delivered welfare reform in the face of their countries' badly designed benefits systems which were creating disincentives to work.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Motorbike sales go from wild to mild
He said sales had now reverted to the normal suite of buyers: 'We have young people who have always wanted a motorbike, we have retirees wanting to buy a touring bike, you've got people who are trying to change their lifestyle.' Motorbikes still account for almost one in 20 total vehicles in Australia; Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and KTM are among the most popular brands. Loading Consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier bought a motorbike for his son during the pandemic, but he sold it when restrictions eased. 'With cost of living, having a toy is now seen as a little bit reckless, so the ones who are surviving are the commuting vehicle,' he said. 'But the issue is, that commuting vehicle has been upended by e-bikes and e-scooters.' Motorcycle Council of NSW chairman Vincent Buck said some consumers were waiting for better electric motorcycle options which were still 'catching up'. Buck said the increased popularity of food deliveries would underpin demand for motorbikes because they were economical for short-distance trips and easy to navigate. Matthew Wiesner, chief executive of Motorcycle Holdings, Australia's largest seller of motorbikes, said the industry appeared to be growing its base of riders for the future. 'That's pleasing, and it's a matter of making sure that's continuing. The growing population helps. Immigration helps,' he said. Forty-year-old Alex Liddington-Cox this year fulfilled his dream of buying a motorbike — for just $2000 via Facebook Marketplace. Liddington-Cox uses his bike a few times a week when he doesn't need to transport his two young children. Loading 'When you're on the bike, it feels like a great investment. When you're off the bike, it doesn't,' he said. Liddington-Cox is aware of the safety risks of riding a motorbike. Last year, motorcyclists comprised 21 per cent of total road fatalities — up from 17 per cent in 2015. 'It is an ever-present concern when I'm on the bike. But I'm not the sort of person who wants to eliminate all risk from my life, even though I do have children. I still think that you need to have some fun,' he said. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said motorcycles were often a discretionary purchase, and in the current environment, many Australians were understandably more cautious with their spending. 'With improving technology, better safety features and an ongoing need for efficient transport, we remain optimistic about the long-term appeal of two-wheeled mobility in Australia,' he said.
