MY TWO CENTS: HONDA ADVENTURE BIKES WILL NEVER FLY

The Honda adventure bikes will never fly. Why? BECAUSE IT’S A HONDA! Sure, they will sell some because they are new, and then pull the plug when they don’t hit the numbers. It has happened many times. Remember the EXP-2?

The problem: Adventure bikes sell to old guys with money. Whenever Honda tries to go against BMW or KTM or Ducati, they fail. No matter how great their bike is, the guy with the bucks will pick the Euro bike. I love Honda bikes and cars, but I’m poor! I choose Honda for utilitarian reasons. The Acura NSX could be the greatest car ever built, but the guy that can afford it will probably buy a McLaren, Aston Martin, Ferrari or Jag. Why? Because IT’S A HONDA!

Honda does some things very well…the Elsinore comes to mind. They copied the Ossa Phantom and the Baby Boomers bought the sh*t out of ’em. Not bad, but the rich kids still bought the Ossas, and grew up to buy KTMs and BMWs. Honda will always sell tons of MX bikes, 600 and 750 sport bikes, and lots of low $$ cruisers. They offer a lot for the money, but when price doesn’t matter the Japanese manufacturers might as well be Korean. KTM, BMW, Moto Guzzi and Ducati are all safe, for now and in the foreseeable future!