[5thgear]

I don't know if it's like this everywhere but up here in Canada people have a weird view of supermotos. Alot of people look at a dirtbike for $6000 and then you tell them another $3000 and you can make it into a supermoto. Most are going "holy shit I'm not paying $9000 for a dirtbike" . But what they don't realize is you can still sell the bike for the same price and the rims used for around $2500 . It's not like putting a $2000 exhaust on a sportbike and it doesn't increase the resale.

This attitude seems to be improving in the last year . I also noticed that around 75% of the motard riders are streetbike guys. We run a Wednesday night track/stunt ride all summer at a local airport. I've been giving my bike to as many riders as I can to try it out. The hardcore racers always get off and are completely amazed that a dirtbike can out ride there track bike. Most don't understand why but they all seem to want one after trying it out.

My mind set use to be now I can ride my bike as a motard and as a dirtbike.
I no longer use it as a dirtbike I prefer to leave a motard as a motard. I own a small shop and am going to dedicate the next year to pushing people into motards. My theary is if you build a track, put on some killer streetrides in downtown Vancouver .Build motards and sell them then peoples minds will change about the sport. I can't wait for my new Husky.

 

[SMR]

See, another part of the trouble is "image", and on a couple different levels. Firstly is the image of the machine itself. People look over what appears to be a pretty small, covered in plastic, unrefined looking machine. Most lack the glossy painted exteriors and vacuum cast parts that your "normal" street bikes have in droves. Then there is the issue of the image of power. And even we fall victim to this, with our lust for the Aprilia twin, or KTM's new engine..."a twin has to be better right?". One cylinder just isn't enough in most people's eyes. Unless your a kook like me and think that one is perfect and a twin is as far as you should go. Four? Feh! No way. And then there's the image of displacement..."a 450cc bike that's faster than a 1000cc bike? You cant be serious."...ummm, I am and they can be, on the right roads.

It's all a matter of perceived value too. Many people value image over performance for the most part. They buy what they "think" is fast, not really knowing what they themselves can actually go fast on. I cant even begin to count the number of young riders on superbikes I've passed while on what are perceived as lesser machines (And I'm not a fast guy). But most are not willing to change that perspective...slick marketing and full race series only reinforce the image. Supermotos just don't get that mass coverage...they are niche bikes.

The value in motos is shifted in a different direction. Most of it is hidden in what they can do, not how they look really. They suck at touring, but nothing is more fun on a short ride. They stink on straights, but live for turns, the thumper engine is lighter and makes lots of torque where you want it. The light plastic that looks a bit rough is actually cheap to replace in the case the world tips sideways, costing less than 100 bucks in most cases. They are...real rider's machines...and until someone has had their view altered by them, they just don't understand. Why pay 7-10k for a dirtbike for the road? Because once you get used to riding one, they feel like your cheating in the twisties.

One major advantage I've seen with them, is that the normal streetbike price has been climbing higher and higher over the years, yet motos still hold a pretty low entrance fee into the biking world. When 600cc bikes are nearing 9-10k or more out the door, a 7-8k bike starts looking really good.


Man...I really should not drink so much coffee in the morning.

 

[sliver]

i agree. it seems to relate to the "evolution" of the rider. i'd say the vast majority of people get into riding with aesthetics in mind and either they learn over time about performance and variety or they continue their afternoon cruises down the main street of town and pursuit of the next showoff trick. it helps to have a pal unlocking the doors for you along the way. i know that supermoto fun would not have been revealed to me without the help of a couple enthusiasts here in Vancouver who had to really push me but i am so glad they did. i suffered from the paradigm that 5thgear described earlier and had to be muscled out of it. those of you who discover a passion for these niches on your own get props from me!

over the past 3 yrs i've slowly been exposed to diversity in motorcycling and the simple enjoyment of just riding a machine instead of hooking up with a group of powerrangers on crotch rockets for a "rip" around town. watching a buddy re-build his harley right from fabrication of the tank and other basic parts. all of this experience leads to a greater appreciation for what once looked like a machine lacking in "gloss-factor" and now abundant in clean-lines, unique features, mechanical skill and artistic expression. i suppose it's the custom stuff that really has a greater impression once you gain an appreciation for it. supermotos somehow seem to fit this category even *if* they are factory built because their origins are in hybrid design and therefore intrinsically custom.

having said all that, i've always thought radiators are ugly.

 

[Rooster]

Most are going "holy shit I'm not paying $9000 for a dirtbike"

Isn't it funny how after they get a ride on it they see the value in it immediately. The guy I bought my bike from from sounded a little disappointed I was going to retard it out, but then he rode it and now he's looking for one too.

You can't explain to people how much fun they are. Especially the MX conversions. It still feels like I'm doing something wrong just sitting a red light in traffic.

 

[Harry525]

"doing something wrong just sitting a red light in traffic" ??? Not for me, nor for the onlookers. This is the first bike I have ever owned that has enticed people in cars to wind down their windows and actually speak to the "nasty bike rider". Their words are usually along the lines of "does it go as good as it looks?"

 

[JoeKher]

"They are...real rider's machines...and until someone has had their view altered by them, they just don't understand. Why pay 7-10k for a dirtbike for the road? Because once you get used to riding one, they feel like your cheating in the twisties."

Very well put. :clap: I love all bikes. Before I built my tard I rode a lot of different street bikes and learned how other bikes work, or feel when you push them. It seems that most new riders never take the time to experience different bikes before they buy.

Many of the riders in my area buy bikes because a mag told them it was "the biggest, the baddest or the most powerfull" machine available. I don't believe that they will ever understand the nature of a tard, but the few people I have got to try it love it!

It is a machine that you have to experience to understand, but if you don't have a diverse back round with motorcycles I don't believe you can understand a tard. In that respect I think it is truely a "riders" bike.

 

[bdmmotard]

the problem with new riders is simply that they're new riders. they'll get it eventually, but for the most part if they're educated at all in bikes its usually industry mag schlock.

i had a guy come up to me in the parking lot at work yesterday. "are you part of that new sport?, we all thought you were nuts, then i saw it on TV last night"

 

[crazeinc]

It took me 4 years, but I soooo want a motard now. Like I needed any more reasons, but I was at the dealer the other week and a XR650 was pulling out with an aftermarket exhaust, god it sounded great. One of these days...

 

[RichieB]

And what about the guys who buy a $12000 sportbike then dump another $5000
into it.
Been there done that. Never again!

 

[Wadd]

Well probably that for some, like me, the only reason I still dont have one is that motard are all that but on the highway... I always hear some of you telling that on the highway, these bikes sucks... I feel very bad because I think they look SOOO great and I can actualy see the fun factor into it. But for now, I need to be able to do 30-45 minutes of highway every morning and every evening easily. I don't care about top speed, but I need to be able to ride at 120-140 km/h easily. Maybe if I can find a great ~600 like the nox..

 

[crashmw]

It is not the displacement or amount of work that an engine does on the freeway, at least not in my opinion.
It is the amount of work that YOU are faced with.
Think about it. The riding position is great, until you become a big airbrake. The faster you go, the greater the forces working against you and your neck...

MW