Honda targets China with VFR1200F

http://www.visordown.com/uploads/images/Large/2555.jpg

Speaking to a press conference in Japan in December, Mr Kyoichi Yoshii, Chief Engineer, Product Development Division, Honda R&D, said the bike would be targeted at Europe, followed by the US, Japan and then China.

“China is one big, important market for the VFR1200F,” Mr Yoshii. He went on to say that Honda wanted to explore more challenging markets.

I have to wonder, why not target China with a domestically made joint venture 500cc EFI single or twin for domestic sale and export, rather than this exotica, which will be super expensive to buy and run, and is too powerful for Chinese roads!! :confused1:

:eekers::eekers::eekers:

Is that death on wheels there or what? Maybe they figure even if they only sell it to a TINY percent of the viable consumers in China, it's better than nothing? Oh well... ether way I suppose it may at least expose people to the idea of "luxury" motorcycling as a status symbol if not anything else.

Still though... quite curious. I wonder what kind of info Honda is getting.

CC

Yamaha are selling R1's in China.Up in Xinjiang you could sell a few of these bikes and use them to somewhere near there potential.Check the road conditions first it may have changed from the prevoius week?http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/t...tpartyday0.jpghttp://i601.photobucket.com/albums/t...ountain008.jpghttp://i601.photobucket.com/albums/t...18-8-09126.jpg

The road around this lake is 110klms very little traffic on it (saw 5 cars in the space of 4 hours) and in perfect condition.It would be a blast on one of these bikes.The climb up intoYilie? starts at a elevation of 345mtrs and ends at 2100mtrs climb is consistent all the way up(32klm's) on a perfect(for now) four lane highway(2 lanes up on it's own 2 lanes down on it's own) big long full view corners it would be perfect on a big bore bike.

OK Xinjiang would certainly be an exception! But on 98% of Chinese roads you'd be better off with a Kawasaki Ninja 250, or Honda VTR250 or CBF500 etc.

I was in a BMW dealership in Shanghai last week drooling over the big bikes they had for sale there. I didn't even bother asking the dealer why they bothered selling 1200CC bikes when the biggest displacement legally allowed in Shanghai is 250. Some people here are just insanely rich and they're the ones buying these bikes. That being said, right next door to the BMW shop is a Suzuki / Regal Raptor shop that does good business (and an excellent repair shop for my Windstorm :) ).

I think it's a good choice for the market here. Most of the Chinese buyers are not interested in bikes under 200,000 RMB. If you look at the majority of the recreational motorcycle clubs in China, they all ride big machines. Enthusiasts here are not interested in common sense vehicles, they want to make a statement of wealth and style.

I really can't see the Japanese taking a common sense approach to any market. Cruisers and sport bikes are what the general population buy, practical motorcycles just don't look good when it comes to bottom line profits. The Honda ST1300 has been approved and available for sale in China since last year, I wonder how many they sold? I wonder if that was just a litmus test to see how difficult the CCC approval process is.

And as far as the China roads go, I think with all the infrastructure money laid out this year there are going to be plenty of places to use that kind of power. How long you last at excessive speed is an entirely different matter:mwink:

Cheers!
ChinaV

The voices of the people who can actually ride machines properly and know what machines are suitable is ignored, the people who want super cheap commuter transport and the people who want make a stylish statement about how wealthy and exclusive they are, are the ones catered to. It's kinda ridiculous, but it's nothing new.

To me it's the most annoying thing about motorcycling. So many people see everything as being about the bike, not about the riding. I hate it. You only need one thing to have a Ducati Desmo, VFR1300 etc MONEY!:eek2:

I'm only joking really but I'd love to see a test for someone who wants to buy a big bike.

Man goes into Yamaha Dealership,

MAN: "I'd like to buy an R1 please"
ASSISTANT: "Sorry, but we cannot sell it to you until you have your track certificate"
MAN:"How do I get that?"
ASSISTANT: "You need to go to the local race track, the instructors will give you training, then when you are really able to ride the bike properly and go around the track within 10% of a professional rider you are than issued a certificate, and then you can come back and buy the R1"
MAN: "See you in a week or two"

:lol8::lol8::lol8::lol8::lol8:

Back in the stone age when I worked in a Suzuki/Honda/Polaris dealership, we would sell about a dozen Katana 600 and CBR 600 sportbikes every spring. The majority of the buyers were first time riders, and they were all convinced a 600cc sportbike was an entry level machine. We had the Bandit 400, GS500E and Hawk 400 in the showroom, but they were almost impossible to sell. America loves horsepower, and the manufacturers know it will sell bikes. Chinese people like the bling factor of luxury vehicles, so I think that's where Honda can see growth potential. If they were smart, they would label them as Acura and double the price :lol8:.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nuhaus

... why they bothered selling 1200CC bikes when the biggest displacement legally allowed in Shanghai is 250 ...

---

Big bikes, like the ones you saw, can be legally registered in SH since autumn 2009. However, rego fee is insane - 50k + RMB.

The guy working in the BMW shop apparently has an R1, but like me he's a man of moderate means and has his bike sensibly registered in another province. I'm glad to see it's possible to buy plates for bigger bikes in Shanghai now, but for 50000 it's a little out of my reach. Hell, the 40000 for an A plate on a 250 is too much for me :). In my humble opinion *any* expansion of the bike market in China is good news. More bikes is more bikes. :)

My mate lives in shanghai and it is illegal to have any motorcycle bigger than 150CC. The law changed a few years ago and at the time he had a CB1000 which now he can not ride illegally (night time burns only, watching out for the cops) The most popular bike is a Yamaha TZR 150, it's not called a Yamaha but a copy made under license in Tiawan. I saw a few of them when I was there and apart from the sticker it was a Yamaha TZR 125 with a bigger bore. This may all this explains why motoGP was dropped from Shangai, apart from the massive ticket price and the fact most people worked Sundays, so rather strange Honda target a place were it is illegal to own a big bike in Shangai anyway ?