Disappearing Dealers

[MyLittleStudPony]

Not read the thread but back when I lived near Peterborough, I used to get stuff from a guy on the rough estate, Orton Goldhay. He could get it all, but I only ever got a little bit of spliff puff.

He seemed to do a roaring trade and wasn't put off from making 'deals' when his partner and her child were in the house. And I ram into a few rum characters there, I can tell you.

One day he completely disappeared. Never answered his phone again, nothing. I wondered if he'd moved to a gite in the Dordogne or perhaps started writing a book on vegan, low gluten, quinoa recipes and eschewed his dealing ways.

[Horse]

It's a dying game/sport/past-time. It's not going to get better. Youngsters simply don't care about motorbikes.

But when them youngsters are 45/ 50 they'll be in the game. That's how it seems to me, so they'll always be a customer.

As long as the dealers can survive the intervening 25 years?

[Rockburner]

Of all the people I know in real life with bikes only one is a lifelong biker to the best of my recollection.

You've not met Couchie?

[Skub]

Maurice retired around 1996

Myself and an older mate called with him on the day he closed the shop. It was empty then apart from a T350 Rebel which he had in the window. Even at that stage he still wouldn't take a bad price for it.

[Dodgy69]

It's a dying game/sport/past-time. It's not going to get better. Youngsters simply don't care about motorbikes.

But when them youngsters are 45/ 50 they'll be in the game. That's how it seems to me, so they'll always be a customer.

If they're not into bikes now, there's little chance they'll suddenly wake up at 45yo and say 'hey, lets get a motorcycle."

Especially as by the time they get there, it'll all be electrics.

You'll be surprised, I know a few who took their test in their 50s. Bit more loose change.

[Bigjawa]

But when them youngsters are 45/ 50 they'll be in the game. That's how it seems to me, so they'll always be a customer.

If they're not into bikes now, there's little chance they'll suddenly wake up at 45yo and say 'hey, lets get a motorcycle."

Especially as by the time they get there, it'll all be electrics.

Of all the people I know in real life with bikes only one is a lifelong biker to the best of my recollection.

Is sir familiar with the term "mid-life crisis"?

Sir turned 48 in March. Sir's mid life crisis involves huge televisions and enormous dogs. However, neither require taking multiple tests to acquire and neither will be replaced by an environmentally sound but soulless versions any time soon. All the things that make bikes special, to me anyway, will be taken away when they go electric.

It's like comparing a Tesla to a Testarossa.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Ferrari have nearly gone out of business several times whereas Tesla went from nothing to the world's most valuable car company in little more than a decade.

Anyone who's 20 now will not care about the ICE brum brums when they're 50, in the 2060s.

The times, they are a changin'!

[mangocrazy]

The times, they are a changin'!

I thought you were looking forward to the 2060's, not back to the 1960's...

[MyLittleStudPony]

Ferrari have nearly gone out of business several times whereas Tesla went from nothing to the world's most valuable car company in little more than a decade.

Anyone who's 20 now will not care about the ICE brum brums when they're 50, in the 2060s.

The times, they are a changin'!

I had no idea Tesla was worth so much, that's nuts. Maybe it's because Musk has sunk so much into it. If I owned Toyota or VW I wouldn't swop for Tesla.

Maybe it's the cryptocurrency of cars and will plummet soon. Maybe when the hydrogen engines kick in. Or bioethanol comes good.

[Mr. Dazzle]

He's the richest man in the world because of Tesla, pretty much.

[KungFooBob]

and flame throwers, or something.

[MyLittleStudPony]

He's the richest man in the world because of Tesla, pretty much.

I had no idea. I thought it was a crazy vanity project and he got his money from inherited sapphire mines and Paypal or something. Good for him.

[KungFooBob]

He's the richest man in the world because of Tesla, pretty much.

I had no idea. I thought it was a crazy vanity project and he got his money from inherited sapphire mines and Paypal or something. Good for him.

His mum was Mills of Mills and Boon fame.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Definitely a large chunk of "right place, right time"
...but still, I had every opportunity to start an electric car company too and I squandered it!

Tesla are pretty much responsible for me having a job. Not because I work for them, but because they've made everyone else go "fucking hell! We better get on this!"

[Taff]

Last weekend we traipsed around Gloucester's dealers and there was quite a contrast between them
Honda was empty, few customers, bikes spaced out to make it look fuller but in reality there was not that many new bikes in there.
Frazer's Kawasaki/Suzuki had a proper buzz, loads of bikes coming and going sales team busy taking in px and sending out new ones.

Completely motorbikes was somewhere in-between, not as busy but plenty of traffic. They look to be heading in the superbike factory model, a big warehouse full of decent looking bikes, aim for high turnover of stock

[Count Steer]

My old local bike dealers had a café and constantly had bikes coming and going. I bought half my kit browsing through the sale rail having 'popped in for a coffee/bacon butty. It gave the sales people chance to chat without doing a pressure pitch other than 'Want a test ride? No problem'. They organised ride-outs and things like evening demos on using puncture plugs. It was a bit of a club and I'm sure they did well out of it.

(I think they lost the franchise and the new one was a bit soulless and the sales people pretty predatory. Bought 4 bikes from the first, none from the replacement).

[Bigjawa]

Definitely a large chunk of "right place, right time"
...but still, I had every opportunity to start an electric car company too and I squandered it!

Tesla are pretty much responsible for me having a job. Not because I work for them, but because they've made everyone else go "fucking hell! We better get on this!"

Apart from being insanely fast, what's so special about them? They're pig ugly and the interiors are like a bloody IKEA display, and the build quality is a bit suspect at times.

If I have to go EV, I'll wait for a Toyota.

[KungFooBob]

They don't follow the rules.

I've been told that traditional car makers tried to make existing models electric and even when they started from scratch there was still decades of ice best practices followed.

Tesla never made ice cars so they didn't have a rule book to follow.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Before Tesla you could buy a G-whizz thing and...er...what else?

Their approach was pretty simple. People didn't buy electric cars because a) they were slow b) they were weird looking spaz chariots c) you couldn't' drive very far and d) there was nowhere to charge them. So Tesla made a supecar quick, basically normal, saloon car with a 300 mile range and a nationwide network of free high speed charging points.

They originally sold only in the US and mostly in California where the "pig ugly" look and IKEA interior plays really well. Personally I reckon they look great, and they're certainly distinctive.

They took a massive risk and it paid off. SpaceX were the same, few thought they could do it - but they are.

Simple really!

[Bigjawa]

Before Tesla you could buy a G-whizz thing and...er...what else?

Their approach was pretty simple. People didn't buy electric cars because a) they were slow b) they were weird looking spaz chariots c) you couldn't' drive very far and d) there was nowhere to charge them. So Tesla made a supecar quick, basically normal, saloon car with a 300 mile range and a nationwide network of free high speed charging points.

They originally sold only in the US and mostly in California where the "pig ugly" look and IKEA interior plays really well. Personally I reckon they look great, and they're certainly distinctive.

Simple really!

Still hopelessly out of most people's reach though, cost a fortune to repair when they go wrong and supercar performance will need supercar tyres, brakes etc. And only one supercharger in the whole of NI.

And that's where leccy cars fail, ICE cars are affordable to buy and run, even things like Nissan Leafs are horrendously expensive.

Place I used to work for has tried working on a Tesla. It didn't go well....

https://lisburn.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/ ... 65389.html

Even so, £1000 for a handbrake?