New models drive motorcycle sales

New models such as the Harley-Davidson Street 500, Ducati Scrambler and Indian Scout are driving a steady increase in road motorcycles in Australia in the first half of 2015.

Road bike sales were solid at a 0.08% increase to 21,668, according to the official figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

The whole market was slightly down by 1.3% to 51,578, but ATVs were up a whopping 11.3% to 11,049, while scooters continued to slide, down a massive 25.9%, and off-road motorcycle sales were down 5.8%.

Harley-Davidson had a scorcher of a first half with a 14.6% increase to 4566, moving past Honda to become the top-selling road bike company in Australia as cruiser sales continue to run rampant.

Harley now accounts for more than one in every five road bikes sold.

The Softail Breakout continues to sell well and is now the third-best-selling bike in Australia with 765 sales, up 28.4%.

Their new learner-approved Street 500 was fourth with 745 sales, despite not being available until February. 

Harley-Davidson Australia and New Zealand boss Nigel Keough thanked both customers and their dealer network for the result. “It’s wonderful to see more people part of our Harley-Davidson family and enjoying the passion of owning a Harley-Davidson,” he says.

Meanwhile, its new cruiser competitor, Indian Motorcycle, was up a massive 67.8% to 292, largely on sales of the new 1133cc Indian Scout. That brought it into the top 10 road bike companies for the first time.

Ducati Australia was also a winner, up 7.3% to 981, with a 50% sales result in June alone, after the introduction of new models, especially the Scrambler.

The bike has helped Ducati set a new half-year record of 32,600 sales worldwide, up 22%. More than 9000 Scramblers have been sold which is almost twice as many as the next most popular Ducati model, the Multistrada.

Other road bike companies that scored well were Yamaha up 22.2% to 3066, largely thanks to its Masters of Torque range, BMW up 16.8% to 1648 and Triumph up 11.5% to 1497.

FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber says road motorcycles account for almost half of the new motorcycle, ATV and scooter market.

Top 10 bikes (ex ATVs) Jan-June, 2015
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Honda	CT110X	1123	1486	-24.4%
Kawasaki	Ninja 300	1096	1442	-24.0%
Harley-Davidson	FXSB	765	596	28.4%
Harley-Davidson	XG500	745	0	–
Yamaha	MT07L	701	0	–
Honda	CRF50F	676	1038	-34.9%
Honda	CRF230F	644	437	47.4%
Honda	CBR300R	624	0	–
Yamaha	TTR50	612	650	-5.8%
Honda	CBR500R	564	1049	-46.2%

 

Top 10 road bike companies
Manufacturer		Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Harley-Davidson		4566	3985	14.6%
Honda		3980	4364	-8.8%
Yamaha		3066	2508	22.2%
Kawasaki		2874	2914	-1.4%
BMW		1648	1411	16.8%
Triumph		1497	1343	11.5%
Suzuki		1292	1537	-15.9%
Ducati		981	914	7.3%
KTM		649	872	-25.6%
Indian		292	174	67.8%

Road bikes
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Honda	CT110X	1123	1486	-24.4%
Kawasaki	Ninja 300	1096	1442	-24%
Harley-Davidson	FXSB	765	596	28.4%
Harley-Davidson	XG500	745	0	100%
Yamaha	MT07L	701	0	100%
Honda	CBR300R	624	0	100%
Honda	CBR500R	564	1049	-46.2%
Honda	CB125E	437	482	-9.3%
Yamaha	MT-09	408	434	-6.0%
Yamaha	XVS650	349	452	-22.8%

 

Cruisers
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Harley Davidson	FXSB	765	596	28.4%
Harley Davidson	XG500	745	0	100.0%
Yamaha	XVS650	349	452	-22.8%
Harley Davidson	VRSCDX	320	245	30.6%
Harley Davidson	FXDB	318	353	-9.9%
Harley Davidson	XL883N	217	176	23.3%
Harley Davidson	FXDF	208	270	-23.0%
Harley Davidson	FXST	184	175	5.1%
Kawasaki	Vulcan S ABS	179	0	100.0%
Harley Davidson	FXDL	174	75	132.0%

Sports Touring
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Kawasaki	Ninja 300	1096	1442	-24%
Kawasaki	Ninja 650R	234	231	1.3%
Yamaha	MT09TRA	166	0	100%
Kawasaki	VERSYS	117	63	85.7%
Honda	VFR800	76	67	13.4%
Kawasaki	Ninja 1000	75	96	-21.9%
Suzuki	GSX1300R	63	85	-25.9%
Yamaha	FZ6R	61	136	-55.1%
Honda	CBR650F	55	26	111.5%
BMW	K 1300 S	48	36	33.3%

 

Naked
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Yamaha	MT07L	701	0	100.0%
Yamaha	MT-09	408	434	-6.0%
Ducati	Scrambler 800	190	0	100.0%
Triumph	Street Triple	158	166	-4.8%
Triumph	Bonneville T100	139	106	31.1%
BMW	S 1000 R	138	61	126.2%
Honda	CB500FA	137	194	-29.4%
KTM	390Duke	134	383	-65.0%
Ducati	M659	131	182	-28.0%
Honda	CB300F	130	0	100.0%

 

Super Sport
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Honda	CBR300R	624	0	100%
Honda	CBR500R	564	1049	-46.2%
Yamaha	YZF-R1	319	101	215.8%
Yamaha	YZF-R3A	223	0	100%
BMW	S 1000 RR	192	117	64.1%
KTM	RC390	186	0	100.0%
Honda	CBR1000RR	177	168	5.4%
Ducati	899 Panigale	150	150	0.0%
Hyosung	GT650R	135	115	17.4%
Triumph	DAYTONA 675	100	131	-23.7%

Touring
Manufacturer	Model	Total
		YTD 2015	YTD 2014	% Chg
Harley Davidson	FLHXS	167	0	100%
Harley Davidson	FLHTK	107	144	-25.7%
BMW	R 1200 RT	97	81	19.8%
Harley Davidson	FLHXSE2	79	0	100%
Harley Davidson	FLHRC	74	102	-27.5%
Yamaha	FJR1300	71	82	-13.4%
Harley Davidson	FLTRXS	78	0	100%
Triumph	T/Bird LT	54	50	8.0%
Honda	GL1800	52	41	26.8%
BMW	F 800 GT	35	31	12.9%