500 cc bikes

[poormanracing]

being fairly new in the motorcycle scene....why are the 500cc bikes (EX, GS, Blast)now ... are not made like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=6718&item=4563347010



i know its a motogp bike (replica)...and theyre two stroke...but why didn't their sick fast engine...pinpoint handling...nice brakes...stay on the 500cc bikes around now?

sigh...

[pantablo]

in the rest of the world....not in the US. no market for a nimble small displacement bike...why bother when you can get your learners permit and buy an R1?

[poormanracing]

ok...i think the price too factors in...but still  :lol:

just a f*ckin trace of DNA from this bike would be sick

[vtlion]

yeah, it is too bad.  I think the primary reason that bikes like that aren't largely available in the US is the fear of undercutting sales of 600cc and 1000cc SS bikes.  If there were less expensive bikes that looked just like the crotch-rockets that sell so well, I suspect that many of the squid-poser crowd would buy them and sales of the $8k and $10k bikes would suffer, as would profits.  Its a business decision, for sure.

Personally, I wish I could score one of those sweet Aprilia 49cc scoots, so I could ride to campus, but park on a bicycle rack right outside the building  

[The Buddha]

The 500 2 smokes weren't all that reliable and long lasting ... that fits in well with today's crown, but in the 80's and mid 90's we had visions of riding coast to coast on bikes and never working on them ... so bikes were made to do that ... and the EPA nipped the 2 smokes in the bud ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Nomak]

I would be happy with some of the sweet 400s everyone else gets cept us ...eg GSXR400, CBR400, Monster 400 etc... I wish the CB1 was more popular too

[Slavik]

more plastic you put on the bike, the more expensive it gets.....i think part of the reason EX's and GS's go for 5k OTD is because the company have been making the vertualy the same bike for 15 years.....i think coming out with 500f was a great move by Suzuki (they should do great in sales or definately wouldn've been if the dealers would quit pushing gsrx750 on a newbie because "you a are a big guy, you need a big bike")
I am waiting to see how kawi will respond

[Roadstergal]

yeah, it is too bad.  I think the primary reason that bikes like that aren't largely available in the US is the fear of undercutting sales of 600cc and 1000cc SS bikes.  If there were less expensive bikes that looked just like the crotch-rockets that sell so well, I suspect that many of the squid-poser crowd would buy them and sales of the $8k and $10k bikes would suffer, as would profits.  Its a business decision, for sure.

I think it's the other way around - big-displacement bikes don't cost much more to make than small-displacement, and the profit margin is higher.  Since the dollar is so weak, it just doesn't make sense to try to bring over moderate-displacment bikes; the cost would be too high in order for the profit that the bike companies want to be there.

[Stephen072774]

and the EPA nipped the 2 smokes in the bud ...
Cool.
Srinath.

This is the answer to the posters question...

[Cal Price]

You are not alone.....
We have a very good range of bikes available in UK but I can only think of four 500cc models, (all four-strokes) and come to that only one 250cc. Countless 600/650 and larger and zillions of 125s.