Bike Sales Looking Up

Sales Slowly Rebounding

The latest trade rags are reporting that motorcycle and ATV sales are slowly recovering from their monumental slump. Sales of new bikes in November 2009 were down about 13% compared to the previous year. If that doesn't exactly sound like great news consider the number was about 35% just a few months previous. Regionally the west is faring the worst with an average slump in sales closer to 20%. By contrast, dealers in the northeast report sales are off less than 2%.

This downturn in the sales of new units has had an interesting effect on the market in general. Some buyers are more apt to consider a less costly pre-owned purchase. Dealers turned up the volume on their used inventory to meet the demands of  price-conscience shoppers. Powersports auction houses are popping up across the country and finding new clientele in dealers who normally only worked their trade-ins.