February 7, 2011-Cruiser wholesale prices remain above year-ago levels

The trend of increased prices for cruisers at wholesale continued into January.
Plus, both Honda and Suzuki cruisers’ values have actually increased compared to a year ago.
Those are two findings from data provided to Powersports Business by a pair of industry wholesale companies, National Powersport Auctions and Kelley Blue Book.
Average selling prices for cruisers at National Powersport Auctions in January were around $7,300, a nearly 8 percent increase over the year-ago period. Average selling prices also were higher in December and November compared to the year-ago period.
The National Powersport Auctions data comes from actual auction sale transactions. The condition rating of a vehicle is not taken into account as the survey assumes condition mix is constant over the time of the survey.
According to the Kelley Blue Book survey, cruiser values over the past 12 months have depreciated by an average of 3.7 percent. That is slightly more than sport bikes.
In this study, touring bikes are included in the “cruiser” category.
Selected key brands, shown in the accompanying graphic, however, have only depreciated by an average of 1.3 percent.
The cruiser value chart is compiled by Kelley Blue Book. The Kelley Blue Book Motorcycle analysts evaluate thousands of transaction records to provide the current market data. For this comparison, Kelley Blue Book utilized its two recent value guides.
For more information on the used sport bike values, contact Kelley Blue Book’s Forrest Sherman at fsherman@kbb.com. Kelley Blue Book also will be attending Dealer Expo, booth No. 5135.
For more information on the average selling prices, contact National Powersport Auctions’ Becky Sabala at 858/413-1108. National Powersport Auctions also can be contacted at Dealer Expo at booth No. 4831 or in the auction location space, at No. 3379. PSB