Rising Q2 interest in cruisers
The top 10 cruiser and touring motorcycles averaged a 33 percent increase in website hits in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same quarter of 2012 on KBB.com, according to exclusive data provided to Powersports Business by Kelley Blue Book.
“The only Honda on the list showed the largest increase at 62 percent,” said Lisa Pelissier, senior powersports analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “Interest is up an average of 138 percent from Q2 2012, showing a strong rise in interest in cruiser and touring bikes. Once again Harley-Davidson dominates the top 10 list in the category, holding nine of the top 10 spots.”
Sport bikes had an average increase of 32 percent from Q1 2013 for the top 10 models. All 10 models repeated on the top 10 list from Q1, and only two bikes changed their ranking.
“Interest in sport bikes also has grown astronomically since last year, with the top 10 bikes showing an average increase of 107 percent,” Pelissier said.
Dual-sport bikes increased 30 percent for vehicles under 400cc, and 29 percent for those over 400cc. Bikes equipped only for off-road use averaged an increase of only 1 percent for bikes under 400cc.
“Still, those numbers represent an overall increase of more than 100 percent in both categories over Q2 2012, showing that interest is still very strong,” she said.
