Off-roaders stuck in the mire

EurotaxGlass’s reports that the market for off-road motorcycles is currently proving to be difficult for dealers throughout the country. The bike market is notoriously hard to predict and seasonal changes, rapidly evolving products and a customer base sensitive to changes in fashion, all bring their influence to bear on dealer forecourts.

The summer sun has helped across all segments of the market, but the values of off-road bikes are still under pressure this year. A number of factors are to blame, not least the ongoing issue of the National Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act. This piece of government legislation prohibits access to certain areas of land, and will almost certainly affect the whole country in due course. Without land to ride on, the recreational appeal of off-road bikes will continue to wane.

Dealers are also reporting a perceived reduction in the spending power of core off-road customers and a general decline in the appeal and adoption of ‘dirt-digging’ as a pastime. Additionally, over-optimistic imports of new ‘enduro’ machines have led to dealer networks having to absorb large quantities of stock that in some cases includes 2004 model year machines. Predictably, this has resulted in heavy discounting with new bikes occasionally selling for less than used models of the same year. Inevitably, this is only serving to drive used values lower.

"Despite these difficult conditions, used off-road machines still have a market," says Randal Thomas, Motorcycle Editor at EurotaxGlass’s. "Condition and a well-documented service history are important elements of any bike’s used value, but it’s absolutely crucial for an off-road bike that may have spent its life in a very harsh operating environment."