The Most Important Motorcycle of 2021 ?

TK4 said:
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The Most Important Motorcycle of 2021

The modern motorcycle industry is drunk on introspection and seemingly blind to the existential dangers it faces ahead. So many brands, so little vision.
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this article is indicative of honda's marketing muscle, nothing more.
An ugly ass bike, that no one wants, that was a failure in the market it was designed to succeed in, yet receives heaps of praise and PR from all moto-journalists around the world, simultaneously.

Are there fewer riders in the west? Yes.
This has to do with climate, demographics and economics, rather than the lack of vision or foresight by every motorcycle manufacturer on the planet, as the author seems to suggest.
 
I'm finding it difficult to pin down exactly why I find the Navi slightly repulsive.

-Looking at it just makes me think about how much I'd rather have a Grom
-Honda's desperation for you to think of it as a motorcycle is offputting
-It absolutely SCREAMS cheap despite a weak attempt to disguise its cheapness
-I can hear very clearly "the only reason we're importing it is because of an emissions loophole"

I feel like there's still something else on top of all that...
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Looking at it just makes me think about how much I'd rather have a Grom
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also this.

The exact same spot in the market is occupied by the much loved grom.

This feels very much like they're trying to force a product on customers that will never sell(like the dn-01)
 
I remember my little CB175, very refined (for the day) twin. Sipped gas, cheap to buy, run, insure, reliable, fun to ride and I went everywhere on that bike. The new Cub is a similar bike, should appeal to many. The Grom appeals to me too, the Navi, not so much.

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If, by important, he means "how do we lure newer and younger riders into the world of motorcycling", then I don't think it's with something like the Navi.

Granted, I'm not 20 years old, and I haven't been for several decades, but I remember what it was like being young. Being young doesn't mean you want something that looks cheap and crappy, even if it is priced cheap. If you're working on a limited budget, you still want something that looks and feels stylish.

Although most manufacturers are putting a lot of marketing focus on their high-end, halo models, the entry-level models are not being neglected. There are still 125cc-250cc models, low weight, low cost models, putting out beginner-friendly levels of horsepower. It's just that they're not getting a lot of press.

Kawi has the Z125Pro for $3800
Suzuki has the GSX250R for $5500
BMW has the G310R for $4995
KTM has the 200 Duke for $4600
Yamaha's venerable TW200 is $5500
Even Honda's own Grom is $3900

Granted, the Navi at $2300 CDN is priced a lot lower than these models. But if I was cross-shopping, the Navi would probably compete with other scooters, so it wouldn't really bring new riders into motorcycling. I don't see someone moving to a clutch-operated two-wheeler straight from a Navi.

Calling a scooter, "the most important motorcycle of 2021" is a failed thesis right from the start.
 
The answer to the question is the bike that you will ride in 2022.
 
If you make it fun and affordable, young people will buy them, it really is that simple, not some rocket science enigma.

Most of the young kids I see on bikes are either on groms, or drz's(or some other old clapped out dirt bike), or ripping around on duke 390s or mt07s trying to "do dank wheelies bruh 🤟"
 
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^like. cheap thrills.

would be interesting to see that motor in different configurations.

maybe something with less plastic, maybe even a hint of super moto. loads of possibility.
 
Baggsy said:
The answer to the question is the bike that you will ride in 2022.
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Exactly - actually I was going to say the one I rode in 2021. And yes the navi is fugly
 
Thanks TK.
The Monkey? Looks like a minibike from the 70's. Does nothing for me. However an MB5 always gets me interested.
 
Could the most important bike of 2021 have been that Harley Adventure bike?

A legacy company, that has traded almost exclusively on it's heritage releases a new-from-the-ground-up model taking a HUGE risk by eschewing EVERYTHING it has built into a motorcycle, at least for 3 decades. Hells-bells what was the last Harley that had a chain final drive?

It was a sink or swim move and it was a success. It was risky and daring from a company that has generally been anything but, and has a poor record of success with new designs.

I realize that Michael sees adventure bikes and cruisers as sops to the existing older demographic of riders (I'm one of them) but a company/industry needs to maintain their existing customers while growing new ones.
 
The Common Tread blog by Revzilla is also really high on the Navi for some reason. I'll echo the comments here and say I just can't see it selling well at all in Canada...you can buy a used Grom for 3.5k with only a couple thousand KMs and it will be a much better experience for a new rider.

In Ontario and Québec getting a motorcycle license takes a lot of time and money, I doubt the people who just want something to replace their bus pass are going to go through all that work, especially with our winters. I think if you're committed to doing the training to get your license then you're probably already into motorcycles and aren't going to want to bother with something like this.

Here in Québec there is a separate license for scooters that is only a 1 day training course and a knowledge test, so scooters are really popular with kids in high school. That seems to me to be the best way to promote motorcycling in my opinion - I do notice a lot more motorcycles on the road here than in Ontario.
 
xrljoel said:
Could the most important bike of 2021 have been that Harley Adventure bike?

A legacy company, that has traded almost exclusively on it's heritage releases a new-from-the-ground-up model taking a HUGE risk by eschewing EVERYTHING it has built into a motorcycle, at least for 3 decades. Hells-bells what was the last Harley that had a chain final drive?

It was a sink or swim move and it was a success. It was risky and daring from a company that has generally been anything but, and has a poor record of success with new designs.
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I think the success of the Pan America has yet to "pan" out.

The MoCo has had a long history of trying to release "innovative" products, it's their customer base that is resistant to change. I think the LiveWire was pretty daring and a big step away from their heritage lineup, as was the liquid-cooled, Porsche-designed V-Rod back in the day.

Unfortunately, all those dentists were getting their weekend pirate outfits all wet with tears while crying "Not A Real Harley", and kept on buying bikes designed in the 1940s.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.
 
caje said:
The Common Tread blog by Revzilla is also really high on the Navi for some reason. I'll echo the comments here and say I just can't see it selling well at all in Canada...you can buy a used Grom for 3.5k with only a couple thousand KMs and it will be a much better experience for a new rider.

In Ontario and Québec getting a motorcycle license takes a lot of time and money, I doubt the people who just want something to replace their bus pass are going to go through all that work, especially with our winters. I think if you're committed to doing the training to get your license then you're probably already into motorcycles and aren't going to want to bother with something like this.

Here in Québec there is a separate license for scooters that is only a 1 day training course and a knowledge test, so scooters are really popular with kids in high school. That seems to me to be the best way to promote motorcycling in my opinion - I do notice a lot more motorcycles on the road here than in Ontario.
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these people are just getting much more affordable e-bikes. there is literally no reason to ride a motorcycle in canada except for leisure. it just costs too much, especially for the younger crowd.

in general, motorcycles aren't really considered 'cool' by the kids anymore. its mostly 40-50 year olds yearning over them.

my 'biggest bike' i've owned was 800cc while the 'smallest' was a carborated 150cc. but by far the the most fun (and cheapest for insurance and SUPER simple maintenance) was my suzuki tu250x. it had something like 14hp. single cylinder but EFI. it weighed like NOTHING. super easy to handle and i rode highways with it no problem as long as i was in the slow lane since it topped out around 130km at full throttle. but it was literally perfect for 80km/h country road rides and etc and was amazing with fuel efficiency.

i tried to get that type of bike again by getting a royal enfield 650 (cheap maintenance, decent fuel efficiency, decent insurance rate, etc) but its just not doing it for me. just an overly heavy bike and tbh the suzuki 250x could basically do everything i wanted it to do and it didnt cost me over 10 grand for it. i was stuck in that mindset of "well this 250cc seems ok but clearly i need something bigger now that i'm more experienced" but it was total ******** in my personal experience.

i think it was the 'perfect' bike for younger people and for your basic city work commutes. brand new was like 4k. it looked like a cafe racer out of the box for that 'cool' factor. very cheap to maintain and low insurance. its too bad people just consider it a learner bike (since a lot of MSF places use it) and its spec sheet gets laughed at by more experienced riders, leading young people to steer away from ever getting one.

as for the grom? i dont know of any young riders that would get one cause it just looks lame. usually its someone already experienced with bikes and the grom is like their little toy they get to tinker with.
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