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[kawboy15@yahoo.com]

Anybody have opinions about the Kawasaki/Suzuki merger? A recent article in the Dec. issue of Motocross Action reports it could mean one of the two manufacturers no longer producing motorcycles within the next several years. Hope it's not Kawasaki! Dan

[TLrydr@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/29/01 10:04:20 PM EST, kawboy15@... writes: << Anybody have opinions about the Kawasaki/Suzuki merger? >> Nope, Word is that Suzuki is the one in trouble, Lots of customer complaints Mike

[monahanwb@yahoo.com]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., kawboy15@y... wrote:

> Anybody have opinions about the Kawasaki/Suzuki merger?

No, other than the possibility of us ending up with dealers who not only won't do actual work for the money but won't honor warranties either. Bill (Suzuki owner)

[Conall O'Brien]

The merger was a result of the inability of those competing companies to compete against the chinese knockoffs taking over the asian market. It all started when the chinese bought old manufacturing eguipment from the Japanese to build motorcycles. Copy someone elses ideas for long enough and soon you can improve on the design. Chinese no longer need japanese bikes, they have thier own. Hi tech semiconductor fabs beware. Conall

>From: kawboy15@... >To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com >Subject: [DSN_klr650] Kawasaki/Suzuki Merger >Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 03:00:49 -0000 > > Anybody have opinions about the Kawasaki/Suzuki merger? A recent article >in the Dec. issue of Motocross Action reports it could mean one of the two >manufacturers no longer producing motorcycles within the next several >years. Hope it's not Kawasaki! > Dan > > >Checkout Dual Sport News at >http://www.dualsportnews.com >Be part of the Adventure! > >Visit the KLR650 archives at >http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > >Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com >Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com >Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com >List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

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[Devon Jarvis]

Conall O'Brien wrote:

> Copy someone elses ideas for long enough and > soon you can improve on the design. > Chinese no longer need japanese bikes

And KHI and Suzuki didn't see this coming? It's only been 30 years since Japanese no longer need British bikes. I can't wait, Harbor Freight motorcycles. Made with pride in People's Motorcycle Factory and Reeducation Facility #4, by former members of China's democracy movement. Worker's incentive- fill your quota and we won't sell your kidneys while you're still alive. Devon A15

[George Basinet]

Conall O'Brien wrote:

> The merger was a result of the inability of those competing companies to > compete against the chinese knockoffs taking over the asian market. It all > started when the chinese bought old manufacturing eguipment from the > Japanese to build motorcycles. Copy someone elses ideas for long enough and > soon you can improve on the design. Chinese no longer need japanese bikes, > they have thier own. > Hi tech semiconductor fabs beware. > > Conall >

You'll remember that's exactly what the Japanese did with the German cameras and whatever else they could get their hands on. 'What goes around, comes around'. George Escondido, CA

[Conall O'Brien]

Yep and at the same time the US govt spends 1/4 billion dollars going after monopolies like microsoft who add billions to our economies and don't harm a sole. Should have spent the money fighting Bin Laden Corp rather than harmless Bill Gates. Notice how fast the gov't settled the charges with microsoft after 9/11 ? Conall- if I was a international businessman I start a over the counter futures market in Amsterdam for soft drugs so that coffeeshop owners can hedge their positions on Afghani hashish. That's right I'm gonzo on Mazar-e-shariff.

>From: Devon Jarvis >To: KLR650 group DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> >Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Kawasaki/Suzuki Merger >Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 14:04:41 -0500 > > > >Conall O'Brien wrote: > > > Copy someone elses ideas for long enough and > > soon you can improve on the design. > > Chinese no longer need japanese bikes > >And KHI and Suzuki didn't see this coming? It's only been 30 years since >Japanese no longer need British bikes. > >I can't wait, Harbor Freight motorcycles. Made with pride in People's >Motorcycle Factory and Reeducation Facility #4, by former members of >China's democracy movement. Worker's incentive- fill your quota and we >won't sell your kidneys while you're still alive. > >Devon >A15 >

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[Brad J. Morris]

Actually, the effort to bring closure to the MS suit began in earnest in Jaunary of this year (around the 20th I believe). Remember, MS *lost* the majority of the suit. What is going on now is, the *current* justice department is trying to find a way to let Microsoft off easy while still showing respect to the decision of the court that handled the case. If it was up to the current justice department, the whole thing would be thrown out. But they can't do that, since a verdict has already been rendered. Now it's individual states holding everything up. Brad J. Morris A16 Illinois

> Notice how fast the gov't settled the charges with > microsoft after 9/11 ?

[racingreplicas@orwell.net]

It seems to be a cost cutting move which will in theory help both companies. An example would be Suzuki which has no presence in the the atv market will now be able to "badge" the Kawasaki line with the Suzuki name. I, and probably some other over fifty types on this list remember what happened when the British tried this in the early Seventies with the intention of saving the British motorcycle industry. It didn't work. I actually have a remnant of this debacle. A 1972 Triumph Bonneville. I probably shouldn't say this but I have absolutely no brand loyalty. When someone asks me which of my bikes is my favorite I tell them whichever one I'm riding. If Kawasaki and Suzuki both stop manufacturing bikes perhaps this will become a Aprilia Pegaso list. Ed Windsor (Negotiating the purchase of a Aprilia/BMW F650 even as I write this)

----- Original Message ----- From: To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2001 10:21 PM Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Kawasaki/Suzuki Merger > --- In DSN_klr650@y..., kawboy15@y... wrote: > > Anybody have opinions about the Kawasaki/Suzuki merger? > > No, other than the possibility of us ending up with dealers who not > only won't do actual work for the money but won't honor warranties > either. > > Bill > (Suzuki owner) > > > Checkout Dual Sport News at > http://www.dualsportnews.com > Be part of the Adventure! > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > > Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

[marcclarke@unforgettable.com]

Since Suzuki is third in the worldwide market for motorcycles and Kawasaki is a very distant fourth and rapidly losing market share (to Yamaha), I would say that Suzuki acquired Kawasaki Heavy Industries' motorcycle design division. With approximately 1% of the shrinking Japanese motorcycle market and approximately 11% of the US motorcycle market, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) had to be evaluating whether they could afford to stay in the motorcycle business. KHI is heavily invested in many declining markets, such as railroad car manufacture and steel. Kawasaki motorcycles has not designed or introduced a new engine in years (versus Honda, who just introduced about half a dozen new motorcycle engines this year). Kawasaki motorcycle's R&D budget seems to be very tight, and I do not see how KHI could have the cash flow to inject money into R&D for Kawasaki Motorcycles. I believe that all R&D at Kawasaki Motorcycles will cease, and that Kawasaki will continue to sell existing designs (KLR, Concours, etc.) but that all new designs sold under the Kawasaki brand name will use Suzuki-designed engines. I believe that Kawasaki Marketing is carefully pretending that there has been a merger instead of an outright acquisition by Suzuki to avoid spooking Kawasaki dealers and potential near-term Kawasaki customers. I think the "merger" term is just marketing spin. Even with the "merger", I doubt that Suzuki has enough market share or cash flow to remain in the motorcycle business long term. Harley, Honda, and Yamaha clearly do. Kawasaki clearly did not. I think that post-merger Suzuki is borderline at best. The recent move by Kawasaki of KLR manufacture from the Japanese islands to southeast Asia (sorry, I have forgotten which country, but I do remember that it had significantly lower labor costs than Japan has) suggests to me that Kawasaki, who sells about 2,000 KLR650s in the USA each year, was finding it unprofitable to produce KLR650s in Japan. Since the manufacturing line's jigs, fixtures, and tooling for the KLR650 must have been paid off years ago, I assume that it was labor costs which changed the KLR650's production from profitable into unprofitable. Suzuki already has a dual-sport. Will Suzuki elect to continue the manufacture of the Kawasaki KLR650? Interesting question. My guess is yes, at least for the next few years. -- Marc Illsley Clarke, Kawasaki KLR650 A12, Loveland, Colorado, USA Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 03:00:49 -0000 From: kawboy15@... Subject: Kawasaki/Suzuki Merger Anybody have opinions about the Kawasaki/Suzuki merger? A recent article in the Dec. issue of Motocross Action reports it could mean one of the two manufacturers no longer producing motorcycles within the next several years. Hope it's not Kawasaki! Dan