At 5:32 PM +0000 4/5/06, Randy Shultz wrote:
>When you are targeting such low sales numbers, with such limited
>availability, you aren't marketing to the average Joe.
I think the not-so-average Joe won't give a crap about the bike at
that price. With the cash to spend on an interesting bike he will go
the extra grand on a BMW HP2, or grab a 1200 GS Adventure and pocket
the change. The problem all comes down to performance, and people
with the money to spend will want to spend it on a performance toy,
not a 2-wheeled lawn tractor that smells like a semi-truck.
>It's what they
>price them at when they are ramping up civilian production in future
>years that counts.
But was does the future hold? I'll bet these guys have no special
treatment from Kawasaki, nor any guarantee that the KLR will even be
around next year. I think it's a partially seat-of-the-pants
operation. If they were really in bed with KHI, they (KHI) wouldn't
force them to buy the complete rolling chassis with all the stock
bodywork, etc. If KHI sees a replacement for the KLR, they certainly
aren't going to keep making it soley for HDT's few hundred diesel
bikes a year that they'll produce and maybe sell.
IIRC, a year ago, there were only 125 Diesel bikes actually deployed,
and I think the original order was for 600. I don't see the Marines
wanting to buy shitloads of these, maybe just a couple thousand total.
>Personally, I hope they are willing to sell the
>engine for retrofit projects. In future years, I wouldn't mind having
>a deisel engine option when my original KLR gas engine needs
>replacement.
That would be a likely way to go, especially if KHI drops the KLR650
from the lineup. Who knows, maybe KHI will sell HDT the KLR tooling
at a yard sale price since it paid for itself a decade ago.
>Just my opinion, and pure speculation on my part.
Me too.
I think the Diesel KLR is very cool. Not $18,999 cool; more like
$8,999 cool and I'd buy one at that price.
Mark