Not so much showers as downpours – it’s time to stop raining
Last time i wrote I said I had been out on the BMW RnineT and had also been down to Williams to look at the new R12 nineT … I had also spent plenty of time dodging the rain.
It’s not that I mind riding in the rain but as much as I enjoy being on a bike – actively choosing to go out for a ride when it’s cold and wet isn’t something that really floats my boat – also we’ve had enough rain recently to float several boats!
A dry spell
The weekend provided me with another brief period of dry weather so in between other commitments I headed off for a ride on Sunday morning out on some Cheshire back roads and onto J&S in Northwich. The ride was good, the bike felt great and the sun was shining (well sort of) – it was only another fairly short ride of around 80 miles or so – but a rides a ride so no complaints.
Lots of bikes out
It almost felt like the first day of the biking season – there were so many bike out and the most I had seen so far this year. I had a wander around the parked bikes at J&S and whilst there were plenty of bikes that caught my eye there are two in particular that I’ll comment on.
I didn’t like
One of the bikes I spotted was a new BMW R12 – I’d seen one in the Williams showroom last week in the Aventurin red metallic colour and I thought it was colour that really suited the bike, although if you read that post you’ll know I had some reservations about the style/shape of the rear mudguard.
The R12 I saw at J&S was in the Avus silver metallic colour with golden coloured stitching on the seat and gold coloured handlebars.and I have to say I just didn’t like it. The rear mudguard seems to kill it for me – and I was surprised at just how different it seemed to look than the model I had seen in the showroom – but as ever it’s horses for courses.
I did like
I was quite surprised at just how struck I was by a grey Harkey Davidson. I haven’t much of a clue what model it is but I thought it was a bike that looked just right in terms of it’s proportions and fittings – belly pan, high level exhaust and just the right amount of carbon etc. I really did like the look of it and if I had enough space and enough money to have a long line of bikes this would be one that I would consider on look alone for the dream garage collection.
But I was surprised to find
I was only when I was looking on the internet to see if I could identify what model the Harley was that I found out that the Chester and Manchester Harley dealers have both closed and gone into administration. And in a copy and paste from a north west regional business news web site it doesn’t seem good for Harley – see the copy and paste in italics below:
… in 2023 global registrations have been 137,000 (down by 7.2%) one of the worst performing bike manufacturers, according to the website MotorcyclesData.com which tracks new vehicle registrations across the world.
In 2014 Harley-Davidson global sales were 329, 776 and sales declined for sixth consecutive years until 2020. According to last quarterly financial results from the US parent company posted in October 2023: “Global retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the third quarter were down 16 percent versus prior year, adversely impacted primarily by macro conditions in key geographies.”It is understood that seven UK dealers have closed over the last year.
Next up
Well next activity is to get the Moto Guzzi V7 booked in and ready for its MOT and I’ll write and post about that once it’s done – until then ride safe.
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Hi Tony, I agree on the R12 mudguard, seems out of place doesn’t it. Your RnineT is looking very nice in the sunshine. Down south we had a gift of a day or who at 17c and dry which was amazing. Harley Davidson as a brand has always felt to me like you’re sort of in or out but nothing in between. They make some lovely bikes, but I have to say the newer models just don’t do it for me. When I look at the engine I don’t get that positive feeling. Having said that Ryan F9’s video on why riders like Hayleys is one of my favorite youtube videos of all time! The nice weather is coming… maybe… Safe riding, Matt.