What are the in-demand machines as regards insurance quotes right now? Glad you asked, IE did some research.
The big BMW R1250GS remains the top seller in the big bikes category with 254 units sold in September. Over 2500 Adventure style bikes were sold last month, from the humble Sinnis Terrain 125 to the big Triumph Tiger and given the steady collapse of road surfaces in the UK, IE sees no sogn of interest in adventure bikes with long travel suspension waning anytime soon.
The Honda CB500X, Africa Twin and KTM 790 are also hot sellers right now and it’s interesting to see many adventure bike riders decorating their machines with expensive accessories like engine bars, extra running lights, taller screens, end cans, luxury saddles, panniers and so on – maybe there is some demand for add-on accessory insurance cover, with agreed new-for-old values?
According to industry stats, sales of sportsbikes showed an 11% drop this year, and it’s interesting to note that this category is the ONLY class where a significant decline in new sales can be seen. That’s not to say there isn’t demand for insurance on older Fireblades, CBR600s, R1s, Gixers or ZX6Rs etc. as many of these are now becoming modern classics, or ideal trackday bikes.
The other big growth area is classic machines, where a mint Kawasaki Z1 now fetches 20K, and you cannot buy a fully restored RD350LC under ten grand. The mixture of long lockdowns, an ever-ageing pool of 55+ motorcycle enthusiasts and the release of cash via pensions, furlough and Covid grants has combined to produce a classics boom. Bonhams recently sold an unregistered Ducati 750SS for £115,000, which highlights how motorcycles have become high value investment assets, not just machines to ride on sunny Sundays.
LATEST MCIA STATS SHOW STRONG DEMAND AFTER THE PANDEMIC
The word from the Motorcycle Industry Association;
Unlike 2020, where the market was dominated by small commuter and last mile delivery products, 2021 is experiencing an amazing bounce-back across all sectors, including large capacity motorcycles that are predominately used for leisure and sport.
The fully electric market continues to deliver impressive growth, showing a year on year market of nearly 170% up on 2020. Electric mopeds, scooters and motorcycles made up about 4400 unit sales in 2021, at the end of September, compared to 92,000 petrol engined models. Unlike conventional motorcycle sales, most of the electric action is in fleet sales right now, not leisure use; It is the low powered segments (up to 11kw) driving this growth, which is a direct result of Last Mile delivery fleets moving over to Electric, and new private users seeing the benefits of electric powered two wheelers. Early to say, but perhaps the recent fuel shortages will accelerate this growth further still, says the MCIA.
Tony Campbell Chief Executive of MCIA says: “We are not surprised at how the market has unfolded this year and expect this positive trend to continue into 2022. Road transport is facing tough challenges over the next few years, but I am confident our sector will be able to take full advantage of this and enjoy excellent growth, as the way we move changes in the future”
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