Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha Will Axe Several Models This Year: Report

[advrider]

Reports out of Asia say the Big Four are about to do a big cull. Japan-based Nikkei, the world’s biggest financial newspaper, says Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha are planning to cut about 20 bikes from their lineups.

Of course, ever-tightening emissions standards are to blame. This time, it’s emissions standards in Japan itself. Japan’s emissions standards have already been strict for years, and the country’s moto market reflects that (ever wonder why so many kei trucks end up exported to North America? They’re pushed out by emissions laws!). However, it seems the latest crackdown will tighten things even further.

What bikes are going to be discontinued? Details are limited; here’s what Nikkei reported:

Honda, the world’s largest motorcycle company, will retire approximately 10 out of 80 models. The affected bikes include popular models like the CB400 Super Four, a midsized motorcycle which has been a bestseller since the 1990s.

Also on Honda’s chopping block are models from the full-sized Gold Wing series, as well as the Benly scooter made for delivery services.

Yamaha will stop selling two models from its flagship FJR1300 series of tourers. Suzuki will pull at least five out of roughly 20 models from production lines by October, including the midsized GSX250R.

So, some of these machines are available in the US (FJR, Gold Wing) and some are not (CB400). Maybe we won’t be that affected by the decision, especially since it seems these are only specific sub-models from series, and because there is a special emphasis on the Japanese market.

However, the Nikkei article also points out something we all need to be taking way more seriously: Change-over to EV technology is coming, whether we want it or not, because governments have mandated it. Honda et. al. will not make bikes they can’t sell, and that means we need to see electric motorcycle technology develop much more quickly, or we’ll all be left in the lurch in about a decade’s time. All these model cancellations and announcements of petroleum power bans are going to have a cumulative effect; indeed, if you aren’t noticing the early stages of this changeover, you aren’t paying attention. Ever wonder why the manufacturers are wayyyyyyy more conservative than they used to be? It’s because they aren’t interested in developing technology they can’t sell.

 

 

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