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Can This ever happen??

By FeliX 450,
in General Dirt Bike Discussion

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Grand Master

FeliX 450

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I was just sittting and funny thought poped in my head! I was wondering is it possible that one of the big Motorcycle copanies(Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM) can ever go out of business? I now its probably a stupid idea, but hey can it happen ? !!! I know they been around for a long time, but anything can happen! I do hope they never will and be around for another million years :applause: !!!!

What ya guys think??

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Grand Master

Kent Rathgeber

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All of them, with the possible exception of KTM, are diversified into other businesses. When they reach a point where their motorcycle division isn't profitable, then there may be a chance it would be sold off to another company. But, that won't happen anytime soon.

BTW, KTM makes radiators for most European cars. Pretty diversified!

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MotoMac

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Sure it can, and for a lot of different reasons too.

While not the size of the big Japanese companies, here are some of the bike manufacturers that were fairly major players in the old days that are now out of business. Some of them also made street bikes...

AJS, Ariel, Bultaco, BSA, Carabella, CZ, Cannondale, DOT, DKW, Enfield, FN, Fantic, Greeves, Hodaka, Husqvarna (the original Swedish make, not the current Italian one), JAP (that's JA Preston, not an abbreviation for Japanese!), Maico, Montesa, OSSA, Penton, Rokon, Swift, White, Yankee, and Zundapp.

I'm sure others can come up with more...

Cheers,

Mac

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Grand Master

GENE426

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those guys arent going out of busines......

they make way too much money on street bikes 4 wheelers and jet skis.

OH and dont forget US on the dirt side

all in 50-100 countries

you would have to put a TARD in every position of the company for that to happen and the stock holders would never let that happen

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Grand Master

FeliX 450

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those guys arent going out of busines......

they make way too much money on street bikes 4 wheelers and jet skis.

OH and dont forget US on the dirt side

all in 50-100 countries

you would have to put a TARD in every position of the company for that to happen and the stock holders would never let that happen

TARD ?

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dirtyrottenspode

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I was just sittting and funny thought poped in my head! I was wondering is it possible that one of the big Motorcycle copanies(Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM) can ever go out of business? I now its probably a stupid idea, but hey can it happen ? !!! I know they been around for a long time, but anything can happen! I do hope they never will and be around for another million years :applause: !!!!

What ya guys think??

any business can go out...

why do u keep starting so many pointless threads...go out and play

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Grand Master

enduro4231

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Well if the environment agencies or some other association like that got its way Honda and Suzuki would probably be the only ones left. They make cars and stuff where the other companies get a large amount of money from OHV's. You never know.

I'll bet you didn't know that Kawasaki makes trains!

And...Cannondale didn't go out of business, they just shut down their OHV division.

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Grand Master

Bultaco206

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Sure it can, and for a lot of different reasons too.

While not the size of the big Japanese companies, here are some of the bike manufacturers that were fairly major players in the old days that are now out of business. Some of them also made street bikes...

AJS, Ariel, Bultaco, BSA, Carabella, CZ, Cannondale, DOT, DKW, Enfield, FN, Fantic, Greeves, Hodaka, Husqvarna (the original Swedish make, not the current Italian one), JAP (that's JA Preston, not an abbreviation for Japanese!), Maico, Montesa, OSSA, Penton, Rokon, Swift, White, Yankee, and Zundapp.

I'm sure others can come up with more...

Cheers,

Mac

Maico became M-Star and then back to Maico again. They still produce motorcycles. Penton actually didn't go out of business - KTM just pushed John out of the way and kept on making bikes. And Montesa was puchased by Honda in their waining days and still makes bikes.

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MotoMac

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Maico became M-Star and then back to Maico again. They still produce motorcycles. Penton actually didn't go out of business - KTM just pushed John out of the way and kept on making bikes. And Montesa was puchased by Honda in their waining days and still makes bikes.

I knew about Maico going to M-Star (what a stupid name!) when the Maisch family started battling internally, but hadn't heard they'd come back as Maico again.

I understand about Penton. John & the guys were just steamrollered when it turned out all their hard work would make a bunch of money for a small Austrian factory.

Montesa still being alive is a complete shock to me....I had no idea. Are they producing under their own name? Last I heard they were barely surviving on their Cota trials bike and the end was seemingly near. I really would have thought that Bultaco would be the only Spanish marque to survive of the three main ones (Derbi doesn't count even though they're still around today).

Cheers,

Mac

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Grand Master

Bultaco206

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I knew about Maico going to M-Star (what a stupid name!) when the Maisch family started battling internally, but hadn't heard they'd come back as Maico again.

I understand about Penton. John & the guys were just steamrollered when it turned out all their hard work would make a bunch of money for a small Austrian factory.

Montesa still being alive is a complete shock to me....I had no idea. Are they producing under their own name? Last I heard they were barely surviving on their Cota trials bike and the end was seemingly near. I really would have thought that Bultaco would be the only Spanish marque to survive of the three main ones (Derbi doesn't count even though they're still around today).

Cheers,

Mac

When Maico lost their financing, their U.S. importer went out of business. A few of those guys started up as Hercules Distributing and bought all the remaining inventory and assembled bikes - calling them M-Stars. They were decent bikes - but a sales flop. Hercules (no relation to the company that actually produced Hercules motorcycles) died, but someone else had gone in and was making bikes (back under the Maico name) in Germany on a custom-order basis. They still are today.

When Honda wanted back in the Trials business in the late '80s, they purchased Montesa and kept the production in Spain. Their R&D is evident with Montesa's new compact 4-stroke Trials bike.

Look closely at any Montesa manufactured since the mid-'90s and you'll see 'Honda' stamped in the sidecovers on the cases.

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Grand Master

Johnyb

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I was just sittting and funny thought poped in my head! I was wondering is it possible that one of the big Motorcycle copanies(Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM) can ever go out of business? I now its probably a stupid idea, but hey can it happen ? !!! I know they been around for a long time, but anything can happen! I do hope they never will and be around for another million years :applause: !!!!

What ya guys think??

Ask these guy's:

Ken Lay/Jeffrey Skilling

Dennis Kozlowski

Bernard Ebbers

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MotoMac

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When Maico lost their financing, their U.S. importer went out of business. A few of those guys started up as Hercules Distributing and bought all the remaining inventory and assembled bikes - calling them M-Stars. They were decent bikes - but a sales flop. Hercules (no relation to the company that actually produced Hercules motorcycles) died, but someone else had gone in and was making bikes (back under the Maico name) in Germany on a custom-order basis. They still are today.

When Honda wanted back in the Trials business in the late '80s, they purchased Montesa and kept the production in Spain. Their R&D is evident with Montesa's new compact 4-stroke Trials bike.

Look closely at any Montesa manufactured since the mid-'90s and you'll see 'Honda' stamped in the sidecovers on the cases.

The Maico importer was in Chesapeake, VA at that time. It was about 10 miles from my house and they let us play on their test track occasionally. That was right as I was getting out of MX and moving overseas, so I only read about the M-Stars.

I'll have to go find a Montesa and give it a look. The only trials bike I've seen in many years was a Gas-Gas owned by 2Ply (who I haven't seen on here for a while). He showed me some fabulous riding areas east of Seattle when I was out there visiting my sisters last year.

Thanks for filling me in on some of the bike history that I've missed over the past decade or so...

Cheers,

Mac

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