What is the world's most popular selling current bike?

[Padmei]

Dino floated this idea so does anyone know? Apart fromthe honda 50 & millionsof asian scooters I wonder what is the bestselling model.

Come in train spotters...

[DR650gary]

Dino floated this idea so does anyone know? Apart fromthe honda 50 & millionsof asian scooters I wonder what is the bestselling model.

Come in train spotters...

AVANTI

Is a scooter a bike?

[Crim]

Hey Padmei, it has to be the KLR or is that just the world's best selling, quality, reliable, all terrain bike?

[warewolf]

Interesting question... and be very interesting to see if you can get an accurate answer. One possible method would be to get each manufacturer's top-selling model world-wide, which they might have publicly available in their PR material, if not in published company reports?

This may be of interest: Motorbike & ATV sales figures for Europe and Asia-Pacific

The Aussie magazines like to report the top selling bikes each year, but when I stopped subscribing they were still trying to get all bike sales, rather than just road legal ones. Anyway, the top seller was always the Honda postie bike, because Aussie post bought over 5000 of them every year. In the top ten, the mid-capacity enduros (xr400r, wr400/426/450f, dr-z400) often were next best in the 1-2000 units range, various Harleys filled several places, in there were also 1 or 2 of the latest-and-greatest super sports bike, maybe a 250/600 enduro, and maybe a couple of random bikes - whatever was new-ish & successful in the market.

Can't say Aussie is representative of world-wide though. I've read that Aussie is the best market worldwide for some enduros (wr/xr?), and now actually have significant input into the models (esp. in terms of making them road legal) and get the improvements first. I digress - doesn't help your world-wide count.

World-wide low capacity bikes/scooters certainly dominate. Mainland Asia is big on 100-150cc commuters, that class would likely have your winner - and are still "proper" motorcycles. Outside the sub-250 commuter class... hmmm.

[rapid van cleef]

Im 100% sure overall its the Honda Cub 90, or C90 it was known as. I had one when i was a kiddie.

[dino3310]

come on all you really want to know is whats more popular(world wide sales) KLR or DR for some bragging rights that way crim will have some proof behind that garbage post.

you might have to narrow your search down to like maybe ADV 'lightweights'up to 300cc - 'medium' up to 450cc - thumpers up to 750cc - big bangers over 750cc , maybe even just for australasia.
gotta agree with WW, it will be something like lifan150 or simular holding the most sales

[Waihou Thumper]

It is this by a country mile.....
A bit disappointing really, if the 990A was released in China, it might have beaten the cub....
Imagine how many Vietnamese families could fit in the Panniers or in the top box...... of a KTM 990A.....hehe
especially JMJ's....haha (no offence bud)

[avgas]

Harley Davidson. Same design - 100 years of models.

[CrazyFrog]

Top selling in all time.... Honda Cub, over 60 million sold

Late model figures harder to find, but here an article from Aussie.....
Worldwide info near impossible to find, generally have to search by country sales.
Me thinks Padmei has done some research on KLR hype

http://www.mcnews.com.au/NewsArchive...orial_road.htm

Interesting reading, Harley do quite well, pretty much worldwide. Must be all those middle aged men going through the mid-life crisis and writing themselves off.
The KLR650 is best seller in ADV market with 302 sold for the period, but listed in error as KL650E.
The 250cc market seems to sell the most units, due to learners capacity/ price and I guess a few must get written off. Kawasazki 250R Ninja sell well worldwide, seem to top a few lists.

Dirt bike stats for Aussie here
http://www.mcnews.com.au/NewsArchive...orial_dirt.htm

DRZ400 top seller overall, with Yammy WR450F doing well, with Honda CRF's following in 3rd.
DR650 got 383 sales (more than the KLR!!!!) but listed under "soft trail" category and not in the ADV category. What's with that?

So sorry Padmei, the those pesky DR's have just beaten you AGAIN.... roll on the DR/KLR debate!

[PeteJ]

Well, the C100 Cub and all its derivatives comprise the one model of motorcycle that can truly be said to have changed the face of transport worldwide (oh, yes, there's a 1961 Supercub in my shed, too...the 1st electric start one).

As for the 250s being top-selling offroad etc in NZ - the answer is that tax rules were amended a number of years ago so you could depreciate only up to a 250 as a farm bike.. I think that's still the rules.

[warewolf]

The KLR650 is best seller in ADV market with 302 sold for the period, but listed in error as KL650E.

Actually that is it's model code, they refer to it by "name" in the text.

Merge the road bikes with the road legal dirt-bikes, you get this overall top 10 (Aussie 2009 first six months):

Kawasaki Ninja 250R - 1141 (+75.3%)
Honda CT110 - 974 (-18.3%)
Suzuki DR-Z400E - 841 (+27.8%)
Yamaha WR450F - 758 (-19.5%)
Honda CRF230F - 624 (+7.8%)
Yamaha YZF-R1 - 583 (+44%)
Honda CRF450X - 529 (-29.7%)
Harley-Davidson FXD - 492 (+60.8%)
Honda CBF250 - 407 (+57.1%)
KTM 450EXC - 405 (-16.1%)
Suzuki DR650SE - 383 (+5.5%)* only ranks if CT110 excluded

or this for "all in" disregarding on/off road only:

Kawasaki Ninja 250R - 1141 (+75.3%)
Honda CT110 - 974 (-18.3%)
Suzuki DR-Z400E - 841 (+27.8%)
Yamaha WR450F - 758 (-19.5%)
Honda CRF250R - 636 (-26%)
Honda CRF450R - 632 (-22.3%)
Honda CRF230F - 624 (+7.8%)
Yamaha PW50 - 601 (-11.3%)
Yamaha YZ250F - 588 (-15.8%)
Yamaha YZF-R1 - 583 (+44%)

The tar babies take a pasting from the dirt squirts!

[dino3310]

the mighty postie bike

[Waihou Thumper]

I remember seeing the Cub, filled with fish and chip oil, it started.....THEN, it was tossed out of a three storey building.....It started.....
Durable bike to say the least...Charley Boorman did that for a TV Doco.....I bet a 1150GS wouldn't have been able to withstand that punishment... Weight V Height I guess.....

The CT110, well, yes, the Postie bike.....looks awesome with a long range tank...
I saw something on ADV bout a couple doinf the Darwin adventure and Fraser Island I think.....It looked cool.

[dino3310]

The CT110, well, yes, the Postie bike.....looks awesome with a long range tank...

thought about doing that and setting it up as my fishin wagon but i dont get enough coin to muck around with more than 1 toy

[pete376403]

The KLR650 is best seller in ADV market with 302 sold for the period, but listed in error as KL650E.
DR650 got 383 sales (more than the KLR!!!!) but listed under "soft trail" category and not in the ADV category. What's with that?

So sorry Padmei, the those pesky DR's have just beaten you AGAIN.... roll on the DR/KLR debate!

Aussie market, like NZ = tiny. 302 KLRs (KL650E) is a little over two days (assuming the factory does 7 day/week production) output. From the start (02/07) of the new model ('08) they were bulding on average 1850 per month but production rates is now increased
around 2000 per month