Why such high Yamaha prices in NZ?

[Paulus]

I posted this over in the buy/sell section but I thought it may be more useful out here where more will see it. On recent trips to Australia I couldn't help but notice that the CBR1000RR and R1 were the same price in the shops. Looking at US and UK magazines it seemed the same over there too. This was definitely not the case here in NZ. I did a bit of digging around on prices and came up with the following information. It would seem that the R1 is about $NZ 2000+ overpriced here relative to every other country shown. Any Yamaha dealers care to pass comment?

2007 RRPs

UK:
R1 UKP 8999
GSX-R1000 UKP 8949
ZX-10R UKP 8800
CBR1000RR UKP 8999

USA:
R1 $US 11599
GSX-R1000 $US 11399
ZX-10R $US 11249
CBR1000RR $US 11499

Aus:
R1 $AU 19399
GSX-R1000 $AU 18950 (06)
ZX-10R $AU 20331
CBR1000RR $AU 18790

NZ:
R1 $NZ 22395
GSX-R1000 $NZ 19995 (06)
ZX-10R $NZ 20490
CBR1000RR $NZ 19495

Notes:
UK prices all sourced from UK distributors websites
USA prices all sourced from USA distributors websites
Aus prices all sourced from Aus dealer websites
NZ prices all sourced from Motorcycle Trader
No 07 GSX-R1000 pricing in Aus or NZ yet

[rocketman1]

I have asked the same question of the local dealers, all they can say is that this wasnt really the case and to recheck the overseas figures.Well its good that you have done it for me cos I knew thay were talking crap.They are overpriced, they then say there bikes are better finished and specified than Suzukis and Kawasaki, & Hondas which is also crap. Check Valentino Rossi's book and although he has changed to Yamaha (basically to piss off Honda Boss's who maintain the bike wins, Rossi maintains its him,) anyway Rossi says Yamaha are way behind Honda in design, suspension and motors.
Apart from that Yamaha's make great bikes, and good on them sponsoring meetings like the Paeroa street race, excellent work, just get the prices right .

[23226]

I think it's down to the small volumes we represent to the manufacturers and importers, and of course the relative isolation and reasonable distance to NZ from the manufacturers.

[MD]

Good research Paulus. I had wondered that myself after riding the 07 R1.
Maybe Crasherfromwayback can enlighten us on the new 07 Gixer 1000 price?
As much as I was impressed with the new yam R1, I can't see the justification for the extra $2900 for example over the Honda ,which we all know has good build quality. Same with the R6. Not sure what a R6 costs new now but last year it was $17500 or thereabouts with the ZX6r $15,500! That must hurt sales when the likes of the ZX and GSXR are such hot machines to ride.

[scracha]

I think it's down to the small volumes we represent to the manufacturers and importers, and of course the relative isolation and reasonable distance to NZ from the manufacturers.

As opposed to western europe which is just around the corner from Japan? There are countries in Europe just as little as NZ. The actual distance involved in shipping has very little bearing on the end cost of importing.

The wildly fluctuating kiwi peso is a valid reason for manufacturers having to price things higher here though. Doesn't account for how Honda and Suzuki's are cheaper here NEW than in Europe though whereas the Yam's are dearer.

Can I also just point out that in Europe you normally pay many thousands less than the RRP whereas over here the dealer's just don't have the markup (so they tell me) to be able to do this.

[Paulus]

They are overpriced, they then say there bikes are better finished and specified than Suzukis and Kawasaki, & Hondas which is also crap.

Funnily enough I got exactly the same story from Rides Yamaha in Chch early last year when I was toying with the idea of buying a new R1. Perhaps they've been advised to say that if anyone questions the price. IMHO the level of finish is better on the Hondas and they are the cheapest. Good on Honda for selling those bikes at such a sharp price.

[Paulus]

I think it's down to the small volumes we represent to the manufacturers and importers, and of course the relative isolation and reasonable distance to NZ from the manufacturers.

If that were the case then they'd all be more expensive, not just Yamaha. I think we're being taken to the cleaners by the Yamaha distributor in NZ.

[N4CR]

i have chatted to satch about this one before, reckons that the parts for them eg fairings are next to nothing, so if you need parts/**** something up it's much cheaper to fix than another brand.... someone got figures to back that up eg farings, his price was rediculously cheap for oem ones... so the cost of the bike outlays the spares should you need some. if you need some......

[R6_kid:Me]

i bought most of my stuff ex-ebay, but it seemed reasonable, only a couple of hundred per fairing. However a set of spark plug leads and caps came to just over $1000

[Paulus]

i have chatted to satch about this one before, reckons that the parts for them eg fairings are next to nothing, so if you need parts/**** something up it's much cheaper to fix than another brand.... someone got figures to back that up eg farings, his price was rediculously cheap for oem ones... so the cost of the bike outlays the spares should you need some. if you need some......

That would mean that the distributor had made the decision to subsidise the parts market from the new bike sales. Not the most sound of business decisions as mostly that'll only benefit the insurance companies. I haven't noticed their spares prices being that sharp nor have I benefited from a reduction in my insurance premiums due to owning a cheaper bike to fix.

[scracha]

i bought most of my stuff ex-ebay, but it seemed reasonable, only a couple of hundred per fairing. However a set of spark plug leads and caps came to just over $1000

Must be a dodgy distributer bwhahahaha

[pritch]

I think it's down to the small volumes we represent to the manufacturers and importers, and of course the relative isolation and reasonable distance to NZ from the manufacturers.

Following that theory doesn't really explain why Yamaha bikes cost more than Honda. I woulda thought both factories were about the same distance from here...

I haven't done any research into the relative pricings other than noticing that Yamaha 600s have cost more than a Hornet 900 for the past two years at least. During which time the FZ6(?) was rated one of the few bad bikes available on the market.

Last time I looked a Yamaha 600 cost about the same as a Suzuki 1000 (either Vtwin or Bandit). I'da thought the Suzuki factory was roughly the same distance from here as Yamaha too...

[Dai]

Its not just Yamaha.

Maybe theirs is more visible here in NZ than the other manufacturers.

I remeber in the UK a few years back when the new Triumphs were comming out that the bike mags and riders suddenly realised that they were chaeper in the US than they were in the UK.

The difference was such that it was almost feasible to buy one from the US and reimport it back to the UK.

Why? Because the manufacturer wanted to court the US market.

To support the local industry the UK riders had to support the US price difference.

Market forces rule industry. To sell things cheaper in one place means that another has to pay a premium price. Unfortunately NZ is such small market nowadays for motorcycles that we just enter into the scheme of things.

We pay premium.

Look at the price of parts. Recently I was quoted $125 for a gear lever from one particlar shop. Ordered one from a shop in the UK and with postage it came to $75. Where does the $50+ difference come from? Drealer markup and such.

[MVnut]

Maybe the Yamaha importer & the tyre importer are the same person

[Lou Girardin]

Yamaha NZ are dreaming. Their pricing is away with the fairies, FJR1300 and FZ1 are prime examples.
The semi-auto FJR is not a $28,000 bike, nor is the FZ1 worth $19,000.
Shame realy, they'd be tempting in the real world.