bobf@drutx.UUCP (FormhalsR) (04/10/86)
After a long winter of waiting the new Honda Rebel 450 is finally in the showrooms. Unfortunately I had been led to expect a price in the range of $1600 - $1900. A quick survey of actual going prices with four local dealers turns out to be around $2300, with one at $2400. Since this bike does not have any ultra-current or sophisticated components, )the engine dates back to the old 350cc, no fancy suspension, chain drive, etc.) I can only speculate that Honda is hoping to rip off the people who would like to own this bike. Who would like to own one? Well with a seat height of 25.6 inches it is the only bike I am aware of that would safely serve the riding needs of someone who is 4'10". There are smaller 250cc bikes that are low enough but they are too underpowered. What about prices in other parts of the country? The above mentioned prices are from Denver area dealers. My plan now is to wait longer. I don't believe that $2300 is a competitive price and expect it to drop later in the season. :-( Bob Formhals
animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr) (04/14/86)
> > > After a long winter of waiting the new Honda Rebel 450 is > finally in the showrooms. Unfortunately I had been led to > expect a price in the range of $1600 - $1900. A quick survey > of actual going prices with four local dealers turns out to > be around $2300, with one at $2400. Since this bike does not > have any ultra-current or sophisticated components, )the engine > dates back to the old 350cc, no fancy suspension, chain drive, etc.) > I can only speculate that Honda is hoping to rip off the people > who would like to own this bike. Well, before Dan O'Brien tries to blame this price increase on Harley :-) There are two (and a half) very good reasons why the 450 Rebel is more expensive than it should be. First, the 250 Rebel was the hottest-selling bike in the U. S. last year. Honda obviously expects the same thing to happen with the 450. When demand is strong, you keep the price high; that's the American way. Besides, even Honda admits that the Rebel's styling is flat-out copied from the Harley Sportster; maybe they decided to copy the price as well. Second, the Japanese yen is strengthening with respect to the dollar. I believe the Rebel is still made in Japan (unlike the bigger bikes, which are made in Ohio), so this will affect the price. Japanese car prices jumped about 7% last week (according to the Chicago Tribune), with auto industry sources expecting another 10-12% before they stabilize again. This leads to the interesting possibility that some of their US-produced bigger bikes will actually cost less than the Japanese-built Rebel...what will they do then? If they cross-subsidize from the US-built bikes to keep the Rebel cheap they open themselves to "dumping" charges again. > > My plan now is to wait longer. I don't believe that $2300 is a > competitive price and expect it to drop later in the season. :-( > > Bob Formhals Which brings us to reason two-and-a-half: this is the beginning of the riding season, demand is at its peak and prices are at their peak too. As demand drops later in summer, and if the yen stops rising, the price should come down. Dan Starr P. S.: Rebel 450 ($2300): $5.11 per cc Sportster 883 ($3995): 4.52 per cc
dob@ihlpa.UUCP (Daniel M. O'Brien) (04/15/86)
> > ... > > I can only speculate that Honda is hoping to rip off the people > > who would like to own this bike. > > Well, before Dan O'Brien tries to blame this price increase on Harley :-) > > Second, the Japanese yen is strengthening with respect to the dollar. > ... > Japanese car prices > jumped about 7% last week (according to the Chicago Tribune), with auto > industry sources expecting another 10-12% before they stabilize again. > ... > > Dan Starr I started looking around at the Honda VF500 Interceptor late-February when it was priced at $2998. The dealer said that Honda was increasing prices March 1. The VF500 price jumped to $3198 for an increase of 6.7 percent. [I have nothing personal against Harley, I just don't think that tariffs, quotas, and other protectionist measures are healthy. Let the consumer direct the market! But anyway, have you seen the new Beull H-D powered "production" roadracer! Fantastic and so is it's price, $10,000. If it were only $5K less...] Who would have guessed that it would snow today -- fitting since its tax day: April 15. -- Daniel M. O'Brien (ihnp4!ihlpa!dob) AT&T Bell Laboratories IH 4A-257, x 4782 Naperville-Wheaton Road Naperville, IL 60566
laura@hoptoad.uucp (Laura Creighton) (04/17/86)
In article <1268@ihlpa.UUCP> animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr) writes: >> >> After a long winter of waiting the new Honda Rebel 450 is >> finally in the showrooms. Unfortunately I had been led to >> expect a price in the range of $1600 - $1900. A quick survey >> of actual going prices with four local dealers turns out to >> be around $2300, with one at $2400. Since this bike does not >> have any ultra-current or sophisticated components, )the engine >> dates back to the old 350cc, no fancy suspension, chain drive, etc.) >> I can only speculate that Honda is hoping to rip off the people >> who would like to own this bike. There is one very nice feature about this bike. I can back it (the bike) up. I'm only 5'4" tall which means I don't get much of a selection in bikes where my feet touch the ground. (Hmm -- if they don't have any at the MSF can I bring my own bike?) -- Laura Creighton ihnp4!hoptoad!laura utzoo!hoptoad!laura sun!hoptoad!laura toad@lll-crg.arpa