Honda halts sales of 10 models in Japan over delivery and emissions hurdles

[range rat]

Honda halts sales of 10 models in Japan over delivery and emissions hurdles

Honda will stop taking new orders on ten of its motorcycles in an effort to ease pressure on a backlog of orders delayed by parts delays and shipping issues - Visordown is the world's fastest growing motorcycle website with all the latest motorbike reviews, motorcycle news, riding tips, and...

www.visordown.com

 

[Cardinal Direction]

Dang glad we all got one!!

 

[chuckklr98]

Just saw that, and was about to post it here. Honda halts sale of 10 models amid ‘uncertain’ fore... | Visordown

 

[rightspy]

Boom….instant equity (probably not since most of us overpaid, like me!). I have two friends who freakin out trying to get one here in Cali. Bummer.

 

[Fun4me]

Honda halts sales of 10 models in Japan over delivery and emissions hurdles

Honda will stop taking new orders on ten of its motorcycles in an effort to ease pressure on a backlog of orders delayed by parts delays and shipping issues - Visordown is the world's fastest growing motorcycle website with all the latest motorbike reviews, motorcycle news, riding tips, and...

www.visordown.com

Am I reading this wrong? The title of the article is "Honda halts sales of 10 models in Japan...". It mentions that same limitation in the text. Does this even apply to sales in the U.S market?

 

[MonotoneCulprit]

"From a UK perspective, a Honda spokesperson confirmed there is no impact on the availability for the models available here - the Rebel 1100, Rebel 500, CRF250Rally, Forza, Grom and Monkey 125 - and the issues relate to Honda Japan."

Article seems to indicate that this is not an issue outside of the Japanese Market. As someone with a deposit with no delivery in sight all I can do is cross my fingers that this doesn't apply here.

 

[chuckklr98]

"From a UK perspective, a Honda spokesperson confirmed there is no impact on the availability for the models available here - the Rebel 1100, Rebel 500, CRF250Rally, Forza, Grom and Monkey 125 - and the issues relate to Honda Japan."

Article seems to indicate that this is not an issue outside of the Japanese Market. As someone with a deposit with no delivery in sight all I can do is cross my fingers that this doesn't apply here.

Honda must make more money on overseas sales

 

[MonotoneCulprit]

I think it's between that and the relatively lax emissions we have here. The article mentions impending emissions changes in Japan as a reason for the slow down. Yamaha's TW and XT are in the same situation where they haven't been updated to meet European or Japanese emissions standards, but still sell well enough to continue to be manufactured for sale in the States.

 

[MonotoneCulprit]

HUGE grain of salt, but an isolated Reddit User who claims to be an Auto Journalist says they have spoken to Colin Miller, Assistant Public Relations Manager at American Honda, who confirmed this just affects Japan.

 

[MonotoneCulprit]

Apologies for triple bumping this thread, but had a commenter on advrider confirm this does not affect the US market. Think those of us late to the party are still good to go. Don't let the dealers use this as leverage to hose you on your OTD.

"I just got back from Love Motorsports in Homosassa, Florida, and none of the salesman there have heard that they can't order anything, confirming this doesn't affect the USA market."

 

[m in sc]

the other side of this is.. if they stopped selling in non us markets, availability may go up for the ones coming here. time will tell.

 

[aiad_78]

Read this. Id doesn't state they're bot producing just not taking orders.

So whats changed in the usa. Dealers can't request orders on these bikes and never have from any I've talked to.

 

[m in sc]

my guess would be they are waiting to see how this will affect production and don't want to take orders they may not be able to fill yet. there are many other bikes that use the same components, so i am sure its also of a realignment of material allocation and production need projections. i'm sure after the q3 numbers and projections, and to what markets they are prioritizing delivery to for q4 and into 2023. when these numbers are calculated at corporate honda, there will be news one way or another.

 

[Rockhopper8]

The was a Goldwing guy talking about this on a YouTube video this AM. If Japan isn't taking that production it means it will show up in places outside Japan which is a good thing for those folks. Have not heard the trail 125 mentioned in any of this.

 

[MonotoneCulprit]

The was a Goldwing guy talking about this on a YouTube video this AM. If Japan isn't taking that production it means it will show up in places outside Japan which is a good thing for those folks. Have not heard the trail 125 mentioned in any of this.

Honda's official Press Release includes the Trail specifically. They even mention it twice in a row.
"[Models whose orders are temporarily suspended (as of August 1, 2022)]
Rebel 1100, Rebel 500, Rebel 250, CRF250RALLY, CRF250L, Forza, ADV150, Grom, Monkey 125, CT125, Hunter Cub"

I've been assuming that in the press release they meant to write "CT125, Super Cub", but either way the Trail is mentioned explicitly by Honda.

 

[Rockhopper8]

Thanks. The Goldwing/YouTube guy did not read the press release in its entirety. So....does this mean more Trail 125s headed our way? Will there ever be a Trail 150 if it can't be sold in Japan?

 

[MonotoneCulprit]

If Yamaha is anything to go off of the 150 is unlikely. For Yamaha the TW and XT aren't emissions legal in the EU or Japan, but still sell like hotcakes in the US. No real incentive to develop those bikes when they sell so well, and would have to be fundamentally redesigned to meet EU and Japan standards, possibly compromising the existing appeal.

Exact same situation for Honda. No real incentive to develop the Trail when it's selling so well they can't keep up with demand. Fundamentally changing the bike to try to get it to hit the stricter emissions standards and/or slapping a bigger motor on it could change the appeal of the bike, and move it into a completely different market segment. Why change what works?

As far as what's headed our way every story I've heard from US dealers more or less says this shouldn't change anything on our end, but that they don't and won't have complete information until the yearly MiniMoto Press Event in October.

 

[SneakyDingo]

Honda back at it again with a new contender

This both welcome and puzzling news. Seemingly just a Monkey with the autoclutch. I wonder what the advantages are?

hondatrail125.com

Discussed it before here with regards to the Dax. There are a lot of reasons for why they won't go to a 150 related to licensing and the global market, from the perspective of manufacturing, emissions, future direction of the market, and the lack of ability to fulfil current orders.

That just makes our special little bikes even more special to me

 

[Crudzilla]

There are rumors here in Japan that Honda will announce a CT125 refresh before the end of the year.
Winding down sales is due to the (Japan only) emissions laws. New laws were passed in 2020 and they come into effect this year.
The current 125cc SuperCub has a newer engine that meets the required emissions standard.
So they are likely fitting that same engine in the Hunter Cub.

It makes sense, as the CT125 has been very popular here too.
New ones can still be had, but used ones are fetching the same prices as new.
I was looking to pick one up, but I'm going to wait until the end of the year and see if this refresh happens.
People are hoping they update the dash to include a gear indicator and clock, beef up the side stand, and make the headlight brighter.
But there are even rumors that the frame will see tweaks, and a new (4th) color option!

There is also a 3rd Cub model here, the 110cc 'Cross Cub', which kind of falls between a SuperCub & HunterCub.
I saw a lot of them kitted out for touring on the roads this summer.
I really hope they are refreshing the Hunter Cub for Japan, and not intending the 'Cross Cub' to replace it going forward.