This year is certainly bringing change to the motorcycle industry - for several reasons.
The US Dollar is so weak at the moment, it makes David Spade seem muscular. The exchange rates are playing havoc with prices of product from overseas - which is a high percentage of all the OEM and aftermarket parts for the older bikes. The US Dollar has slipped over 20% against the Japanese Yen in the past 6-9 months.
Compounding all of this, fuel prices are causing shipping costs to climb dramatically as well. In the past few months, shipping costs from Japan and Taiwan have jumped well over 10%.
Even worse, steel prices are jumping up dramatically - 30%-50% in the cost of steel. V&H recently pushed their prices up 20% over last year's price. Expect to see significant increases in many areas.
Several distributors and manufacturers are struggling financially. Global Motorsport recently filed Chapter 11. GMG is Custom Chrome and MC Stuff (and a few other names). White Brothers recently closed down.
