The R15 and the FZ series created quite a phenomenon back in 2008 when all the bikes on offer looked and felt the same here were two model lines that were real modern motorcycles. And they are sustaining the company today, a cousin of mine a previous owner of a Discover and a Unicorn after a short stint abroad came back and went in for a Fazer (with no influence from me) and in Goa these days the bike hire guys have a fleet of FZs all over. A couple of years back they'd have a fleet of pulsars. All this to me is visible successes of YAMAHA on the ground and not some journo's view on paper. Yes YAMAHA products are a premium offering and will never generate the mass volumes of lets say HH or Bajaj, but the that s the exclusivety that we YAMAHA owners enjoy.

And about sourcing parts from same vendors for "dirt cheap" forget it that is never going to happen. Quality parts make a quality product and that what a YAMAHA is. Be it the CRUX or an FZ or an R15 or the RDs and the RXes from the past!

Haaha.. LOL.. exclusivity.. so that's the term you use to defend low sales.. IMO top two reasons for low sales of FZ (that's on comparision with competition) is absense of rear seat & low mileage due to fat rear tyre.. of course the fatter rear tyre brings in another section of buyers.

Well apart from FZ, R-15 others from Yamaha are not really selling at a premium to competition, still they are failing to generate sales. If you don't have even 5% of market share.. then that's certainly a problem. Yamaha needs to find a way to get that up..

Ever heard of a company called FERRARI ??? Do you even know its sales figures?? FYI it is around 6000 (Source:- Ferrari - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). Then according to you the ferrari is in a huge problem. But is it true?? The answer is No. Moreover it is a world renowned brand whose name even a kid knows.

And about your exclusivity thing. The FZ series & R15 were NEVER launched intending to be a mass selling bikes. They were ALWAYS acknowledged as premium segment bikes to do decent but not Great sales. The SZ-X is intended to be a mass selling bike & according to my nearby dealer its doing a decent sales figures. Moreover I do like the exclusivity factor my bike has. What is the sense for me to buy a bike which virtually every second person has (say pulsar or splendor etc)?? In my locality very few are having a gladiator. That does gives my bike & me an exclusivity.

Why do I care if the sales are low or insignificant till I get my spares and service on time and without hassle???

Also your remarks on low mileage due to a FAT tire are not really factual. For a country fed on 80 kms to liter lullaby, THERE are people who want something more, and these bikes are for them, not for your 'fill it, shut it, forget it' crowd.

Oh... One more FACT.... Volumes don't necessarily and automatically mean profitability

Right.
Somehow,Ducati and Suzuki too has a definition of profitability for Indian market.

There are plenty(innumerable) of Yamaha(R15 and FZ mostly) bikes in my city too,hence I don't think it is the numbers sold of present models that Yamaha should be worried about,they should be worried about a dynamic line-up which does not get complacent with time and try to offer the market's best specifications at reasonable rates in the segments they hope to cater.

But one thing I have to admit,they maybe costly,but Yamaha offers the quality,a notch above Bajaj.Yamaha vehicles can truly endure harsh conditions for sometime before finally throwing up,if at all.

what i was suggesting is to have more of the cheap and efficient bikes like SZ , bring in beatiful scooters, what about a Dual purpose bike ? they should also explore 4 valve tech, extended spark tech (like twin spark) etc.. in the mean time

Yamaha apparel should open an online store ASAP

Yamaha you can do it, but needs to be more faster

The R15 is a 4V bike... Twin Spark isnt exaclty 'hi tech' or new tech!
IMO they should rather invest in atleast two spark plugs but in a cylinde reach

There wouldnt be any fun if everyone makes bikes like HH and just style them new and call them new!

Actually FZ is a nice bike. Nothing wrong with it. Its just ahead of its time for the vast majority of our consumers where fashion statement is somewhat lagging behind. FZ offering is its styling and fashion statement. Its the younger HEP type of college crowd that FZ beckons. Unfortunately they make up only a tiny fraction of the market. Its no wonder why the majority of our bikes looks the way they are...ugly small things . Yet they are what sells .

To be precise the twin spark technology is not even new technology. Bajaj has copied this from Alfa Romeo( Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) & BMW ( BMW F650 single - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

i agree with SP

but we need 4V, spark tech ,anything else on mass appeal bikes like SZ so that they are more efficient in all departments . after all the more revenue yamaha generates, the more fresh investments they make there by we have more advanced products

yamaha fans know how yamaha is unique , but yamaha need more sales to support thier operations

In india, theres only one way to boost sales to astronomical figures. Mileage.

I think you are going tooooo far with comparision.. Ferrari is altogether different company.. it doesn't produce 100 cc bikes like Yamaha.. anyway you have the link.. so you can read it once again to understand what Ferrari does. What Ferrari does is extremely correct for target buyer group. Competition to Yamaha here is Honda, Bajaj.. like it or not.. they have already grabbed good market share here.. I don't think Yamaha is generating lot of profits for the numbers they are selling.. remember there is something called break even point for every new model. May be that's not your concern as long as they produce bikes.. but sooner or later they have to shut shop if they continue to do mistakes like this. Brand image doesn't do any good when you don't take advantage of it in a proper manner.

I think you lost it.. why do you bother or why do I bother.. we never bother.. it's the company that simply shuts shop if they don't get it right for too long.. Now Yamaha has already seen it in the past, looks like they haven't learned from their mistakes. I'm not comparing FZ to 100 cc bikes.. compare it to 150 cc competition, even RTR160 returns you a minimum of 40kmpl.. is that guaranteed with FZ-16? you don't need to answer that question

In a market where atleast 70k 150cc bikes are sold every month.. what does the numbers look like for Yamaha?? not really good.. well volumes may not guarantee profits if you are not protecting margins.. are not able to command premium.. just what HH's situation at the moment, inspite of growing sales they are seeing dip in profits. But same is not true with Bajaj.. they are happily defending their margins .. coz, their mainstay is Pulsar.. that's my point.. if only Yamaha could make FZ their mainstay of sales.. instead of trying to make it merely a style statement for posers.. they will do a lot of good to themselves.

My views in red


Even Bajaj had to respond to the R15 by coming out with a CHEAPER P220, HM had to come out with the ZMR...


Maybe I have lost it... but the fact remains that people on the top very rarely INNOVATE... it takes someone at the bottom (or atleast not at the top) to disrupt the market from its temporary equilibrium and force the change... So I will say it once again (with some addition), why should I bother about the poor sales as long as I am getting my innovative product, spares and service on time???

I think you need to use a more pleasant color.. that read in red is eye sore.. Coming to your poins>> Never said that Yamaha shut shop here.. but they were almost there.. weren't they?? and then we are talking about FZ not R-15.. yes no company gives guarantee on mileage.. but there is a minimum number arrived at going by reported numbers.. FZ's is not around 40.. get it? i'm not talking about maximum mileage for your info.. when people buy 150cc bike they do expect certain number.. you might say sane riding returns better numbers.. well the answer would be others will return much better numbers.

We are not talking about innovations here or on why HH upgraded Karizma.. point here is Yamaha has to play where the market is.. or at least create a market of it's own!! just like what HH did with splendor, when Bajaj was going strong with Chetaks.. or just like what Honda did with Activa when everyone was going for 4 stroke bikes.. or What Bajaj did with P150/180 when every one was trying to get a share of 100cc.. So that's something that Yamaha needs to work on.. Now that others have also upped the ante. Even Honda is coming with 250cc, Yamaha has to do something radically different to change the rules of the game. Otherwise.. soon they would have to shut shop.. elsewhere markets are slowing down.. it's only India & China that are going very strong.. if they are not able to sell good numbers here.. then may be they are going nowhere.