[Ducati Scotty]

That's like saying Hondas are made in the US/Canada.  They are, but they're not American

I read a post some time back, may have been another board.  An Indian fellow was looking for hot rod mods for his new UCE.  Some people chided him and said he should have just bought a bigger bike from another company.  He politely explained that he lives in India and the taxes on imports nearly double the price of every imported bike.  a ninja 250 is a status symbol there.  He was not rich and while the rest of the world may consider the Bullet as anything from a toy to a midsize bike, as far as Indian made bikes go, it's the biggest, baddest option there is.

Lots of pride, lots of common sense.  I really enjoyed his post.

I'm guessing they have other manufacturers but it seems RE is both an every day item and simultaneously a marque with rich history and proud owners.  Not many brands anywhere can claim that.

Scott

[Kevin Mahoney]

Well said. I take great delight in the nationalistic pride that many Indians have. We could use a bit more of that here. In India the two wheeler market is enormous. North of 10,000,000 units a year. (that is not a mistake it is in the millions). They are also putting about 12,000 new cars a day on the roads in India. The numbers are staggering. Anyone that makes cars is in India.

Most of the bike manufacturers make over a million bikes a year. Most are 100-150cc. All are used as basic transportation. The Bullet is seen as a status symbol yet is affordable for the middle class. They only made 53,000 last year so we are only an asterisk when you see market penetration figures. We could make 200,000 bikes and still be tiny by comparison.

The entire concept of leisure biking is very new in India and RE is totally responsible for developing it. They currently own the market. They are also acutely aware that it is theirs to lose. Everyone else is trying to get a piece of the market including Harley, Triumph, Victory etc. They are fumbling at present. India is a unique market and is not like any other market in the world. However they will all figure it out sooner or later, Their bikes are expensive beyond reason given the trade restrictions but as they all start to manufacture there it will come down. If RE continues to improve and introduce new models they will continue to have a hometown advantage. They will have to earn it, but I think they will. The commitment and investment in both dollars and human capital is enormous. Who else in the world is expanding capacity as fast as they can?

[singhg5]

I read a post some time back, may have been another board.  An Indian fellow was looking for hot rod mods for his new UCE.  Some people chided him and said he should have just bought a bigger bike from another company.  He politely explained that he lives in India and the taxes on imports nearly double the price of every imported bike.  a ninja 250 is a status symbol there.

He was not rich and while the rest of the world may consider the Bullet as anything from a toy to a midsize bike, as far as Indian made bikes go, it's the biggest, baddest option there is.

Lots of pride, lots of common sense.  I really enjoyed his post.

I'm guessing they have other manufacturers but it seems RE is both an every day item and simultaneously a marque with rich history and proud owners.  Not many brands anywhere can claim that.

@Scott:

+1, That sums it ALL up   !

@Kevin:

+1   !

[Ducati Scotty]

Yes national pride and brand loyalty.  We do have some of that here.  Funny story...

A friend of a friend was in a pitch meeting HP was giving to Harley Davidson.  HP was really talking up their incredible "brand loyalty".  The Harley folks politely listened and then said something like, "When you get a few thousand customer who have tattooed your corporate logo on their arms, you let us know."

Scott

[prof_stack]

Yes national pride and brand loyalty.  We do have some of that here.  Funny story...

A friend of a friend was in a pitch meeting HP was giving to Harley Davidson.  HP was really talking up their incredible "brand loyalty".  The Harley folks politely listened and then said something like, "When you get a few thousand customer who have tattooed your corporate logo on their arms, you let us know."

That's funny!  But as a 20-year HD owner/rider I never felt all that comfortable with the tatoo uniform wearing hogboys.  The HOG breakfasts were exercises in some pretty biased fanboys of HD.  Lots of bacon, too!